Go sleeveless!

Year End Wrap Up

2008-12-27T09:53:00.001-08:00

And my last post with this blog.

My top 10, in some particular order.

LPs
1. Paint it Black - New Lexicon
2. Able Baker Fox - Voices
3. Blacklisted - Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God
4. Lemuria - Get Better
5. Frank Turner - Love, Ire and Song
6. Dustheads - Little Pieces (re-recording)
7. Dillinger Four - Civil War
8. Off With Their Heads - From the Bottom
9. Have Heart - Songs to Scream at the Sun
10. Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Honorable mention:
Bridge and Tunnel - East/West
Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas - Bristle Ridge
Braindead - No Consequences
Memorial - The Creative Process/Berlin

EPs
1. Title Fight - Kingston
2. Gaslight Anthem - Senor and the Queen
3. Crumbler - Dirty Weeks
4. The Steinways - Unoriginal Recipe
5. Dead to Me - Little brother

Revival Tour Sendspace

2008-10-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

Someone posted a torrent of this show out on the interweb, but it was FLAC. A friend of mine downloaded it and converted it for me. I haven't even listened yet, so I'm not sure on quality, but check it out.

Set list is from the torrent's info page. Seems pretty accurate, to the best of my recollection.

DOWNLOAD HERE

01. Intro>
02. Tim Barry-Shoulda Oughta
03. Chuck Ragan-Do You Pray
04. Jon Gaunt-Fiddle solo
05. Ben Nichols-Last Night In Town
06. Jesse Malin-Russian Roulette {Lords of the New Church cover}
07. Jesse Malin-Wendy
08. Jesse Malin-Leaving Babylon {Bad Brains cover}
09. Jesee Malin-Megan Don't Know
10. Jesse Malin-Black Haired Girl
11. Jesse Malin-Bastards of Young {Replacements cover}
12. Jesse Malin-Brooklyn
13. Jesse Malin-You Can Make Him Like You {Hold Steady cover}
14. Tim Barry-Exit Wounds
15. Tim Barry-On and On / Dog Bumped (part 1)
16. Tim Barry-Dog Bumped (part 2)
17. Tim Barry-Wait at Milano
18. Tim Barry-Avoiding Catatonic Surrender (part 1)
19. Tim Barry-Avoiding Catatonic Surrender (part 2)
20. Tim Barry-Church Of Level Track
21. Ben Nichols-Nights Like These
22. Ben Nichols-When You Decided to Leave
23. Ben Nichols-I Can Get Us Out Of Here
24. Ben Nichols-Toadvine
25. Ben Nichols-San Francisco
26. Ben Nichols-Hate and Jealousy
27. Ben Nichols-Nobody's Darlings
28. Ben Nichols-What are You Willing to Lose
29. Ben Nichols-The War / The Last Pale Light In The West
30. Chuck Ragan-California Burritos
31. Chuck Ragan-Between The Lines
32. Chuck Ragan-Don’t Cry
33. Chuck Ragan-It’s What You Will (part 1)
34. Chuck Ragan-It’s What You Will (part 2)
35. Chuck Ragan-Open Up And Wail
36. Chuck Ragan-Bleeder (Alkaline Trio)
37. Chuck Ragan-Geraldine
38. Chuck Ragan-The Boat
39. Chuck Ragan-God Deciding (Hot Water Music)
40. Chuck Ragan-Symmetry
41. Chuck Ragan-Bloody Shells
42. Chuck Ragan-For Broken Ears (w/Dave Hause [from the Loved Ones])
43. Ben Nichols-Hold Fast
44. Tim Barry-Idle Idylist
45. Chuck Ragan-Revival Road

Frank Turner - Love, Ire and Song

2008-10-17T17:31:00.001-07:00

Frank Turner - Love, Ire, and Song
X-tra Mile (England)

A year ago, my friend Mike started telling me all about Frank Turner, but I sort of didn't pay attention. I'm not sure why, but holy hell did I miss out. Recently, someone showed me mp3s of this new album, which Mike hadn't told me about. I checked it out on a whim, and was absolutely floored. From the first time I listened, I was blown away. For the last few weeks it's been hard for me to turn this off, and the only reason I do is so that I don't burn myself out on it. I'll try to keep from gushing further, but I make no promises.

Frank Turner is a singer/songwriter from England, which immediately leads to Billy Bragg comparisons. While they've valid, they're not entirely accurate. Turner is a much more layered songwriter, and his guitar parts are interesting, whether solo or with a full band setting. There are more upbeat and energetic songs like "Imperfect Tense" and "Reasons Not to Be an Idiot," as well as slower, more relaxed songs such as "Substitute" and "A Love Worth Keeping." Some songs are mostly Turner, while others contain all sorts of various instrumentation.

What makes this record truly great, however, is the lyrical content. As a 25 year old, constantly struggling with the battle of getting older and "maturing," while still enjoying my youth, Turner seems to have written the soundtrack to my last year. Ideas of moving into adult, while still thinking "I won't sit down, I won't shut up, and most of all I will not grow up" speak to disillusioned mid-twenties everywhere. You know that feeling you get when you realize that you're just another person stuck in the 9-5, and "punk rock didn't live up to what (you'd) hope that it could be"? Yup, Turner knows that too. There's a sense of disillusionment on this record that runs deep, but is coupled with a feeling of youthful optimism that makes you feel like it will all work out.

This album seriously surprised me and came out of nowhere, but it's easily in my top three records of the year and I can't recommend it enough. It was originally released in England, but you can get import versions (CD) on Amazon for reasonable prices. I'm hoping to track down the vinyl in the near future. I have enough CDs that are now "coasters for beer and clean surfaces for drugs," sings Frank.*

*PS. Happy edge day! Mine is sharp as ever.

The Revival Tour - 10.10.08

2008-10-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

The First Unitarian Church
8:30 PM

I've been to a lot of really great shows this past year, but lately I've found myself pretty strapped for cash and resigned to a lot of weekends on my couch watching reruns of bad tv shows and screwing around online. It takes a lot for me to make it out to a show lately, and unfortunately, I haven't been able to make it to a lot of killer shows. One show that I refused to miss was The Revival Tour, featuring Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry, and Ben Nichols. This wasn't billed as your standard three-act show. Each artist was going to be in and out throughout the night, playing songs together, as well as independently. They wanted to recreate the feel of old vaudeville shows, and the result was awe inspiring.

To start the night, Chuck, Tim, Ben, and a handful of supporting musicians all hit the stage. Digger Barnes manned the upright bass, John Gaunt played fiddle, and I'm not sure of the pedal steel player's name, but he killed it all night. Initially, this "supergroup" played a handful of songs together, including some of their "hits." After this disbanded, Jesse Malin hit the stage and played a semi-solo set. He was accompanied by some of the backing band, as well as a keyboard/accordian playing woman. I was ok with his set for a few songs, but after a while it just dragged on. He played a Bad Brains cover, as well as a Hold Steady song and "Bastards of Young" by the Replacements (which he slowed to a crawl and made painful). All in all, a lackluster performance. The lucky shows following this had Frank Turner in his place, and other strings of dates have Sundowner, Austin Lucas, and Tom Gabel. I guess Philly got the short end of the stick.

Next, Richmond's favorite son Tim Barry played a nice mix of his solo songs, and got the crowd pretty into it. The sing-a-longs for "Dogbumped" and "Avoiding Catatonic Surrender" had a punk rock intensity, and "Exit Wounds" secured its place as one of my favorite Tim songs. He didn't play any Avail songs, but it didn't matter. He sounded great, and despite the fact that his songs are simple and repetitive, his intensity and sincerity are blatantly obvious.

Lucero was never a band that I was super into, but I've always enjoyed the Ben Nichols solo songs I've seen on YouTube. Needless to say, I was really impressed live. He's a fun showman, despite hobbling around on crutches and sitting for a majority of the set. I didn't recognize any of the songs, but Jon Loudon informed me that they were all Lucero songs, so I'm going to have to check them out more thoroughly.

There's not much that can be said about Chuck Ragan. Hot Water Music is one of the biggest influences on my music collection, and Chuck's solo stuff has been plentiful and inspiring over the last year or two. Live, he delivered yet again. Any of the solo songs that I could've asked for were played, as well as "Bleeder," "God Deciding," and "California Burritos." He played mandolin, guitar, and harmonica with such excitement that it was hard to not just stare in unadulterated awe. I make it a point to see him whenever he comes around in any form (HWM or solo), and I can honestly say that he's one of my two favorite songwriters of all time.

After Chuck's "solo" sstuff they whole band came out for a few more songs, including closing with "Revival Road," which they recorded just two days later. Grab it! As a whole, this was by far one of the best shows that I was lucky enough to catch this year, and I'm hoping that I get to see any and each of the performers again in the near future. It's great to see a tour built on genuine friendship and respect, both personally and musically, and that's exactly what The Revival Tour is.

Bridge and Tunnel - East/West

2008-09-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

Bridge and Tunnel - East/West
No Idea Records

A few years ago, it felt like Latterman was playing every show I went to, and I really couldn't care less. It was odd, because they were a band that I should enjoy. Scratchy punk with melodic hooks, big bears, and that No Idea records sound. For some reason, it never stuck, and because of that, I wrote off Bridge and Tunnel from the outset. Well, that was a shame, because I've really come to love their debut full length, East/West.

Starting off with "Wartime Souvenirs," one would think that this is a more punk rock record, picking up where Latterman left off. But to make that assumption would be thinking a little too quickly. While there is a definite punk feel, this is more of a gruff indie rock record, not unlike Domestica era Cursive. Dense layers of fuzzy guitars weave together, almost reminding you of Minus the Bear (particularly on songs like "Night Owls" and "Dear Sir" due to the drums). They're technical and noodley, but not as precise as Minus the Bear. There's an underlying Kinsella vibe as well (Cap'n Jazz and American Football), but this is mostly in the music.

As stated above, the vocals have a very Cursive sound, with a hoarse shout from singer/guitarist Jeff, and a mix of female vocals from Rachel and Tia (guitar and drums, respectively). What really helps to make this band interesting is the lyrical content. There is a current of optimism to the record, with a positivity that borders on cheesy but never goes overboard. The rallying cry to "build something better," both personally, socially, and globally fills the record, and it's obvious that they're passionate about what they care about, which is important.

I'm disappointed in myself for sleeping on this band for so long, but I'm glad that I've finally checked them out and realized what all the hype was about. Unfortunately, I'm sure I missed a lot of great shows they've turned in over the past few months. Luckily I saw them at Party Mansion last month and will see them at Fest next month. Burn your sleeves!

Broadways Calls - s/t

2008-09-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

Broadway Calls - s/t
Adeline Records

Fuck, this is good. Like, really pretty damn good. I really didn't want to like this band, kind of based of what I read on the internet about them, and this album art. I expected it to be super poppy and cheesy, and really something that I'd hate. So, a few weeks ago, I saw that they had a video ("Call It Off") on On Demand. I decided to throw it on, and it kind of fit what I'd expected. It was super poppy, and definitely radio-friendly pop punk. But, there whether it was the stage dives, decent band t-shirts (and I'm 99% sure a HWM tattoo!), or underlying Green Day inflection to the vocals, I got the feeling that this was pop punk by fairly legit punk rock kids. It was enough that it made me check out the full length. And I liked it. A lot.

The song "Call it Off" from the video is the first from the record, and the Myspace profile song "Back to Oregon" are two of the first three songs, and are both undeniably good pop songs. But, the rest of the record shows a band with equal footing in radio pop punk and the East Bay circa 1992. This record is full of buzz-saw guitars, a singer who sounds like he's trying to sound semi-British (ala Jawbreaker and Green Day), but with big vocal hooks and choruses. Gang vocals and "whoa-ohs" are all over this record, as are fast tempos and lyrics of growing up, hitting the road (and the inevitable return home), and of course girls and relationships.

While this record is sure to turn off the hardcore and punk purists, I can honestly say that I'm impressed by it. It's a bit long (14 songs, 40+ minutes), but there's enough variety and musicianships, and hooks to fill it up. I'm looking forward to hearing what else these guys come up with, and to checking out their split with Teenage Bottlerocket. Maybe all the teenyboppers that these guys attract will find them as a great springboard into even more legitimate pop punk, like Green Day fans did back with Dookie. And even if they don't, I'd rather have kids watch this video on On Demand than a lot of the crap on there.

