FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS' "Bug Out" Tour brings crowdsurfing spectacle to Phoenix

Frankie and the Witch Fingers lead singer Dylan Sizemore stage diving at The Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, AZ. Photographed by Justin de la Cruz.

Los Angeles garage and psyche rock group FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS alongside Netherlands rockers IGUANA DEATH CULT infested The Rebel Lounge in Phoenix this past week with wild psychedelic guitar wailing and even wilder fans for the “Bug Out” Tour, centered around their latest album “Trash Classic.”

A packed Rebel Lounge saw a long line for the show to get in even in the middle of IGUANA DEATH CULT’s set. As I got inside, the partying and moshing already started. This was not a show for you to be a stick-in-the-mud. The rapid rhythm of the show almost felt like a treatment for restless leg syndrome as everyone near the front was constantly on their feet. The end of the IGUANA DEATH CULT set would see a trumpet break out in the midst of the moshing for the song “Nature Calls.”

Thick red and green lighting flooded the stage as FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS arrived. The set opened up with “Cops and Robbers” and “Cocaine Dream,” fast-paced tracks from their first album “Sidewalk,” to make sure the audience wasn’t just going to be a bunch of wallflowers. After the song “Get Down,” the band went on to play the first three songs off of “Trash Classic.” The band’s drummer-turned-synth lead JON MODAFF complemented the garage rock sounds with zany Moog bits on the song “T.V. Baby” while bass player NIKKI PICKLE whipped around flashy neon green hair and briefly lent her reverbed voice in the song “Fucksake.” The crowd at the front saw no shortage of friendly shoving, moshing, and crowdsurfing in the midst of it all.

IGUANA DEATH CULT would join in on the encore bringing out trumpets and tambourines while the crowd antics got nuttier. Several fans were seen hanging from the ceiling as they were crowdsurfing, and JON MODAFF with vocalist DYLAN SIZEMOORE took notice. The two would end up joining in on the fun themselves as SIZEMOORE, with the microphone held in his mouth, let the fans carry him up while MODAFF did his best impression of a monkey by climbing on the pipes on the ceiling as he was being lifted up by the crowd. 

I’m just glad everyone crowdsurfing had fun and didn’t end up like this dude.