None More Black - 7.4.08

Deep Sleep
7:30 PM

A few weeks ago, None More Black announced that they'd be doin a reunion show at Deep Sleep, and I got pretty excited. Their last full length was by far their best output, and they were always fun live. They were pretty underrated towards the end, and their lives shows had dwindling attendance, but I knew this show would be pretty crowded, especially considering Deep Sleep is about the size of an average living room. I wasn't at all prepared for how many people would show up. When Heather and I were walking around the city on Friday, we thought we'd swing by a few hours early and look for people we knew. When we got to the block, the line was a few hundred deep. Luckily, Bill (known to this blog of FEST fame) let us in early, and we got to relax with some friends in the air conditioning. After about an hour and a half of waiting, they jammed as many people as they could into the tiny storefront, and we grabbed a bit of space up on a bench, giving us a bird's eye view of the crowded room.

At just after 7:30, Jason launched into "We Dance on the Ruins of This Stupid Stage," and before long, the whole band kicked in and the room went nuts. Kids were excited and loving it, and the front of the room was a crowd singing along and inching ever closer, while a handful of people climbed the outside of the staircase and dove off. Unfortunately for the large crowd outside, within a few songs the windows were steamed up and could barely be seen through. The sweat was bordering on unbearable, and the photography of Jaime Avon on the walls curled and crumpled under the humidity. The band played for close to an hour and twenty minutes, and hit all of the best songs from all three releases. I was a little disappointed to hear some of the slower songs (namely "The Majestic"), but they also killed it with all my favorite songs from the Loud About Loathing EP.

Throughout the set there were a lot of breaks, as Jason seemed to struggle with his voice a bit, but I'm hoping that they continue playing, and that he rebuilds to a stronger level. Their energy was there, and watching Jared drum is always one of my favorites. His ending to "Drop the Pop" is always so strong, putting about as much headbanging as you can into a poppy punk band. They didn't have their limited vinyl release of This is Satire, and I'm really starting to wonder if that record will ever come out, but they did have limited shirts with CPM's face on LL Cool J's body, with "Don't Call it a Comeback" on the back. Not as good as AAJ's Toshi shirt, but up there. On a bummer note, we didn't make it to the show on Saturday at the Barbary, but that's ok since they were so much fun at Deep Sleep. I'm hoping that this reunion turns into more than just this weekend and that this band really gets some of the attention that This is Satire should have gotten them.

Below is a YouTube video of the first seven minutes of their set and a set list I saw on another board:


Dance
Peace
Reen

Under
Dinners
Opinions
Zing

Legwork
Ten Ton
Peanut Butter
London

Everyday
Genuine
State Lines

Wallpaper
Vacancy
Majestic
Single

D is Doorman