Banner Pilot - Resignation Day

2008-09-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Banner Pilot - Resignation Day
Go-Kart Records

In the review of the Monikers full length (below!), I referenced the split between them and Banner Pilot. I was more impressed with the two Banner Pilot songs on that 7", and that carried over to the debut full lengths from those bands. Resignation Day is a solid debut full length that shows a lot of energy and excitement from this Minneapolis pop punk band.

Saying Minneapolis should give at least some indication of where these guys are coming from, as that D4/OWTH sound is pretty pervasive on this record. Of course, Banner Pilot shares a member with Off With Their Heads, so this isn't too surprisingly. Musically, it's similar, but Banner Pilot has a slicker, more polished feel to it. It's still gruff, scratchy, and undeniably pop punk, but the thick guitars and upbeat drums give it a slightly cleaner feel than OWTH, or split-mates Monikers.

If I had one gripe about this release, it's that it's not out on vinyl yet, and I have yet to hear any plans for it's release. That said, it's a minor complaint for a solid debut. If you're into the aforementioned Minneapolis sound, or bands like Lawrence Arms or even Jawbreaker, Banner Pilot is definitely a band worth checking out. Their split with Monikers was a great introduction, and this debut full length has been getting a lot of play from me. I can't wait to check em out at Fest this year!

Monikers - Wake Up

2008-09-20T11:10:00.001-07:00

Monikers - Wake Up
Kiss of Death Records

A while ago I got my hands on some mp3s of the Banner Pilot and Monikers split 7 inch. I was impressed by both sides and looked forward to hearing more from both of these gruff Jawbreaker-ish pop punk bands. Luckily, both of them released full lengths this year! I was really excited to hear Wake Up, the recent LP by Monikers, especially when I found out that they consisted of multiple ex-members of Discount and would be in Philly in September (fuck, did I miss that show?)

Well, I'm kinda disappointed in this record. It has that scratchy vocal and fuzzy guitar sound of The Lawrence Arms, before they really started to tighten it up. This record (and band) have a ton of potential, but it's never really reached on this LP. The songs seem to blend together, with little separating the tracks (until the closing acoustic track, which is boring of it's own merit).

The songs all plod along at a slightly above mid-tempo feel, and fuzzy, slightly distorted guitars never really do enough to make it interesting. There are moments when they really slow it down, and add some different guitar layering (the bridge in "Papers") and it provides a nice change. I've heard some complaints on the production of this record, and I could see why. It's a bit muffled sounding, which could really add to a band like this, but instead hinders them here.

While I was typing this, I checked and I didn't miss that Philly show, and I'm still going to go check them out. This record is good, but with some many bands doing this style better, there's really no reason to give this particular LP too many more listens. There's a lot of potential here, and I'm hoping that they can live up to it on their next release.

Have Heart / Conor Oberst / The Hold Steady / The Tim Version

2008-09-19T13:13:00.004-07:00

Four mini reviews! I've never really done this before, but I'm going to try to review these four records in about 100 words or less. That seems challenging! There are two reasons for this. The first is that I've been meaning to review these records for a while now and have yet to do it. The second is that I'm honestly not too familiar with most of these artists, or at least somewhat out of touch with their recent output (in the case of Conor Oberst). So, I'll give you my initial thoughts, without really being able to compare in the grand scheme of their catalog.

Have Heart - Songs to Scream at the Sun (Bridge 9)
I’ve never really paid attention to Have Heart, so I wasn’t expecting this record to grab me, but from the outset, I was pretty impressed. This dude is pisssed and it shows. The music seems a bit slower and more layered than what I’ve heard of old Have Heart (which is minimal). This almost reminds me of Modern Life is War, but less accessible, if that makes sense. In short: dense guitars, scathing vocals, more mid-tempo parts. Oh, and straight edge, which is usually a negative for me (how ironic!), but I like this. Weird.

Conor Oberst - s/t (Merge Records)
From the very beginning of this record, it’s obvious that Conor Oberst is in a very different place than he was the last time I listened to any of his work. This record has a folksy element to it, with lots of nice storytelling and a comfortable feel. It almost seems like he’s having fun! This was a pleasant surprise, as the last few Bright Eyes records never got much play from me. I wish I’d found this record at the beginning of the summer, as it seems like nice summertime relaxing music.

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive (Vagrant Records)
The first two songs on this record are a whole new level of catchy. The opening windows-down, summertime anthem “Constructive Summer” backed with “Sequestered in Memphis” really set the bar high, and unfortunately the rest of the album just can’t keep up. I like some songs, particularly “Stay Positive” and “Joke About Jamaica,” but other songs, like “Navy Sheets” kill me. It’s solid rock and roll, with Springsteen comparisons abound, but I’d like more guitars and less keys/synths. Bonus points for D4, Youth of Today, and 7Seconds lyrical references.

The Tim Version - Decline of the Southern Gentleman (No Idea Records)
There was a brief moment that I thought the Tim Version record was one of the best records of the year. I was blasted with gruff vocals, high energy, and the No Idea sound. A few songs in, though, that excitement started to fade. Don’t get me wrong; it’s good but nothing mindblowing. If you’re into No Idea records, with the fast energy of Radon, the gruffness of HWM, and the folksiness of early Against Me!, this is sure to appeal to you. I bet they like whiskey and porches. Don’t sell your HWM records for this, but check it out.

Dillinger Four - C I V I L W A R

2008-09-19T13:13:00.003-07:00

Dillinger Four - C I V I L W A R
Fat Wreck Chords

After a much too long delay, the almighty D4 are back with their first LP in years. After delaying the recording and release of C I V I L W A R for what seems like an eternity, it's finally leaked to the internet, and has a release date set! I generally try to wait to review records until they're actually out, but I can't wait for this one. I'll be pre-ordering ASAP, and losing my mind in Florida for all of the new songs.

As it stands, I think this is the worst Dillinger Four record. However, that's saying very little, because a bad D4 record still slays 95% of bands putting out music right now. On the whole, it's evident from the outset that this is a slower, poppier record. Eric sings a majority of the record, with very few songs being led by Paddy or Billy. The first song, "A Jingle For the Product" sounds like vintage D4, with a slower edge, but catchy hooks, politically and socially conscious lyrics, and a nice pop punk feel.

The third song, parishiltonisametaphor, is the first to feature Paddy and Billy more prominently, and their gruff voices are a welcome sound. I can't wait to hear the banter surrounding this song live, as Paddy tells us "around here diva ain't much of a compliment". "Gainesville" is shaping up to be the hit, with a disgustingly catchy chorus about Fest, and a strong ending about staying young and the passing of time. Sing-a-longs for this song will be great.

"The Classical Arrangement" is the slowest and most "atmospheric" D4 has ever sounded, but a lot of people all over the internet seem to be in love with the line "The world turns to a desert while you pray for rain," and the ending of the song builds to a nice uptempo climax. "Fruity Pebbles" may be the poppiest song the boys have ever turned in, with Paddy making some striking similarities to Mark Hoppus. I shit you not.

Even though this album seems a bit slower, and pretty damn melodic, it's great to have another D4 record. It's really unfair to most other bands how damn good these guys. They have an unreal ability to combine the political, the social, and the personal into one song, and do it in a poppy yet punk rock way. All three vocalists have a unique sound, and while I'd like to hear more Paddy and Billy on this record, they do have enough of a presence to provide a contrast to Eric's voice. This is best shown in "Like Eye Contact in an Elevator," which (aside from the bridge) has arguably the most classic D4 sound, with fast tempos and vocal interplay between Paddy and Eric.

It's great to have a new record from one of the best bands in the game, and it's interesting to see them playing so many shows of late. Part of what made them so intriguing to people was their hermit-like approach to shows outside of Minneapolis, but lately they've been a bit more busy. So, go see them, pick up this record when it comes out, and see what most bands can't do. Best dudes.

Into It. Over It - 52 Songs

2008-09-19T13:13:00.002-07:00

Into It. Over It. - 52 Songs
Self-released

This has been a hard record for me to categorize and I wasn't really sure how I was going to write it up, originally. For those that haven't heard me gush about this project, I'll copy and paste what Evan himself has to say about it:

my name is evan thomas weiss.

i have spent years writing, recording and touring in bands. THE PROGRESS, DAMIERA and UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A START are a couple (among many others).

on thursday, september 27th 2007, i turned 23. i've noticed that my last few years have gone by rather quickly. to combat (or encourage..?) this movement in my life, i have been writing and recording one song every week of my 23rd year. ...roughly 52 songs.

the first song was posted on 9/27/2007. i will balance 6 songs on this page (always hosting the most current song) while hosting a link on this site where you can download (or stream) all of the other songs -- this website (www.intoitoverit.com) will be updated every thursday. if you'd like me to play a show, you can send me a message here or e-mail me.

while this is mainly a project to keep myself motivated, i hope you enjoy it and check back every week. this is my autobiography.

anyway -- thanks so much and enjoy!!

Yesterday, Evan finished this project and put up the last song, capping a year's worth of songs. Over the span of the 52 track span, he has covered a wide range of styles and topics. There have been great guest spots, and an overall unique approach to songwriting. Each week is available on his site, with unique artwork, lyrics, and any applicable notes for the track. Most songs were recorded by Steve Poponi at his studio, with certain songs being recorded by Evan himself, or one of his new bandmates in Damiera.

The songs generally fall into one of two categories stylistically, although not entirely. Many of the songs have a "solo" artist feel, with Evan and an acoustic guitar. Extra guitar work, small percussion parts, or backing vocals add to these, but they retain a personal, singer/songwriter vibe. Other songs have a full "band" which consists of Evan playing most instruments, and Jason Dinapoli (The Progress), Mike Howard (Emergency!), or Steve Poponi (Up Up...) playing drums. All of the drummers have a unique feel that add to the songs, with Howard's being a bit more bombastic, Jason's being technical, and Steve's being more relaxed. I'm not sure how much of this style had to do with their availability, or a choice by Evan, but they fit well.

The autobiography aspect of the project means that the lyrics are very important and relevant to Evan at the time of the song's release. Some are serious and introspective ("Batsto", "22 Syllables"), while others deal with parties and Rock Band ("A Song About Your Party", "Friday at Brian's"). It's funny that even though these are his biography, I've found myself associating songs with the time of the year that they were released, and at times can associate my own memories with them. In that way I've really enjoyed this project and it's kind of meant a lot to me.

As far as favorites go, I have to go with most of the full band tracks. "Heartificial" is a straight forward rocker, and "Fak It" crashing feel to it. "A Song About Your Party" and "Ashley's Big Adventure" are my favorite back-to-back tracks in the whole thing, and the former contains some of my favorite lyrics of any of his songs. "Next Stop Olympics" has more of the Howard crashing drums that make the chorus super memorable, and "The Liquor Your Older Friends Bought" has my favorite bridge. And these are all in the first 15 songs!

The second half of the year started with a jab at The Progress and their indefinite hiatus with Evan proclaiming that "my van should have three times the mileage," but luckily they are on hiatus because we got 26 more killer songs. At times on "Can I Buy a Vowel?" you'd swear you were listening to a Ben Gibbard b-side, and "Dude-a-form" condemns Warped Tour "punks." Jon Loudon's guest spot on "Blaaarg" is husky as hell and adds a nice contrast to Evan's much cleaner voice. Towards the end, a lot of the songs deal with packing up and moving on (as I believe Evan's girlfriend moved) and touring (as Evan joined Damiera and got to hit the road). The project ended this week with a quiet song claiming "I don't have a single thing on my mind tonight besides finishing this project. I know you were expecting something epic but this is all my tired mind could provide." I'm not sure what I was expecting for a finale, but I will say that it ended well, and I was not let down.

Be sure to head to intoitoverit.com and download all 52 tracks before he takes them down. I know he intends to have them all released at some point, with better mixes and mastering, but who knows when that will be. If you've already slept on this, get downloading!

Interview - Evan Weiss (Into It. Over It.)

2008-09-19T13:13:00.001-07:00

1. Ok, you have friends in from out of town. What five places in Philly do you take them?
A: Golden Empress, Long In The Tooth, Rittenhouse Square, First Unitarian Church, North 3rd

2. Favorite venue in Philadelphia to play? Favorite to see a show?

A: Play: Circle Of Hope / See: First Unitarian Church

3. Favorite all-time show(s) you've seen in Philly?

A: When I was something like 15, I saw Death Cab For Cutie w/ Bright Eyes and Pedro The Lion at the 4040. Think about if that happened now. I really miss places like The Killtime. Every show I ever saw there was great.

4. Top current Philadelphia area bands?

A: Algernon Cadwallader, Paint It Black, Pissed Jeans

5. Top all-time Phiadelphia area bands?

A: Ink & Dagger, Dead Milkmen, Kid Dynamite

6. What records are you loving right now? (Not just Philly bands)

A: Too many, always.

7. Best food in Philly. Which is your top spot for each?

A: I'm just going to list my personal favorites...

Pizza? Lorenzo's
Burrito/Mexican? None. None of it's good.
Cheesesteak (vegan counts)? Jim's.
Chinese? Golden Empress
Other? The wings at North 3rd are the best I've ever had.

8. Closing up, what do you guys have planned for the near future? Shows/records/tours/etc?

A: Finishing 52 songs. Releasing all of them on CD/LP. Touring. Word is bond.

thanks man.

Jena Berlin / Bridge and Tunnel / Scream Hello / Algernon Cadawallader - 8.28.08

2008-09-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

Party Mansion
8PM

So, this is about a month late. I've really been slacking on the blog lately, and that's a bummer because I've actually been listening to a lot of great music. Unfortunately, with school starting up and my pocket situation being a bit dire, I haven't been to a show since this one. Wow, that's bad. It's almost been a month! I need to remedy that soon to gear up for Fest!

So it appears that Jena Berlin shows at Party Mansion bookended my summer. One with Stay Sharp and Landmines was on the last day that I had classes, and this show was the last weekend before I got my students back. Pretty wild. Regardless, this was a really fun show, and a nice get-down to end the summer. I'll keep it brief, since at this point the review is pretty irrelevant.

Algernon played first and turned in a similar set to the last time I saw them at Party Mansion. Similar songs and similar kids getting into it. There were a good amount of people there, and as usual, Algernon (again as a three-piece) didn't disappoint. The aforementioned light wallet kept me from picking up an LP yet again, but I'll get one sooner or later.

Scream Hello was next, and was impressive. I like this band a lot. Part of them remind me of Braid, but a bit slicker and less awkward. My only gripe is that all of their songs seem to be at least five minutes long. I feel like I'd enjoy them a lot more (particularly live) if they exercised their editing skills a bit and cut their songs and sets down. They didn't play too many songs, which was good and kept it from getting toooo long, but a little discretion in the writing process would interest me a bit. Regardless, they were energetic and seemed to really have fun playing, which is always a positive. Their new record is good (albeit long, obviously), so check it out when it comes out!

Because of how much I used to dislkike Latterman, I never really gave Bridge and Tunnel a shot. Recently I listened to a stream of their new LP and realized I'd dropped the ball. I really like their heavy, but still very indie rock feel, almost like Domestica-era Cursive. Everyone who had seen them previously said that they were much tighter than before, which is good to hear, as I intend to pay a lot more attention to these guys and girls. Do yourself a favor and pre-order (because it's STILL not out) their new LP on No Idea. Seriously.

The night and summer ended with a strong set from Jena Berlin (as a five piece again! I can't keep up with their lineups). This was much tighter than their infamous set at the Party Mansion earlier in the summer. Either way, there's not much I can say about this band that I haven't already. Awesome dudes, awesome music, and I hear they just destroyed the entire continent of Europe. I hope they remember to bring me back my Quo Vadimus German press LP.

Memorial - The Creative Process / Berlin

2008-08-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Memorial - The Creative Process / Berlin
Flight Plan Records

For those of you still mourning the breakup of Quicksand, or, more recently, Renee Heartfelt, can fill that empty void in your music collection with this new LP from Memorial. From the crushing opening riffs of "Who Are We To Say?" it's obvious that this is heavy post-hardcore with a melodic side. It's not unlike the aforementioned bands, particular with the familiar crooning of Pete Applebee.

Aside from the headbanging of the opening track, these eight songs vacillate between heavy riffage and softer, slower songs with a lot more swirling atmosphere. "Sideways" is a nice midtempo rocker with lots of dynamic changes, lead by Pete's voice, which I love. The song builds and fades well, giving it an epic feel that flows through the whole album. Every song paints a vivid picture and is well crafted to give it a feeling.

The opening vocals and guitar on "Spades" are catchy and get stuck in your head as soon as you listen to it, before speeding up and building. This faster track leads right into "The Creative Process," which is the first slower song of the album, with layered guitar tracks, and huge dynamics. Definitely a crushing song.

The Berlin half of the record continues with an even more epic sound, lead off by the shortest track on the record ("Berlin"), and the possibly the heaviest riffage ("1933"). It's nice to see that the B-side of the this doesn't slow down or get weaker; instead, it seems to get better as it goes on. There are more acoustic guitars and quiet/loud transitions, which showcase pounding drums, creative guitar work, and Applebee's great voice.

It's taken forever for this to come out, and I'm still waiting for my screened pre-order, but this is definitely a strong debut for these guys, sure to get a ton of spins from Quicksand devotees and people hankerin' for another Renee Heartfelt record.

Paint it Black / Ceremony / Blacklisted - 8.18.08

2008-08-19T09:50:00.001-07:00

Party Mansion
8PM

When Ceremony got denied from Canada, they needed to find a few days worth of shows to fill time before the quickly approaching This is Hardcore Fest. Andy Nelson and the residents of Party Mansion stepped up, and the show got set up for Monday night, with about two days notice. The supporting bands weren't announced; the lineup merely said "Ceremony and friends." Now, it doesn't take much to realize that Ceremony has recently toured with both Paint it Black and Blacklisted, both of whom are at home right now. I had a feeling that at least one of these bands were going to be playing, but was stoked when Mike got a call as we were heading over saying that both were. All three of these bands in a tiny ass basement would prove to be an outrageous time.

We got there and saw a lot of friends, ate some food, and hung out until about 8 when Blacklisted was about to start. The basement at Party Mansion was extra sweaty and smelly, as this was by far the most crowded I'd seen this house. I came in right as they were about to start, so I was toward the back of the room and had a hard time seeing until I could weasel my way up a bit, but they sounded great, and played mostly songs from Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the only song they played from earlier material was "Long Way Home." They sounded huge, and kids were really into them. George got a lot of help with the sing-a-longs from the crowd, and kids were going off. They announced that they'll be working on a new LP, and I'm pretty sure he said the title was When People Grow, People Go and he made sure to give shout outs to all of the other bands playing, and some other locals for their new releases this year. It had been a little while since I'd seen them, so it was good to see them turn in such a powerful set.

After a walk to the corner Chinese spot to get a tall can of Arizona half-and-half, I made it back in time to sneak right up front for Ceremony. I hadn't seen them since This is Hardcore last summer, but both that set and their set at the Church a few months prior were both killer. They got some of the biggest responses I've ever seen, and for as fast and thrashy as they are, they always sound tight. They got a lot of kids into it last night, but I guess it's obvious they aren't really the "hype band" they were a year ago. Either way, they sounded good, and as energetic as I expected. I don't know the new album super well, but was glad to hear most of the songs I really enjoy from Violence, Violence. These songs also seemed to get the best crowd reaction, although kids were into a lot of the new songs as well. As expected, a fun set from a band that I love live.

Well, it had been about a month since I'd seen Paint it Black, so it was about time again. I came in a bit late, since I was busy discussing the intricacies of pizza and pizza making strategies with Robby Redcheeks, but came down to see Paint it Black turn in another tight set, as usual. They played a nice mix of songs, including "the three good ones." Andy was a bit more "chatty" than usual, but he made sense talking about the segregation in the hardcore scene, and how some people thought it was weird that these three bands would be playing a show in a West Philly basement. I dunno about weird; I thought it was a nice venue, and good to see a show where there are three bands who are all so different and working to push the boundaries of hardcore. Either way, the crowd had thinned out a bit by this point, but kids were into it, and it was a typical sweaty sing-a-long Paint it Black set - much better than seeing them in the monstrous setting like Terminal 5.

Regardless of whether or not people thought this was a weird show, I thought it was one of the best shows I've been to in a long time. I got to meet some nice new people and see some friends that I hadn't seen in a while. I got to see three great hardcore bands play killer sets in an intimate setting, all supporting great records that they have released this year. If you haven't yet, go pick up Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God, New Lexicon, and Still Nothing Moves You. If you're going to This is Hardcore this weekend, you'll see all of these great bands, as well as a plethora of others.

The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound

2008-08-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
SideOneDummy Records

You know that feeling of being super excited for something, only to be disappointed? That's how I felt when I watched the Seinfeld finale. I was a huge fan of the show, and when it ended, I thought that the finale was a cop out and I hated it. However, after watching it now-countless times, and seeing how it fits in with the rest of the series, I've grown to love it. Even close to ten years later, I can still watch it and find something new that I love about it.

The Gaslight Anthem is similar to Seinfeld. Much like early episodes of the classic sitcom, their first record showed promise, but had some bumps along the way. Towards the middle, they blew up and received near-unanimous praise for their new breed of sitcom and teaser EP Senor and the Queen. And finally, at the end of the line, Seinfeld and the Gaslight Anthem ended with a record that eschewed expectation, but tied everything together well.

The most recent Gaslight record, The '59 Sound, was high at my biggest disappointments of the year list when I first listened to it. Now, a month later, I know it front to back, and feel like it may even be stronger than their debut full length. Much like Seinfeld did in it's finale, the Gaslight makes countless references and illusions to what brought them their newfound success on this record. Lyrical references to Maria, driving, the radio, and the beach give a familiar feeling and bring the first records to mind without completely rehashing them.

The record starts off with "Great Expectations," which wouldn't have been my choice for an opener, but the title track comes second, and is a great choice for a first single. It's catchy, memorable, and is hard to deny as a catchy, classic rock song. "Film Noir" is the first song to really break up the mid-tempo rock that causes some of the first songs to blend together, and has a slow, dark feel to it (ala film noir), and shows the record branching out. Oddly enough, I feel like the beginning of the record is the weakest, and it gains steam as it moves on.

Singer Brian Fallon has a nice knack for stroytelling, which he has stepped up on this record. He often draws comparisons to Springsteen, and while this is accurate, his voice occasionally brings to mind a more rock and roll, less soul Joe Cocker. As the record progresses, the styles of the record expand out, with "Casanova Baby" providing a very old time rock and roll feel, "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" slowing down with a logical bluesy feel, and "The Backseat" starting off almost like a Killers song, with rapid fire snare rolls.

As I've already said, the record ends much stronger than it begins, and the last two or three songs may be my favorite, with "Here's Looking At You, Kid" taking the stripped down acoustic feel they touched on with "Blue Jeans and White T-Shirts," and really nailing it. I think this album could really use a re-sequencing to break it up a bit and possibly add to the flow of it. This is one of my biggest complaints with this record. I also find the recording of this record frustrating. Brian's voice has a strange echo sound to it, which takes away from a lot of the impact of it. No recording has yet to do his voice justice, as live he sounds much stronger. I think the guitars also need to be beefed up in spots. There's a great, crunchy guitar sound used to in "The '59 Sound" for the pre-chorus that could be used to give a bit more energy and life to some of the faster songs, instead of the slightly bland guitar tone with very little bite.

As I've come to love the Seinfeld finale that originally bummed me out tremendously, this record has grown on me to the point that it will certainly be in my tops of the year, which was not what I thought upon the first few listens. I can see this band getting huge on this record IF people are willing to look past it's fairly different sound. It's definitely a much more rock and roll record, which is great, but I could see a lot of "punks" not getting it. This band has worked hard for everything they've gotten so far, and put out three quality records so far, so I hope they get the success they deserve.

Metroplex / Restorations - 7.29.08

2008-08-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

The Khyber
8:30PM

Since Restorations consists of a bunch of dudes without cars, it became my job to work as the Restorations tour van for the night. So, I picked Mike up, and we loaded a ton of gear into my car and headed down to the Khyber to unload. After I parked my car and picked Heather up from the train station, I was stoked to see that Restorations added us to the guestlist and I didn't have to pay! Sweet, thanks guys!

At right around 8:30, they started up. I moved back a little bit farther from the stage this time, since the sound at the last show was a little off. Moving back allowed me to hear them more, and get a better feel for the sound, as compared to the first show. They sounded surprisingly tight, considering they haven't really been able to practice as much as they should due to Mike's messed up hands. Despite that, they were tight and pretty on point. There were a few missteps along the way, but nothing glaring. Jon sang more than I thought he did at the first show, but he seemed more comfortable playing guitar and singing this time around (up until the ending of the last song!). It was a nice second show for these guys, and people seemed to be into them. Hopefully they get some recordings done soon, although with Mike's hands, and Jena Berlin going to Europe for a few weeks, I'm not entirely sure when we'll see these.

During Generro, Heather and I ran to get food, so I can't really give a review of them. Metroplex played third, in a rare live show for them, but at least in the common setting of the Khyber. I came in partway into their set, and enjoyed it as usual. I've only seen them a few times, but they're always energetic and fun to watch. I kind of wish they would play more or take the band a bit more seriously, because there aren't too many bands doing that kind of sound around here. They're scratchy and fast at times, but slowed down and full of slick guitar work at others. I've heard them do a solid Jawbreaker cover once before, but not on this night. Instead, they opted for a Hot Snakes cover. They sound full for a three piece. Part of that is due to a thickly distorted bass sound, and the rest is due to their guitarists pretty unique style, which I like a lot. All in all, a good showing for this band who I wish I heard more from.

Person L played last, which is the new solo-ish project from Kenny of the Starting Line, and I can't say that I was overly interested, so I walked Heather to catch a train back, then got some pizza with Mike and Steve Vainberg. Good dudes, good times. As soon as Person L was done a very bloated set, I ran to grab my car, and helped to load out Restorations gear. They're playing the Khyber again with Weston in about a month, which should be fun. Come on out!

Off With Their Heads - From the Bottom

2008-07-29T06:49:00.001-07:00

Off With Their Heads - From the Bottom
No Idea Records

It's finally here! After waiting for what seems like an eternity, I finally have a copy of Off With Their Heads' debut full length on No Idea! 2007 saw a whole host of splits and collections and all kinds of stuff that wasn't a full length, but now it's finally here, and it was worth the wait.

Starting off with "I Am You," it's obvious that the optimism Ryan showed in his lyrics on their split with The Measure (SA) is gone. Lyrics about hating life, not getting anything right, and sleeping alone. Ah, this is the Ryan that we know and love. I like that he extends his misery out onto the listener. "There's a little bit of me in everyone." And while we may not all be miserable to the point that he is, this record does a good job of not just wallowing in frustration and self-hatred. He's actually introspective!

As the record goes on, Ryan starts to analyze why he's as miserable as he is. He looks at what he did, what others have done to him, and why he's where he is now. This is evident on the penultimate track, "Ten Years Trouble," in which he looks at how he's been extremely selfish and hurt others, but also at the loss of people close to him and how the last ten years have pretty much been a disaster and how he's "always in pain, always in tears."

The music is pretty much what we've come to expect from Off With Their Heads, especially since this is the same lineup from 2006's Hospitals. There are your typical fast songs with catchy choruses, but they do a good job slowing it down at times. "Go On Git Now" is the first example of this, and shows that they aren't all fast beats and the Midwestern punk sound.

However, where that song hits, I feel like "Keep Falling Down" misses, in that it's a bit more subdued, and seems to drag on too long. It's repetitive, and never seems to break out of the rut that it digs itself into. As much as I love these guys, repeating a chorus for three minutes doesn't work for me. It's interesting that the only other real clunker for me follows it right up. "Terrorist Attack" starts strongly with a scathing indictment of the television and news media, but it never develops. Actually, it just repeats the same few lines for 1:20 and then ends. To be honest, I have no idea why they'd even include that song, as it just seems underdone and like it needs work.

Luckily, the rest of the album is great. "Selfcheckout" is fantastic, and shows that Ryan is trying to trust others and to overcome his personal demons and problems that he's detailed throughout the album. "Fuck This I'm Out" is another solid song, although I really question the bridge riff, as it's almost exactly the same as the lead in "Call The Cops," from one of last year's splits. The rerecording of "For The Four" is crisp, and I really love that song and how it mixes despair with optimism and hope for change. The album ends with the aforementioned "Ten Years Trouble" and apologetic "From the Bottom" which shows one of their best build ups, and an almost Against Me! feel in the cadence of the drums and vocal rhythms. It's a nice change for them, and works well as an album closer.

This is definitely one of my top albums of the year, and I really don't see it falling out of the top five. Despite all the delays and problems with getting this record, it was worth it to finally have a proper full length from these guys. Excellent!

Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas - Bristle Ridge

2008-07-29T06:40:00.001-07:00

Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas - Bristle Ridge
Ten-Four Records

It's no secret to anyone that I pretty much love anything Chuck Ragan touches. Hot Water Music is one of the most important bands ever for me, and Chuck's solo stuff has been knockin me out, no matter what it is. When I started hearing about Bristle Ridge, I was a little nervous. All his talk about country, bluegrass and gospel had me skeptical. Could he pull it off? Would I even like it? What the hell will it sound like?

Thankfully, this record leaked a while ago, despite the fact that I'm still anxiously awaiting vinyl pre-orders. Upon listening to it, the first thing that struck me was how different it was from his previous releases. As far as the LPs go, Los Feliz was pretty stripped down and raw, while Feast or Famine was a bit more folksy, but still moderately accessible. This new record, a collaboration with Austin Lucas, is a big change. From the open verse of "Bloody Shells," it's obvious that this is a bluegrass record. My initial thoughts were "Holy crap, this could be the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou?!"

As the record goes on, songs flip back and forth between Chuck's familiar gruffness, and Austin Lucas' folksier twang. Some of the songs are independent ventures, while others show a collaboration between the two. Some of the highlights are the vocal melodies of "Cold Night," which while being a folk song, showcases really traditional pop rock vocal parts, particularly in the chorus. The slow, halftime of "Simple Life" with Austin Lucas' wailing of "Oh lord where are the hours? Oh lord" has a familiar feel to it, as it's steeped in traditional folk and bluegrass tradition. The same can be said for the down home rootsy guitar of "Distant Land to Roam," a nice collaboration between Chuck and Austin, with nice vocal interplay between the two.

I think for me that's part of what makes this record great. I've never been a big follower of bluegrass, despite enjoying it. It's just never a scene I've delved into and really digested. For me, this record serves as a comfortable introduction. This record feels like something that you've heard for years. For me, part of that is Chuck's voice, but the rest is the homage that these two pay to traditional bluegrass and folk. It's simple, and pure, and really doesn't break any new ground for the genre, but typifies it well.

When I feel like listening to Chuck's voice, I'm not sure this is the first record I'd throw on, but given the right time and mood, this record is definitely a fun listen. This could be the soundtrack to many lazy afternoons sittin on a front porch somewhere, sippin lemonade.

Algernon Cadwallader / Big Attack / Young Hearts / Let Me Run / Title Fight - 7.27.08

2008-07-29T05:42:00.000-07:00

Party Mansion
7:30PM

After a day of dudes being dudes, Mike, Kev and I showed up at Party Mansion in time to run to the little Asian convenience store and get some Hanks Root Beer and love life. We got back to the show and Title Fight started up. I reviewed their newest 7" earlier this year, and it's still standing up as one of my favorite EPs of the year so far. They didn't disappoint live either. After opening with a Sunny Day Real Estate intro, they went straight into "Memorial Field" from the 7". I was glad to see that they were energetic and really into their music. The bassist was bouncing all over the little basement, and the guitarists were spot on and into it as well. All three songs from Kingston were played, as well as a few songs from their split with Erection Kids and one new song. After putting out such a great record, it's good to see that these dudes can bring it live too.

Let Me Run played second, and while they were tight, something about them didn't entirely click for me. They were a very slick punk rock sound, verrrry similar to Fallen From the Sky. It's not that I didn't like them, but I feel like that whole sound is kind of a waste. You have a singer with a decent, husky voice, but your music is so precise and clean sounding that it loses a lot of it's impact.

After a quick break, Young Hearts were next to play, and I was excited to see them, since I've been listening to their Myspace songs a bit lately. They played a handful of songs that I recognized, and played really well. They have that Red Leader/Nww Brunswick sound, and it makes sense that they're on that label, and tour with a lot of the bands that they do. They have a sort-of scratchy pop punk sound, with a bit of indie influence, with rhythms that shift pretty quickly. They trade off vocals well, and lead lines mix up nicely. On top of that, you can tell they have fun playing live, and put a lot of energy into their performance. I would definitely go check them out again, although at times I think their songs are a bit too long.

Bit Attack played next. I watched two or three songs before going to get an Arizona tallcan and a bag of Skittles. I'm pretty sure their singer switched on a fake accent as soon as their set started, and their guitarist played the first three songs leaning against the wall looking bored. Really? They also claimed to be from "New Palestine" when their Myspace most clearly says Philadelphia.

At a shockingly normal hour, Algernon Cadwallader started up with their set of Kinsella inspired indie rock. As usual, they put on an enteraining, energetic set with a nice list of songs from their new LP, which they had with them. While I don't love this band as much as other people seem to, I do always love seeing them live. They were only a three piece for this show, but they all seemed to have a blast, as they always do. For anyone unfamiliar with this band, due to Peter's voice, they get a ton of Cap'n Jazz comparisons, which I think is still pretty accurate beyond that. But they also have a great deal of complex guitar lines, very similar to those of American Football, or even Minus the Bear. Tank, their new drummer, fit right in seemlessly, and sounded good. I didn't get a chance to pick up their LP (spending too much on records lately!), but I will soon, and I'll get it reviewed up here on the blog. It seems to be getting a lot of love from friends and the whole damn internet, so I'll get it up here soon. Below are a few pics from the show that I've found on the internet. Fun times.

Shorebirds - s/t

2008-07-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

Shorebirds - s/t
Self Released

So far, all of the records I've posted for download have been older records that are pretty hard to track down. This meets one of those criteria. Even though this was only released last year, it seems to have flown under the radar, and a lot of people haven't paid much attention.

For those that don't know, Shorebirds consisted of ex-members of Jawbreaker and Latterman, two pretty revered bands in the punk community. Now, Jawbreaker is one of my top two bands of all time, so I was pretty interested when I heard that Chris was pairing up with the singer from Latterman, who I hated. Regardless, this is a great 7". It's more straightforward than Latterman ever was, and I find it a bit more palatable. As a whole, the lyrics are less positive and "politcal," and deal with the personal struggles of moving and moving on.

Half of the reason I upped this was because they called it quits this week, which bummed me out. I believe they have an LP recorded, and I hope that it still comes out. Until then, tide yourself over with this four song 7".

DOWNLOAD

Deep Sleep - Manic Euphoria

2008-07-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

Deep Sleep - Manic Euphoria
Grave Mistake Records

When I was first getting into punk rock, the first hardcore song ever played for me on a mixtape was "Filler" by Minor Threat. When I was in sixth grade I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and it was different from most of the punk that I had been exposed to at the time. But I knew that I liked it. And as the years have gone by, I still find myself drawn to hardcore bands that are more like Minor Threat - straddling that line between punk rock and hardcore, as opposed to a lot of my friends who came up on heavier New York hardcore, or bands that straddled the metal/hardcore line.

Deep Sleep is one of the bands that I've always been a bit more intrigued in. There's a fine line between punk and hardcore that is blurred through these four songs, and it's a band that I'm excited to hear more from. "Curbside Breakdown" brings these guys raging out of the gates, and serves as a solid introduction. It makes sense that they're labelmates with Cloak/Dagger as the Black Flag inspired guitar lines weave through the songs, not totally overdriven, but fuzzed out, particularly in "I'm On Top." So, in less than two minutes, they've killed the first two songs with screamy, half sung vocals that fit the fuzzed out hardcore punk.

"Nothing Left" is even faster, and is the shortest song of the record. The "now it's too late" ending is a nice change from the straight ahead pace of the rest of the song. Crossing the two minute mark is "Textbook Timebomb" which has my favorite guitar work of the record, with really melodic elements, and a catchy chorus. The bridge gives an airy feel to the guitar work, and shows that they can really deviate from the straightforward style they demonstrate throughout the record, and do it well. This is definitely a standout track, and you should go listen to it on their Myspace right now, then buy this record, and pretty much everything else Grave Mistake has put out. Yup, it's that good.

Dead Mechanical - A Great Lie

2008-07-15T12:20:00.001-07:00

Dead Mechanical - A Great Lie
Sex Cells Records

Due to conflicting schedules and bad luck, I've missed Dead Mechanical twice in Philadelphia this year. It's unfortunate, because I really enjoyed last year's Medium Noise. There was a gruff catchiness that was the exact style of pop punk that I eat up. There were some nice guitar riffs and exciting sing-a-longs that I found myself humming over and over.

This year's A Great Lie 7" is no different. The opening title track calls to mind early Jawbreaker, with scratchy vocals and the catchy refrain of "Nothing tells like a great lie, nothing ends like a good time, no body leaves like you will tonight" There's a very East Bay updated for 2008 style that is right up my alley. They're only a three piece, but the bass has a solid full sound, and there are multiple guitar parts that are never super complicated, but complement each other well and give this a nice bit of melody. "Sidewalks" is a faster song with slightly less gruff vocals, and as a whole, it's a much more straightforward approach to a pop punk song. Along with that, it's much shorter, and breezes by before you get bored by the simplistic structure. The 7" ends with the shortest song, "Bitter Drinks," has a little bit of a darker sound to it, with nice drumming that accentuates the Jawbreaker/Crimpshrine-ish vocals nicely, especially when it sort of drops out during the verses.

I've heard that they're working on an LP, which would be excellent, as both their EP and 7" have been strongly catchy, scratchy affairs that work to fill that hole in my heart left by Jawbreaker and East Bay bands that I grew up listening to. Dead Mechanical does a nice job making sure that they don't fall into a rut and put their own original spin on a genre that can sound dated if not done correctly.

Hot Water Music / Thursday / Paint it Black - 7.12.08

2008-07-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Terminal 5, NYC
7:30 PM

After a quick Chinatown Bus ride, and a long day of traversing Manhattan, we found our way to Terminal 5, an oversized, rather stupid venue on the west side of the island. We got there about 15 minutes after the doors opened, and the 3,000 capacity venue was nearly empty. The main floor had about 200 kids on it. I think the reasons for this were two-fold. First of all, it was still a little bit early. But, more importantly, there were four awesome shows all going on within blocks of each other. A few blocks south of this show, The F-Yeah Fest was playing, with the Circle Jerks and D4. Then, a bit beyond that, the Alkaline Trio were playing. And, to take away some of the hardcore kids, Cold World and Trash Talk were playing out in Brooklyn. Terrible tour routing.

Shortly after getting there, Heather, Adam and I decided to head up to the balcony and snag a spot giving us a bird's eye view of the stage. Normally, I try to avoid the balcony. As a matter of fact, this was the first show I've ever watched from a balcony/bar. However, my head was killing me from piss poor stage divers the night before, so I didn't mind the relaxed rail leaning that I would go for this night.

Right at 7:30, Paint it Black made their way to the stage with far less pomp and circumstance than they normally do in Philadelphia. Seeing them in this venue was strange. As Dan Yemin said, "This barrier makes me want to kill myself." I'd never seen them in a venue even close to this large, and it was only my second time seeing them with a barrier and bouncers (the first being with the Souls at the Troc a few years back). I feel like this definitely took a lot of the energy out of their performance, as hardcore isn't meant to be played or seen in an environment like that. They still played hard, and Yemin did his best to bridge the moat between them and the crowd, but it just had a very odd vibe. This could probably be attributed to only a handful of kids really being into their music, as the sing-a-longs were a lot smaller than I expected. The setlist was similar to the night before, but with enough differences to keep it interesting. They opened with "Past Tense, Future Perfect" and played a similarly solid mix of songs from all three albums, and again ended with "Memorial Day" and "Atticus Finch," and New York did do a solid job with the sing-a-long for the latter.

I'm not really even sure what to say about Thursday. It's been years since I've seen this band, and not much has changed with them. They played a handful of songs I knew from Full Collapse, like "Paris in Flames" and "Understanding in a Car Crash," as well as a handful I vaguely recognized from War All the Time such as "For the Workforce Drowning" and "Division Street." They sounded tight, and were energetic, but nothing really did it for me. It was all teh same stuff that I saw years ago, with nothing new or interesting. I guess I respect them for staying the same and not really changing to fit the trends that they really could have cashed in on. They did play one new song from their forthcoming split with Envy, and I was bored out of my mind. It was all instrumental, with lots of obnoxious sounding keyboard parts. Pass. They played about 13 or 14 songs and kids ate it up. We were surprised to see so many people that excited and interested, but hey, what do I know.

After a surprisingly short break, Hot Water Music came out and started on with "Remedy" straight into "Free Radio Gainesville" and then "Rooftops." At this point, I was pretty excited because I really like No Division and heard that this set was pretty full of "early material." Well, after a while it became obvious that this wasn't the case. They did do a good job of mixing up material, and it was a solid mix of songs from all of the albums, but not nearly as much from the early albums as I'd hoped. After looking back at the January setlist, I realized that there were a lot of similar songs played. Like I said then, I was happy with that list, but I would have loved to hear some more songs from Forever and Counting or Fuel For the Hate Game. The handful that they did play were songs that I've heard before. I also talked to some people about the Philadelphia set list, and I was bummed to learn that they got to hear "Alachua" and "God Deciding," two of my favorite Hot Water Music songs, and we got neither of them.

Throughout their entire set, much like their New Jersey reunion, it was obvious that they were having a blast. Despite being horribly drunk (shocking!), they sounded pretty tight (with a few missteps), and smiled throughout the entire thing. I know Chuck is busy with solo stuff, and the other three guys are busy with new bands (The Draft, Chris' solo stuff, Jason with Senses Fail), but they legitimately seem to have more fun with the Hot Water reunions than they do as the Draft. And there's no reason they can't do solo stuff and Hot Water Music a bit more regularly!

All in all, below is a list of what I can remember, although there may be some I missed.
Remedy (opener)
Free Radio Gainesville
Rooftops
Manual
Turnstile
Its Hard to Know
At the End of a Gun
Moonpies for Misfits
A Flight and a Crash
Paper Thin
Trusty Chords
I Was on a Mountain
Wayfarer
Giver
+about 4 more that I can't remember

I'm glad that I made it up to New York for this. Despite the totally sterile environment in Terminal 5, it was great (but weird) to see Paint it Black out of Philadelphia, and to see Hot Water Music again. I can never really say how much this band meant to me and how glad I am to see them live again. Seeing Thursday was interesting and semi-nostalgic, and had it been a hell of a lot shorter, I may have even enjoyed it. Instead, it ended up being a bit too long and drawn out. I've heard this weekend of shows were the last Hot Water shows of 2008, at least in the States, so hopefully you made it out to see them!

All pictures courtesy of Heather and her fancy-pants new iPhone.

Dillinger Four / Paint it Black - 7.11.08

2008-07-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

Starlight Ballroom
7PM

I had big plans for this evening. Months before the show was announced, I ordered tickets for the Hot Water Music tour at the Troc. When this show was announced, I was facing a big problem. D4?? Hot Water Music?? How can they play two different shows and how can I see both? I decided to go to the D4 show, then run down the street to Hot Water as soon as they were done. To safeguard against missing too much of HWM, I also ordered tickets for the Hot Water show in New York City the next night. It'd be a busy schedule, but I thought it would work.

I thought wrong. Hot Water and D4 were both scheduled to play at the same time at their respective venues. So, knowing that I would see HWM the next day, I decided to stay for all of Dillinger Four. And I'm glad I did.

Heather and I got there pretty late so we wouldn't see too many of the terrible openings bands, but no such luck. Team Robespierre were just starting and were nothing I was interested in. I left to get something to eat and drink and ended up missing Monotonix, the only opener I was really interested in. Fuck. Either way, I heard they were great and put on a hell of a live show. I'll have to check these crazy Israelis out the next time they hit Philly. Matt and Kim were next, and I'm not sure what all the hipsters are losing their minds for, because all it did was inspire me and my friends to head on outside and wait a bit.

"MORE STAGE DIVES!" When Paint it Black started, the place went nuts. From the beginning of "Gravity Wins," bodies were flying everywhere. Their energy level was through the roof, which was good, and made up for the terrible sound. Josh's amp started the show by buzzing and sounding like it was about to blow any second, and eventually Andy's amp started to go (during "White Kids Dying of Hunger," a pretty bass driven song). Either way, they played a lot of their usual set, and ended with "Memorial Day," "Atticus Finch" and "Shell Game Redux," all of which had monstrous sing-a-longs and stage dives. I've seen this band at least six or seven times this year, and they have yet to disappoint (although I would have loved to hear "Goliath"!).

D! 4! Dillinger Four is easily one of the top punk bands playing right now, if not the best. However, as Paddy noted as they started, they've done Philadelphia wrong. Their history in Philly has been sketchy at best, with the last show here being cut short due to Paddy being sick as hell and spending the entire set vomiting into a trash can. So, they promised to make up for it by playing a great set this time, and they certainly did. From the opening of "Let Them Eat Thomas Paine" to then ending of "Putting the F Back in Art," they were fun, the tightest I've seen them, and kids were loving it. They traded vocals across the stage and all of their voices sounded good, kids were stage diving everywhere, and of course, the on-stage banter was priceless. Highlights from the banter included Paddy talking about how YouTube reminds everyone how fat they've gotten, why God probably doesn't exist, but maybe he does since he killed Jesse Helms last week, Dan Yemin and Krishna, how D4 is selling out ("we're too fat to ride bikes and none of us even own record players any more"), and a discussion on "fuck bike fags" (or three things Paddy loves). The whole set was entertaining, as expected, even though he didn't get naked (which people asked for).

I tried to remember all of the songs they played, but I'm sure I missed some, and hell, with the amount of D4 I've been listening to lately, I'm probably adding some that they didn't, but they definitely played a great mix of songs from all three proper LPs. Some of the list included: "Who Didn't Kill Bambi?", "Get Your Study Hall Outta My Recess," "Maximum Piss n' Vinegar," "Noble Stabbings," "A Floater Left With Pleasure...," "Folk Song," "OKFMDOA," "Superpowers Enable Me to Blend In With Machinery," "Doublewhiskeycokenoice," "Mosh For Jesus," and I'm sure others I'm forgetting off the top of my head.

I left before the Circle Jerks, and I'm ok with that decision. From what I hear, a lot of other people did to, but supposedly they played close to 30 songs. Part of me would like to see them, solely for the story, but at the same time, no punk band can follow D4, especially 20+ years after their prime. Before the show, my friend Phil said that part of D4's allure was how rare it was to see them, but I'll definitely be going to see them in October at the Troc, as well as at Fest. Best punk band playing right now.

All photos by Aaron Weber. Don't steal them without asking him.

Reign Supreme / Neverender - 7.10.08

2008-07-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

Deep Sleep
8PM

After a long day filled with record shopping, babe-watching in Rittenhouse, and pizza eating, Mike and I made our way to Deep Sleep pretty damn early, but we figured we'd just hang out for a bit. We entertained ourselves people watching in Old City, and generally acted like assholes, but had fun until some people finally started to show up. Neverender was the first band to play, and I was pretty curious to see them. Despite sharing their name with a Hot Water Music record, they didn't sound anything like Hot Water. They had a melodic hardcore sound, and had some pretty cool parts. Their singer seemed like the weak link in the band, but he said he wasn't feeling well and was a bit off. I picked up a demo, so we'll see how that sounds. They only played five songs, but they were tight (even with a fill-in bassist) and had enough tempo and rhythm changes to keep things interesting. Their singer talked a lot between songs, and kinda had the typical "this is for my friends" and "this is about holding things close to your heart" thing going on, so I'm not sure how I'll feel about the lyrics, but as live bands go, this band was a nice start.

Reign Supreme plays a style of hardcore that's never really been my thing. Super heavy, metallic mosh styled hardcore has never been my thing. Personally I'd rather my hardcore come from a punk background than a metal one, but that's just where I come from growin up. Either way, this was my second time seeing Reign Supreme, and the first since some major lineup changes. They played a short set, but were tight and heavy as hell the whole time. They sounded really good, are energetic to watch, and Jay is a great frontman. Kids were really excited, and I was amazed to see some mosh in the tiny Deep Sleep basement, as well as a dive off the stairs which went about as well as it could consider the low ceilings. I'm not familiar with any songs, but I do know that they played a few off of their forthcoming LP, and what I can assume are a good bit from American Violence. Reign Supreme definitely seems primed for a stretch out on the road, and will probably be pullin in new fans and plenty of mosh each night if they play sets like this one.

ANS / Seasick - Billy in a Bearsuit Split

2008-07-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

ANS /Seasick - Billy in a Bearsuit split 7"
Braindrain Records

This is actually the first record that someone has actually sent me and asked me to review! Whoa! Even though I've been trying to keep review to 2008, I'll duck back to 07 to do this one.

ANS kicks off the first side of this split, and I'll be honest, I wasn't blown away initially. There was a very Motorhead heavy rock and roll vibe, which can be cool, but the vocals were beyond muddy, and the first track kinda breezed by without really making much of an impact on me. The second song, "Paging Dr. Shiba" was a little more my speed, and the rock and roll party feel continued through for about a minute and a half with running guitar leads and more clarity to the vocals, although they still had a gruff feel to them. I've seen these guys refered to as "party dudes" and I can see it with this track. At this point, ANS is half and half for me. Seeing a 3 minute closer didn't do much to make me confident, but this half time stomp showed me that they don't always have to go forward full throttle. The singer even aims for a bit more melody. The song speeds up a bit, and doesn't feel bloated at three minutes. I'm not sure that I would give the ANS side of this split too many more spins, but it did exceed my expectations based on the first song.

