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Jan 22, 2010 By Lily Moayeri Photography by Simone Turkington Hotrats

You are in between albums. You are bored. You are fooling around in the studio. A side project is born. This is the story behind The Hotrats, comprised of Supergrass’ persona, Gaz Coombes (vocalist/guitarist) and powerhouse, Danny Coffey (drummer). What initially was meant as “laugh” has turned into something serious—if irreverent—with a full-length of divergent covers, Turn Ons, produced by Nigel Godrich.

The Hotrats have taken their somewhat tongue-in-cheek show on the road, with two stops in Los Angeles (not counting their warm-up DJ gig at Hotel Café). On the first of the two nights, the crowd in the city’s Eastside pool of cool, Spaceland, were primed and prepared. Creeping past show time, a stare-down was starting to develop between the audience and the blank-faced mannequins draped in Christmas lights that guarded the stage. This was broken just in time by the bouncing Coombes and Coffey, dressed almost identically in striped prison wear/French sailor tops. Giving off a Clockwork Orange-like vibe, Coombes’ demonic manner was an interesting contrast with the effervescence of the music.

The setlist, taken primarily from Turn Ons, featured a positively genius, muted version of The Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!),” an (even) spooky(ier) take on The Doors’ “The Crystal Ship,” a bottom-heavy rendition of The Cure’s “Lovecats,” an epileptic interpretation of The Beat’s “Mirror In The Bathroom,” and a freakishly happy turn on The Sex Pistols’ “EMI.”

Fun is what The Hotrats are about. Fun is what it is obvious they are having. And fun is what the crowd is experiencing. Sure every cover sounds like a Supergrass song, but Coombes and Coffey bring something to each one that the originals would never dream of—and that alone is worth the price of the (hard-to-get) ticket. (www.thehotrats.com)