New Years’ Eve at The Kilowatt with The Dwarves

The Dwarves
The Kilowatt
Dec 31, 2023

Photos by Mike Rosati

Blag Dahlia is the vocalist for The Dwarves

We hadn’t played the Kilowatt since the 1990s, so this was a nostalgic night for us. The spot was packed, excitement in the air and drugs in every nostril. I missed Pleeay and Fusion Babies because I was power napping, conserving every last bit of strength for the rock to come, but I’m assured that one of these bands was really good and the other, well…not so much.

I did see the Sik Sik Sicks, led by frontwoman Madd Lucas who appeared on the Dwarves Concept Album released this past year. This band puts the onus on clever songwriting and snotty lyrics, blasting through a set of pop punk and rock ‘n’ roll that promises a great future for the rising stars from SoCal.

MC’d by the Evel Midget, the night kicked into gear at Midnight when we did the New Year’s countdown and took the stage to thunderous applause. Releasing one of the best records of 2023 and touring the US and Europe to promote it had honed our live show to a razor sharp exercise in rock domination. We felt the power coursing through us as we ticked off hit after hit. Ten minutes later our drummer Snupac physically ‘assisted’ an over excited fan who needed some stern guidance and for a minute it felt like an old school Dwarves show, with the Fresh Prince of Darkness, Rex Everything, and myself all ready to join in if it turned out this guy had friends. Apparently, he didn’t, and the rest of the show came off without incident.

Anarcho-feminist collective Pussy Riot was supposed to headline this show, but they didn’t show up and their lame ‘we have to cancel because our dog ate our homework’ excuse sounded pretty thin to me. Maybe they didn’t realize until the last minute who they were playing with?

Either way, seeing the Dwarves live is a must, buying all of our records is required and worshipping us as a way of life is mandatory. Happy New Year Everybody!

Here’s a slideshow with more photos by Mike Rosati: