Gather 'round children, while I share with you the story of the most thrilling, brutal, glorious noise ever to come storming out of the Great Northwest. Need a hint? Well it ain't Pearl Jam – I can tell you that. Back when Eddie Vedder and Courtney Love were going doody in their dighties, these guys were laying waste to everything that dared muster the nerve to cross their rock 'n' roll paths.

I am speaking, ladies and gents, of the mighty, mighty Sonics.

On November 2 to 4, Cavestomp — that most venerated of '60s garage- and punk-preserving institutions — will welcome the reunited Sonics to Brooklyn's Warsaw club for two shows. We were blown away when the festival brought '60s obscurities the Monks together to perform at the Big Apple’s Westbeth Theatre in 1999. But of all the rock 'n' roll reunions that I’ve witnessed, heard of, or dreamed about, this is the biggie. John Lennon rising from the grave to jam with Elvis wouldn’t inspire the kind of ardor I feel at the proposal of a Sonics reunion. Here's why:

Those old Sonics sides (many of which have been collected and made available to us geeks by the genius Norton Records label — bless you Billy and Miriam) simply blow the doors off of 90 percent of everything that ever claimed to be rock 'n' roll. In a word, these guys slayed.

Featuring the hair-raising vocals of Gerry Rosalie and the pounding tubs and ripping snare of drummer Bob Bennett, the band's song titles pretty much said it all: "Psycho," "Strychnine," "Boss Hoss," "Dirty Rubber," "The Witch". These guys weren't just coming for your daughter, they were coming for the whole family.

And they were punks too. Drake Levin from Paul Revere and the Raiders (contemporaries of the Sonics) told me that, when the two bands did shows together back in the day, the Sonics would scrawl obscene taunts on their bellies and stand in front of the Raiders while they played – harassing their colleagues by lifting their shirts in a testosterone-fueled chorus line. When I heard that, I knew I was in love.

While Bennett and original bassist Andy Parypa won't be there (still waiting for the scoop on that one), Rosalie, guitarist Larry Parypa, and sax man Rob Lind will. And the replacements are perfect: Dave Roland (from fellow Northwest '60s teen killers the Wailers) will play drums and Don Wilhelm from Seattle contemporaries the Daily Flash will play bass.

Head to the Cavestomp site to get ticket info and the rest of the news on the fest — which will also include reunited relics the Strawberry Alarm Clock, the New Colony Six, the Alarm Clocks, as well as a host of "second and third wave" garage bands including NYC garage greats the Fleshtones.

I'll most definitely see you there!


Wendy Case is the MOLI View's contributing editor for Arts & Entertainment.