Seasick is a band that I've been hearing a lot about for the last year, but never really checked out. "Intro(spection)" starts with typical galloping drums and feedback, but kicks in a lot heavier than I really expected. The bass is fuzzy as hell, and little guitar leads fly around in both ears. After a minute, it moves on to the second track which continues the fast, fairly technical hardcore. It's a bit more subdued with a muted verse and a palm muted breakdown, but there's another blazing fast ending, which has some cool guitar sounds and effects. The lyrics are an examination of the scene and how some people use it to push their own agenda. Ending with "your language reflects your recklessness, words qualify as a form of violence so don't expect others to be as patient" seems a bit wordy, but is worked in well. Nice stuff. The last track is another one under a minute that flies by before you realize. The ending is fast as hell and contains a quick gang vocal line of "Never trust the fucking cops" I believe, and ends with "Politics and power don't mix."

As far as splits go, this one is really no different - one band I really like and would listen to again, and another that I'm not overly thrilled with. Seasick seems like an awesome band that I would like to catch live, but ANS, while good at what they do, aren't particularly my thing. Check out their other records through Braindrain (as well as Lighten Up and Braindead releases!), who are good people, and offer free digital downloads with any record purchases. Swish!

Stay Sharp - Four Songs

2008-07-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

Stay Sharp - Four Songs
Monkeywrench

I've talked a little bit about Stay Sharp and had nothing but good things to say about their live show. They were energetic and sound great live. The songs are engaging enough to keep a live set interesting, and they're short and to the point. So, how do these songs translate to a recording? Pretty damn well.

The first song on the EP is arguably the weakest. It's not that it's bad, but it's a very straight ahead punk/hardcore song, with little setting it apart from a lot of other bands doing this genre. But at a minute long, it serves as competent intro to the EP, and to the band for many. It's not a bad song, but from there on in the EP, they step it up.

The second song, "Hatfield of Dreams" has a bit of a poppier feel, which I guess a lot of people will say is the Kid Dynamite sound, although I think they do enough through heavier vocals and variation in parts to keep it from falling into a stale rut. The singer's voice is good, and he hits the melodic parts as well as the faster/heavier parts. The gang vocals are a nice touch when used sparingly, as they are in the second song. Flowing nicely along is "Sign It", which has my favorite part of the record. The sparse drum and bass first verse shows that they can switch it up a bit more. This is the longest song at just over two minutes, and it ends with another cool gang vocal part. The final song, "Charge the Mound," seems to be the "anthem" type song with a big sing along ending, and I've seen them close a set or two with it. It's definitely got the catchiest chorus of the bunch, with a nice little guitar break. Good stuff.

My only complaint with this debut EP is the singer has a tendency to rely on vocal patterns closely following the guitar lines. This is unfortunate because he has a good voice that he could do a lot more with. It seems like he struggles to come up with vocal hooks that stand on their own. That said, this is still a really impressive EP and this band has been on point every time I've seen them live. I know they're already planning their next release and playing some killer shows, so I expect big things out of them in the second half of 08.

Dustheads - Little Pieces

2008-07-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

Dustheads - Little Pieces
Don Giovanni Records

One of my favorite hardcore punk bands of late has definitely been Dustheads. I've been lucky enough to catch them live the last two times they've played Philadelphia, and I was beyond impressed. Whether it was in the small living room of Disgraceland, or the big stage of the Church, they killed it. Their live shows are an excercise in energy and anger, and they often find the band on the verge of breaking up just after. Or just throwing mic stands.

After a long, noisy intro, followed by very rock and roll riffage, they start off blaring with "Bike" screaming "Two face, you fucking fake" and proceed to steamroll over everything they can. Dustheads play a great mix of rock and roll and heavy hardcore punk rock. Their singer is snotty as hell, and even moreso since they re-recorded Little Pieces after releasing it on tape last year. This version seems more vicious than last year's version. Also, combined with the intro noise, the ending of side one is frantic and chaotic, and adds to the dark spin that Dustheads are putting on punk and hardcore. The second side starts with a rager discussing that being driven "fucking" insane, and while listening to this, you really do feel how pissed their singer is, and the music compliments it perfectly. The second side of the record seems a bit slower, with "weirder" guitar parts, and it's a bit more musically sound, as far as changes and structures go, but it's still wild and angry and desperate. When he ends the record screaming "The stench of failure hanging on my breath, can't wish for anything but fucking death, I hate this life, I hate this goddamned place, I want to leave this world without a fucking trace," it doesn't feel forced or contrived like a lot of punk hardcore bands. This dude literally seems like he wants to spit in the face of people he sees walking down the street. And if it keeps Dustheads putting out records like last years Tall Tales series and Little Pieces, I'm ok with that.

It should also be mentioned that the album art for this is great. The cover and inner sleeve both look wild, yet have a subdued color palatte. The liner notes, however, leave a little to be desired. The inner opening looks thrown together and cheap in comparison with how great the rest of the layout looks.

Crumbler - Dirty Weeks

2008-07-07T08:32:00.001-07:00

Crumbler - Dirty Weeks
Bottled Up Records

It's been so long since Klint sent me the mp3s of this that I kind of forgot it was a record from 2008. The "release show" a few weeks ago with Lemuria reminded me that I guess I should review this record. I guarantee that this record is much shorter than it would take me to even write a review of this ten song 7", so I'll give a quick description, then review the ten tracks, which last about 7 minutes. Basically, this is blazing fast, dirty hardcore punk. Larry's vocals are heavy, but snotty, and are complimented by Klint's filthy sounding bass. The guitars gallop through muted riffs and slightly off sounding solos that add to an almost grunge feel at times. The lyrics are warped, twisted, and hilarious, and I mean that in the best way, I mean it as a compliment (name that Cusack movie!).

The record starts off with the 18 second opener "Hooker Paradise," in which Larry promises to get a woman of the night off the street and into his home, so they can share her gift forever. "Manic Times" follows immediately, and stretches to a bloated 49 seconds, a little bit more mid tempo with more guitar solos and riffs. "Summer Classic" is a hardcore rager, with a feedback laden bridge and mattress has the most "traditional" sounding intro, before blasting through one line in about five seconds. What seems to be the most straightforward song is done before you know it. "Stalk With an Agenda" rounds out side one at over a minute (!) with a twisted refrain of "It's just me / I'm not crazy / What was I thinkin" line repeated multiple times over screeching and squealing guitars.

The second side of the record is just as short, and starts with my favorite track ofthe record, "Beaver Shots." Any song that ends with "Get shit on, get pissed on, get cummed on, get fucked" is ok in my book. "Headaches" can be found at their Myspace and is another one of the longest tracks, and probably the most straightforward of all of the songs, with almost standard intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-outro format. Weird for them, but a strong song. The next song clocks in at a blazing four seconds and only consists of one line: "The more I drink, the drunker I get." Fair enough. "Seniors '76" starts out fast as hell, before cutting into a 50 second half time dirge led by drums and distorted bass, bringing back that grunge feel. The closer to the record, "Cheap Lingerie" is over two minutes, with the return of the half time (or slower) drums with a dirge feel, and a guitar lead that feels like it shouldn't fit, but just does. This ending goes on for about a minute and a half, which feels epic by comparison to everything else on the record.

All in all, one of the best hardcore punk 7"s I've listened to in a while, and I hope that this band stays with it a little bit more, even sporadically, although I doubt that'll happen given their track record.

Halfway through 2008...

2008-07-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

So here we are, just over the halfway point of 2008. I've seen a lot of great shows, listened to a lot of great records, and already blogged about a ton of crap that no one is reading. In this post, I'll take a look at the top 5 full lengths, live shows, and EPs/7" of the year. Leave some comments with your lists, if you're reading this!

Full lengths
1. Paint it Black - New Lexicon - One of the most innovative hardcore punk records in the last few years from a band that keeps pushing the envelope.
2. Lemuria - Get Better - Female fronted indie pop that I wanted to hate, but just can't.
3. Blacklisted - Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God - Another Philly hardcore band raising the bar for everyone else.
4. Able Baker Fox - Voices - As close as I'll ever get to another Small Brown Bike record. Gruff indie rock that needs to start touring.
5. Hot Water Music - Till The Wheels Fall Off - Sure, I guess it's tacky to put a b-sides collection on this list, but whatever, it's Hot Water Music. One of the most important bands ever for me.

Live shows
1. Paint it Black - Sailor Jerry's - Kids will be talkin about this one for a long time...
2. Hot Water Music / The Lawrence Arms - NJ - First time seeing Hot Water in years, and the boys in the Lawrence Arms always put a smile on my face. Plus, fun trip with great dudes and a total babe.
3. Lemuria / Crumbler / Fallen From the Sky - Deep Sleep - Three bands that don't sound at all alike, but all rip.
4. None More Black - Deep Sleep - Kinda like a show in a sauna, from a band finally getting the respect their last album deserved.
5. Paint it Black / Marked Men / Dustheads / Amateur Party - Church - This was a well rounded record release show for Paint it Black, with a ton of great bands. The only downside to the entire weekend was World Inferno.

EPs/7"s
1. Crumbler - Dirty Weeks - Short, fast, hilarious. Expect a review this week.
2. Title Fight - Kingston - The best Lifetime/Saves the Day/Fairweather inspired pop punk I've heard in years.
3. The Gaslight Anthem - Senor and the Queen - Better than either of their LPs, four songs with a wide range of styles, but all uniquely punk rock and roll.
4. The Steinways - Unoriginal Recipe - Six new ones from these pop punk kings that serves as a teaser for their new full length.

Things I'm Anticipating
Dillinger Four - Live shows, as well as The Civil War
Hot Water Music - two shows this weekend!
The Revival Tour
The Gaslight Anthem - '59 Sound
Off With Their Heads - From the Bottom
Dead to Me - New LP
FEST!

What's on your halfway list?

Addendum to PIB at Sailor Jerry's

2008-07-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, but a full set, high quality video has surfaced.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/mm7hbn
or
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6J8ZPIMB

WHO: Paint it Black
WHERE: Sailor Jerry, Philadelphia, PA
WHEN: 4.10.08
FILE TYPE/SIZE: DivX/251 mb
DURATION: 24 minutes
SETLIST:

1. Past Tense, Future Perfect
2. Pink Slip
3. Womb Envy
4. CVA
5. Void
6. Nicaragua
7. So Much for Honour Among Thieves
8. Exit Wound
9. Atheists in Foxholes
10. Goliath
11. The Ledge
12. We Will Not
13. Cannibal
14. Shell Game Redux
15. Memorial Day
16. Atticus Finch

Enjoy!

None More Black - 7.4.08

2008-07-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

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

Smoking Popes / Restorations / Thinking Machines - 7.2.08

2008-07-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Johnny Brendas
9:30 PM

Heather and I got there pretty early, and we ate dinner while hanging out with some friends beforehand. This show took a while to get started, so I was already kind of antsy by the time Thinking Machines started. They were a three piece indie rock band, with some angular rhythms and start/stops. They were cool, but I'm not sure they were really my thing. They had some pretty solid parts where they were rocking out a bit more, and these bits were more engaging than the slower or more technical stuff. I might go check em out live if they were playing, but it's nothing that I'd listen to on a regular basis.

Restorations were up next, and I wasn't too sure what to expect. It's 3/4 of Jena Berlin, with Mike Drelling playing bass. Everyone that I talked to was giving me different sounds to expect, but the closest I can come up with is this: take the more indie rock/softer parts of the first Jena Berlin full length, then switch out the vocals between Jon and Dave. Overall, I really liked it, and was pretty damn impressed. Mike was in a bike accident the day before, so he was playing with a pretty beat up hand, and there were a few other sound issues (Jon's amp was wayyy too loud), but they turned in a good first show. They have a few other shows lined up in the near future, so I would definitely recomend trying to catch them. They're shooting to have a 7" out after the summer, so I'm excited to see how it turns out.

