Cavestomp! Goes Out with Two Bangs; Dust to Dust and Type O Negative Set Stage for Brooklyn Blowout; Poster Fair Returns to NYC with Quintessential Yuppie Decoratives; Mini-Blurbs

"During the last year or so, between the attention we've been getting and the attendance and the sponsorships, other possibilities have made themselves available," says Cavestomp! founder Jon Weiss of his brainchild's demise. "There's a radio show in development and a television show in development for CableVision, modeled after American Bandstand or Shindig... We kind of want to turn off the live venue and focus on developing the radio element and the television series."

Jon Weiss started Cavestomp! in the mid-80s when he was in a New York rock act called the Vipers. At that time, garage rock, which John defines as music "in the classic tradition of the mid-60s underground punk bands," was a heavy-duty scene in New York and L.A. John got an excellent response when he organized a monthly showcase by and for the revival's major proponents: the Chesterfield Kings, Liars, Fleshtones and Vipers themselves.

As the 80s wore on, though, those groups broke up and John put Cavestomp! on hiatus. It took until '97 for him to arrange a sort of garage-band high school reunion. "Just to see who was still alive," he chuckles. "You know, this scene is riddled with burnouts, losers, no-accounts, and they just disappear off the face of the Earth... I got in touch with 80s garage bands and they all reactivated for the event. The icing on top was getting the original lineup of ? & the Mysterians. It was unbelievable."

From then on the Cavestomp! formula was set?go get a real live breathing performer of 60s garage, support him with some revivalist acts and put them all onstage "to rewrite rock 'n' roll history for a few nights," according to John. The Swingin' Neckbreakers, who are the band to start with if you don't know this stuff, followed, as did the public support of E Street guitarist, Sun City organizer and recent Sopranos gimmick Steven Van Zandt.

Capping a four-year run, the final Cavestomp! show features the Creation and the Electric Prunes and goes down next weekend (Nov. 3-4) at Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave. at Eckford St., Williamsburg, 718-387-5252). A more accessible party is this Saturday's celebration of the release of the definitive garage rock CD-ROM history Knights of Fuzz. That concert/drinking-opportunity-for-vinyl-geeks starts at Village Underground (130 W. 3rd St., betw. 6th Ave. & MacDougal St., 777-7745) at 9 p.m. and brings Sean Bonniwell and Ron Edgar of the Music Machine, the Fuzztones and Plasticland, which seems to be the only garage band without "the" in front of its name. Congrats, guys.

...Toward the modern strains of rock music, Brooklyn-bred act Dust to Dust have the opening slot on Type O Negative's Halloween tour, and as such they do a show at L'Amour this Sunday. Dust to Dust put out one of the better records of 2001, a self-titled debut that capitalizes on vocalist/bassist Rob Traynor's unabashed love for classic rock and Gary Numan.

"People think new wave is fake, you know, because of the synths," Traynor explains. "But if you listen to that stuff, it ain't fake. It's organic. They didn't have MIDI back then. The keyboards were being played just like the guitar, drums and bass."

Rob has a classic Brooklyn accent; his band's record oozes Kings County so much that it's a matter of pride to track it down if you live anywhere in the boro, even Williamsburg or Park Slope. The cover shows overturned shopping carts outside the Coney Island projects. The inside has a blurry b&w shot of the Wonder Wheel and songs like "Supadope" shouting out to Stillwell Ave. crackheads. It all works because Rob's songs are catchy and often anthemic (when he stays away from rap metal). The best one, "Mr. Doe," opens with a guitar-and-keyboard riff to die for.

"That song's about a deadbeat dad," Rob offers. "It's all in the lyrics. You know the lyric, 'The poison in your injection'? That's like your dick going into my mom."

Type O Negative hails from New York and with both bands coming to L'Amour (1545 63rd St., betw. 15th & 16th Aves., Brooklyn, 718-837-9506), the borough's biggest high-volume venue, this is going to be the drunkest, most Brooklyn-rocker party of the year?unfortunately, it's sold out, but scalped tickets are always available. Look for friends/family of the band(s), girls in leather of all ages (both the girls and the leather) and a standard cross-section of the Metal Head, from Skinny Pale Peach Fuzz to Big Dark Beer Beard. The rowdiness starts at 5 p.m. this Sunday and costs $21.

...Non-rowdiness, on the other hand, will be going on all weekend at this season's International Vintage Poster Fair. I mention it for three reasons. First of all, a vintage poster, such as an ad for a circus monkey or shaving device, can really spruce up the house. Second, the good folks of the poster fair are donating 100 percent of their earnings on opening night (Friday) to the New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund. And finally, the whole thing is sponsored by Wine Spectator magazine, which means that free champagne will abound.

Oh, and the staff is friendly and attractive. And the posters are as cheap as $100, so you might actually buy one. And you could discover, a la Antiques Road Orgy of Greed, that some tattered movie advertisement you have in your basement is worth $500.

The poster fair is at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 W. 18th St., betw. 6th & 7th Aves., 800-856-8069) this weekend. The Friday reception starts at 5 p.m. and costs $30 (that gets you champagne and unlimited entry Saturday and Sunday); check www.posterfair.com for additional times and ticket prices.

...Mini-Blurbs from a Thursday in Midtown East: Okay, how did E. 50th St. get hot? It's like, let's pick somewhere that's ass-end away from any desirable subway line and full of delis with $2 ATM surcharges. Grudgingly, I put my grievances aside to celebrate the release of Shecky's Bar, Club & Lounge Guide 2002 at One51 (151 E. 50th St., betw. 3rd & Lexington Aves., 753-1144). The guide itself (free with admission) is a bit bulky, certainly bigger than the 2001 model and out of bounds for any woman to carry around in her purse (it needs its own pocket in my computer bag). The party was great, however, maybe the first good one I'd seen since 9/11. ID scanners and guest lists out in front were all talk?what the Shecky's people really wanted was my $20. Once paid, I found an open bar that ran in installments from 7 to 9 and 10 to 11, an off-work crowd that was well-mixed racially and financially, and two floors packed with dancing. I ended up talking to some black girls from England. Here's to Shecky's. Get the guide if you don't have it.