The last time I saw the Smoking Popes, I was really blown away. I'd never paid much attention to them before, but after that show, I made a point of checking them out. This was another really good set. These guys are tight (even with a new drummer - Neil from the Lawrence Arms!), and are pretty much always spot on. Even though I'm not super familiar with their material, they played most of the songs I really wanted to hear. Their regular set was at least 15 songs, and they played a four song encore as well. I was glad to hear "Writing a Letter," "Star Struck One" and "Pretty Pathetic" (in the encore).

It should also be noted that there were a few moments of great crowd interaction. First of all, there was a glorious group of old fans who were wearing Smoking Popes shirts, and dancing in hilarious ways. Words can't really describe the way the leader (a drunk musclehead in a cut off t-shirt who would occasionally just jump straight in the air) was dancing, and his even drunker, possibly mentally handicapped friend was even better. Another great moment occured when a random fan ran up on stage, danced, hugged the bassist, and ran off. Not a huge deal, albeit stupid. Well, when he ran up again, hugged the bassist more and messed up his gear, he stumbled away, fell off the stage and spilled a beer all over the place. Luckily he did fall, because if he didn't, he almost took an overhead axe swing from a bass. Pretty wild.

The Smoking Popes played for over an hour, which was pretty damn awesome, but considering I'd been there for about six hours by that point, and I'm only semi-familiar with their records, it got to be a bit long. They sounded really full, and watching them play with Neil is great. He's a solid-ass drummer that really added to their sound. To be honest, the set could have been a bit shorter to keep my attention, but it was another impressive set from them.

Alkaline Trio - Agony and Irony

2008-06-30T13:03:00.001-07:00

Alkaline Trio - Agony and Irony
Epic Records

Alkaline Trio are at that point in their career where no matter what they do, people will bitch about it. If they put out an album that sounds different, old fans will complain that it doesn't sound like their old records. But, if they put out something that sounds like the early stuff, people will complain that they haven't progressed their sound. It's the vicious catch 22 of the punk rock community. You can't win.

While I can say that I haven't really been enthralled with the last two Trio records, they're always solid albums with a listen from time to time. And as I said in last week's live review, they're still a fun live band who gives it their all every time. So, regardless of any negative stuff I saw online, I was excited to check this record out. Unlike the aforementioned fickle fans who are never satisfied, I was impressed with Agony and Irony.

"Calling All Skeletons" is a great opener, with one of the best verses The Trio have put out in a while. So catchy. The same can be said of the next two tracks, which already appeared on a teaser EP they put out a little while back. "Over and Out" is the first to really slow the album down, and Matt's first song that really deals with some storytelling, which is cool. It's not entirely from the first person perspective; he looks at other "characters" throughout the song. The bassline is killer as well.

Throughout the album, there is a poppy sense of catchiness that Alkaline Trio always does well, but there's a lot less of the pseudo goth nonsense that can get annoying. Actually, I don't think there's a single mention of a coffin, which is nice. "Live Fast, Die Young" is the only real dud of a track, as it's pretty slow and never seems to reach what it's building towards in it's four plus minutes. "Love Love, Kiss Kiss" is a catchy song, despite the lyrical misstep in "Love love, kiss kiss, blah blah blah," but I figure Dan is usually good for one lyric botch per album, so I'll let it slide.

While it's not the perfect Alkaline Trio record, Agony and Irony is one more solid album in the impressive catalog these guys have strung together. It's on a major label, and hopefully they pick up some new fans, but I'm not sure I see them selling out arenas in the near future. Really, it's a shame since they have over a decade of solid records, but such is the fickle music industry.

Lemuria / Crumbler / Fallen From the Sky - 6.27.08

2008-06-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Deep Sleep
7:30PM

After a streak where I didn't get to too many shows, I was lucky to catch yet another awesome one for the second Friday night in a row. Early that evening, Heather and I headed out to Old City (where I miraculously found cheap and easy street parking), and got some delicious, albeit costly, ice cream at Franklin Fountain. We wandered around a bit and found ourselves at the show a bit before 7. As expected, a decent amount of people we knew were already there, as this show as shaping up to be an awesome time.

Florida's Fallen From the Sky played first. I think I've managed to catch them about once a summer for the last three years, and they're always strong. They're never a band that completely floors me, but I'm always happy to see them turn in a set. They have a melodic punk sound, not unlike Strike Anywhere, but with heavier vocals. I always find it odd that they went so far in the MTV2 contest thing a few years ago, given that they seem to only draw a handful of kids in Philly and I've never seen them outside of a basement, but they're a good band and nice guys, so I always want them to do well. They played mostly songs from their new full length, Tonight We Radiate, and I really wanted them to play their Beyonce cover (done for the aformenioned MTV2 contest), but no luck. You can, however, hear it on their Myspace page.

One of my favorite hardcore bands that never plays is Crumbler. They pretty much disappeared for a while, and with Klint being on tour a lot, that makes sense, but I was happy to hear that Dirty Weeks was being put out on vinyl and this would be their release show. Before the show, Larry told me that they'd play 13 songs, which I assumed would take about 11 minutes. Well, including some technical difficulties, and a lot of heckling, their set stretched out to a bloated 20 minutes. They played most of the songs from Dirty Weeks, as well as a handful from their demo. I really hope that they keep playing, although I'm sure that's a futile wish. Either way, great band, great dudes, and I try to check em out any time I can.

To futher add to the genre diversity of the show, Lemuria played last. This three piece has pretty much grown into one of my favorite bands in the last few months, and I can safely say that Get Better will be in my top albums of the year at the end. Unfortunately, they didn't play toooo many songs from the LP. They recently released a collection of early material on Asian Man Records, and I can honestly say I haven't listened to much of it at all. They played a lot of these songs live, so I was at a loss for familiarity, but they sounded tight, and faster than they do on record, which is good. The vocals were way low in the mix, but the music was full, especially considering they only have one guitarist. The songs from Get Better that they did play were some of my favorites though: Pants," "Lipstick," "Dog"/"Dogs" (!!) and then closed with "Mechanical" (sans whistling). I was really happy watching their entire set. Great band who deserve the success they've gotten in the last few months, and I can wait to see them again and hear what they have comin out.

LaGrecia - On Parallels

2008-06-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

LaGrecia - On Parallels
Suburban Home Records

Jason Shevchuk is a hell of a singer, and an engaging frontman. However, Jason Shevchuk is a pretty bad songwriter. I love Jason's voice in Kid Dynamite, but it was only part of what made that band so special and important for so many people. In the early era of None More Black, Jason was now the primary songwriter, and the early NMB material was pretty poor. To be honest, I'm not even a fan of the first LP. But, when Dave Wagenshutz and CPM (and later Jared Shavelson) stepped into the band, they gave it new life, and gave Jason's songwriting the supplements that it needed. Strong drum parts and stepped up guitarwork helped the band improve, and by the time they broke up, they were one of the best melodic punk bands going.

Unfortunately, Shevchuk hasn't surrounded himself with this talent in LaGrecia. Not only is he the primary songwriter, but he's also the only guitarist - a position I'm not sure he has the chops for in a band of this style. LaGrecia has stepped out of the ordinary for Jason and infuses more of a rock element. At times, it's fun and interesting. The chorus to "According to My Notes" is catchy and fun, "My Lightening" is solid, and "The Montage" is a deeper, dark ending to the album.

However, the album misses more than it hits. The drums are weak throughout, and very little is done to change it up and keep songs interesting. The bridge in "You Like Baseball, I Like Ghosts" could provide a nice change, but it just seems empty. "Slower Than Manasses" never builds any steam or anything attention grabbing, and jazz inspired "Two Shotguns" borders on unlistenable.

After hearing the original LaGrecia demos, this was a surprise, since I expected the whole thing to be terrible. There are impressive parts and elements to this LP (not to mention the stunning album art), but by and large it misses its mark. Part of this can be attributed to Shevchuk stepping outside of his usual realm, and part can probably be attributed to him being a weak songwriter with minimal support musically from the rest of his band. Unfortunately, they've already broken up, and we'll never see if they could get it together.

Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

2008-06-27T12:30:00.002-07:00

Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
XL/EMI

The Icelandic kings of dreamy, spacey rock are back, hot off the heels of their widely acclaimed movie Heima, with a new full length. Before you listen to Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust you probably have already set your expectations. You're expecting a record filled with tons of gorgeous atmosphere, songs pushing the ten minute mark, and bascially a record that logically follows everything else they've done.

With their latest full length, Sigur Ros turns your expectations upside down, and changes everything you thought about them. Sure, the epic soundscapes are there. The cello bow still strums the guitar, and soft melodies turn into soul melting crescendos. But, from the opening acoustic guitar riff of "Gobbledigook," it's obvious that this record will be different. The first two songs are arguably pop songs. If you could understand what he was saying, you wouldn't be surprised to hear these songs get huge, or be all over the radio. The first two songs clock in at under 7:15 (combined!!), and have fairly standard structures. Drums pound, hands clap, horns blast, and acoustic guitars are prominent. Dare I say, this is some of the most interesting music Sigur Ros has hit us with.

"Festival" is the first song to approach the ten minute mark, and while it starts slow, and spacey, it ends with another horn filled triumph. The same is true for the other "long song" on the album, although it's not nearly as strong as "Festival." As a whole, the second half of the record is much slowed and more what you'd expect from Sigur Ros, but it's still impressive. The emotion and power conveyed through the minimalism in the last two tracks is great.

While I'd never criticize Sigur Ros' earlier work, it's wonderful to see them pushing the envelope and trying to change their sound so drastically. The irony of challging themselves to actually fit into a more conventional sound is interesting, but I'm glad to see them pushing themselves as artists.

Alkaline Trio / Bayside / The Fashion - 6.24.08

2008-06-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

The Chameleon Club
6:30 PM

Before Tuesday night, I hadn't been to the Chameleon in at least five years. But, at the prospect of seeing Alkaline Trio there, I had to go. Compared to their Philly show at the TLA, the club was much smaller, more intimate, and had better sound. And for Heather, a major selling point was Bayside playing at the Lancaster show, and not the Philly date. So, we headed on out past the smell of horse manure and smorgasbords to The Chameleon.

Shortly after arriving, The Fashion began playing to a half empty room, despite the show being sold out. Initially, I wasn't sure how I felt about them, but after they won me over after a few songs. They were energetic and tight, playing a mix of indie punk, with a dancy feel. Despite being from Denmark, they sung in English, and had a fun vibe throughout the set. It got a bit long by the end, but overall they really impressed me. The mix was a bit shoddy at first, and throughout the entire set, the stage left guitar was overpowering, but they sounded good. I could have done without any of keyboard parts (which were already minimal). I really enjoyed The Fashion, for never having heard of them, and I hope they make their way over from Denmark again soon.

Bayside played next, and my mom always taught me if I didn't have anything nice to say, not to say anything at all. I'm kidding, to an extent. They were really tight, and the drums sounded huge, but they seemed a bit slow, and the song selection left a lot to be desired. Of course, I'm not one of the biggest fans of this band anyway, so my opinion may be biased. Either way, I wasn't too interested in their set, although the Hot Topic inspired crowd seemed thrilled with it.

After a set up pause that was way too long, Alkaline Trio finally hit the stage. It'd been years since I'd seen them, and I felt some nervousness about how they would live up to my memories and expectations. Well, any trepidation was wiped out when they opened with "Private Eye." From there, they played at least 17 songs, which I tried to remember, but I invariably missed some. They were energetic and involved in the set the entire time, and strung songs together from all albums. I heard a lot of my favorites that I didn't expect to hear, as well as some of my favorites from Agony and Irony, which will be out soon. Dan had some trouble with his bass amp towards the end of their set, but they worked through them to close with "This Could Be Love" (including a three tier sing-a-long challenge), and an encore of "Old School Reasons" and "Radio." Despite the crowd being annoying (I'm chosing my words very carefully), they knew songs from all albums and sang along to almost all of the set (with the only exception being the songs from Maybe I'll Catch Fire - aside from "Radio"). Despite not seeing The Trio for years, I was happy to see that one of my favorite bands still turns in great performances, with a wide array of songs from all albums.

Setlist (in minimal order): Private Eye (opener), Armageddeon, She Took Him to the Lake, I Lied My Face Off, In Vein, Help Me, Calling All Skeletons, Nose Over Tail, Message from Kathleen, We've Had Enough, Crawl, Time to Waste, Mercy Me, Maybe I'll Catch Fire, Goodbye Forever, This Could Be Love (closer), Old School Reasons (encore), Radio (encore).

Jena Berlin / Landmines / Stay Sharp / The Mad Splatter - 6.20.08

2008-06-26T15:31:00.001-07:00

The Party Mansion
8PM

This show definitely had more of a party feeling than a show. A majority, if not all of the bands, were friends in some way, and a majority of the people in attendance were friendly, or knew each other somehow. Beers were drank, fun was had, and craziness went down. Overall, this was one of the most fun shows/parties I've been too in a while. I got to see some people I haven't seen in a while, and all of the bands were great.

The Mad Splatter were the first band to play, and to be honest, I didn't have very high expectations. The whole idea of themed bands never really appeals to me, and the horror movie theme is something that REALLY doesn't appeal to me. However, they were pretty good. Very heavily inspired by Screeching Weasel, but with scratchier vocals and a little bit more of an edge. With only one microphone, they seemed a bit flat and could have used some more melody, but I assume that's something that will be worked on with recording or a better PA system. As far as the lyrics are concerned, I have a feeling I won't really be able to get down with the horror theme, but there were enough "baby"s and "whoa ohs" to keep me entertained and just imagine that they weren't songs about zombies or whatever. By and large, I was impressed with The Mad Splatter, and assuming they keep at it, they're on the right track. I'll probably never been a fan of the horror theme, but it's fun, solid pop punk, and who can complain about that.

One of the best new bands to hit Philly in a while is Stay Sharp. It seems like they've come out of nowhere, but they've been on some killer lineups, and they deserve it. They played a short set of intense hardcore inspired punk, with a ton of energy. They sounded big and full, and were a blast to watch. Kids seemed to really enjoy them, and a little bit of "mosh" broke out. As with the Doylestown show, they played their Warzone cover, and did so well. I don't have any recordings of these guys yet, but I need to remedy that soon. I've really liked them when I've seen them live, and I'm sure that will be happening a lot more in the future. Not to mention that a bunch of their songs have baseball inspired titles, so that works for me!

Landmines were the only non-local on the bill, but they fit the show perfectly. They're a gruff punk band from Richmond, and it shows. They came out (some sleeveless!) and killed it. Lots of energy, lots of intensity and an overall solid set. This made me pretty bummed that I missed them at FEST, but I'm not going to make that mistake again. I'm not familiar with their recorded material, but they have a record (coming) out on Paper and Plastick, the new vinyl and digital label from Less Than Jake, so I need to make sure I check out their new record.

Finally, to end the night, Jena Berlin started. Sort of. After a song or two, they had a bunch of trouble with their bass amp (and any other gear they borrowed). Regardless, when they did manage to play, they were energetic and fun as usual. Jon ended up all over the room, Jeff flipped a drum set, mics and beer bottles were thrown, and tons of fun was had. They played a handful of songs from both full lengths, including "Chelsea" and "Truth About Liars" as well as three songs from their forthcoming 7", This Is Mine As Much As It Is Yours. Despite the technical problems, heckling, and drunken antics, Jena Berlin turned in an awesome set, which I've pretty much come to expect from them. Good band, great dudes, fun night.

The Steinways - Gorilla Marketing

2008-06-15T07:41:00.001-07:00

The Steinways - Gorilla Marketing
Cold Feet Records

Realistically, I should have reviewed this record months ago. When it leaked, I found myself listening to it constantly, but struggled to keep from reviewing it, since it was still months away from release. I figured I'd wait until at least the pre-orders were up. Well, now the pre-orders are up and I'm no longer listening to this record daily. Not to mention, most people who would be interested in this have heard it and made up their minds already. Regardless, I'll try to do my best with this review.

It's funny when a band "matures." Sometimes it's great, and other times it's horrible. On Gorilla Marketing, pop punk darlings The Steinways have put out a much more mature pop punk record (I'll take Oxymorons for $1000, Alex). From the opening guitar interplay on "Arena Rock" to the dance inspired "(Nobody Wants To) Make Out (With Me Because I Wear Sweatpants)," it's obvious that they've been working on their songwriting. Guitarist Ace and bassist Michelle sing a lot more on this record, and they've thought about their vocals a lot. Ace's songs seem to be the most catchy, but at the same time, I'm not 100% sure how I feel about them. At first, I liked them, but as I've listened to the record more and more, I feel like they're a tad weaker.

Now, just because they've matured, it doesn't mean that the Steinways have lost the clever playfullness that made them fun in the first place. "Fuckmarket Pharmacy" is the perfect follow up to "Fruitmarket Fantasy" from the first LP. "Half Baked Heartache" has a great break down/bridge with a catchy homage to Boston Market, and really makes me want cornbread. "Manhattan Boots" challenges Blink 182 in it's sexual brusqueness. So, even though they're maturing, it's good to see that they are still keeping it fun, and hilarious. This is what makes me love the Steinways so much. Fun lyrics, catchy vocal melodies, and tight harmonies. That's what this style of pop punk should be.

Now, even though I love the Steinways, it's not to say that this record isn't without it's flaws. The aforementioned "(Nobody Wants To) Make Out (With Me Because I Wear Sweatpants)" is kind of grating at times (if not hilarious), and the effects scattered throughout seem tacked on and pointless. The closing instrumental track also has that tacked on feeling, and to me, doesn't give the closing to this album that it should have. I wish that it ended one track earlier, with "CGI," which I think is one of the stronger songs on the album.

Despite it's shortcomings, this is definitely up there as a contender for my album of the year so far. It's fun, it's catchy, but it shows that the Steinways are able to progress and not get caught in the trap that a lot of similar bands do. This record is finally up for pre-order, and you should definitely pick one up asap. Also, try to catch them at Insubordination Fest this summer!

The Honor System - Single File

2008-06-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

Asian Man Records

One of my bigger show-going regrets is skipping out on seeing The Honor System when they played Funrama in Philadelphia a few years ago. My girlfriend at the time and I had gone to the Philadelphia zoo that day, and she didn't feel like going to a show afterward. I sort of agreed, and we ended up heading home. In hindsight, I'm still kicking myself, since I never got another chance to see them.

This record features Dan Hanaway, formerly of the Broadways (and the "original angry guy with a beard" according to Brendan Kelly), playing a more heavy indie rock than his previous band. More technical leads and interwoven guitar parts fill the album, with Hanaway's typically socially conscious lyrics. The lyrics are really my favorite part of the album, but gruff vocals and strong intensity really make this a great listen. They have a handful of other releases, and while good, they never really grabbed me like this album did. Check it out, and if you like it, check out Dan's old band, The Broadways, and his new band, Whale | Horse.

DOWNLOAD

Interview - Jon Nean (Blacklisted)

2008-06-13T16:52:00.001-07:00

I first met Bean when he was playing with No Roses, who I absolutely loved. When they broke up, he was playing bass for Blacklisted, and then eventually moved over to guitar. I was glad to hear Bean writing riffs again, and frankly, this new era of Blacklisted is by far my favorite and they're rising to the top of the hardcore crop. Between their crazy tour schedule, Bean dropped me an email with these answers.

1. Ok, you have friends in from out of town. What five places in Philly do you take them?

The first place i usually have to take people is the Art Museum steps.(not my choice) Rise and Fall from Belgium has requested that trip more than once. The second place would have to be Kims at Kensington and Ontario to get a haircut. Third would be Govindas for a swell veggy lunch. Fourth would be Chinks on Torresdale ave for all the meat eaters and seekers of authentic Philly cheesesteaks. Last but not least would have to combine two favorites since they are both close in proximity and near and dear to my heart: Santucchis Pizza and than the Philadelphia Water Ice Factory at Frankford and Castor.

2. Favorite venue in Philadelphia to play? Favorite to see a show?

The First Unitarian Church since The Killtime and Stalag no longer exist. My favorite place to see a show is the same answer. Doing flips off the PA speakers and not getting kicked out...

3. Favorite all-time show(s) you've seen in Philly?

No particular order: AN at The Killtime. Subhumans in The Conflict House basement. The first time H20 played the Church with Crown of Thorns. Oxymoron at the Rotunda. Walking Concert at the Khyber. Little League/Rival Schools at The Pontiac Grill. I could go on for days.
Philadelphia has had so many great bands/artist come through.

4. Top current Philadelphia area bands?

Paint It Black

Let Down

Brain Dead

5. Top all-time Phiadelphia area bands?

Ink And Dagger

Kid Dynamite

6. What records are you loving right now? (Not just Philly bands)

NMH - On Avery Island

Baroness - Red Album

Paint It Black - New Lexicon

Let Down - We're in This Alone

The Flaming Lips - Transmissions From The Satellite Heart

7. Best food in Philly. Which is your top spot for each?

I guess i answered most of these in the first question mainly because
every time people visit from out of town all we end up doing is eating
so I'll give some different answers.

Pizza? Since Tuccis was named already...Montecinis in the Mayfair Mall is my number 2.
Burrito/Mexican? Im a sucker for The Mexican Post
Cheesesteak (vegan counts)? Giannas, duh.
Chinese? New Harmony
Other? Primos Hoagies.

8. Closing up, what do you guys have planned for the near future? Shows/records/tours/etc?

Our new LP "Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God" just came out April 1st. We just got home from a six week U.S. tour in support of said record. Later this month we will be flying down to Florida for 3 shows with our friends Paint it Black. Shortly after that we will hopefully be doing 10 days in Canada with This is Hell. Then we are off to Australia/New Zealand. Then we do Sound and Fury and This is Hardcore here in Philly. After that we will be headed to Mexico, Central America and South America for a month. Come home for a day or two than leave for Japan. After Japan we have a BIG U.S. tour in the works with three of the best bands in Hardcore today. Busy Busy Busy.

Farside - The Monroe Doctrine

2008-06-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Revelation Records

I have no idea why my friend Bill picked this record up while we were in high school, but I'm glad it did because it really opened up my eyes to some other stuff. It got me out of a "punk rut" that I was in at 16 and really helped usher me into the Revelation "emo" sound. Bill was one (and may still be) one of those kids that loved to skip around records. Because of that, we only ever listened to a handful of songs from this record whenever we were in his car. However, those three or four songs are definitely some of the stronger songs on this record. "Moral Straightjacket," "I Hope That You're Unhappy," and "The Slowdance" were full of emotion, and not in a way I'd really embraced before. They almost sounded like they could be radio rock hits, but at the same time, there was an aggressive edge to it and heavier guitars.

Now, while I really like this record, towards the middle, it kind of takes a strange turn and loses me for a bit. A "joke" song, a few forrays into cheesy metallic guitars, and thrash-ish crossover song make the middle of the album worthy of a few skips, but even despite all that, there are a solid 10-12 awesome songs that make this record worth listening to, especially if you've never listened to it.

DOWNLOAD

Braindead - No Consequences

2008-06-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Braindead - No Consequences
Burn Bridges Records

It's no secret that I think Braindead is one of the best hardcore bands in the Philly area. They've come along way over the last few years, and with a steady lineup, I think they're ready to get the respect the really deserve. Their first demo 7" was solid, and showed a lot of promise, and their split with Blackbirds really impressed me. I've been anxiously awaiting a full length, and a few weeks ago, Stevie sent me the mp3s of this. It's been in pretty heavy rotation since then, and is now out on CD and the LP is available for pre-order.

No Consequences starts with an ambient opener that really reminds me of the first song on Fairweather's Lusitania. Spacey, yet building, and a perfect taste of the new sound of Braindead. The second track, "Sure is Lonely Down Here" almost seems like an extension of the opener, as it never really develops into it's own song. It's 1:40, but doesn't stick out for me aside from the first few lines, so I kind of look at it as an intro. Following this, the songs really start to come together and a lot of growth is shown. "Guilt and Shame" is redone from the demo and sounds a lot more powerful, even without Perry doing a guest spot.

The middle of this album is so strong it's unreal. "Presented In" picks up where the intro left off and has a slow, plodding end with spacier guitars that lead into "So Single." This may be my favorite song on the entire record, and the guest vocals by Jon Loudon at the end are the huskiest his voice has ever sounded. "Dear Alison" is a great musical interlude that really shows how Braindead is pushing themselves and stepping outside of what is expected from a typical hardcore band. These three songs in a row are really strong and keep the album from falling into a lull throughout the middle.

"A Wake For a Dream" is a 6+ minute closer that ends much the same as On The Might of Princes album Where You Are.... Just like the OTMOP record gets louder, the No Consequences builds, the song distorts, and eventually breaks up, with little holding it together other than the guitar lead that sneaks through. I'm not a huge fan of how abruptly the ending cuts off, but I think it's a nice touch to the record.

Hopefully this record will give the guys in Braindead the success they deserve, and people really give this band the attention they deserve. With a killer LP, a lineup that seems more solid, and a lengthy summer tour schedule planned, this seems likely.

Interview - Jeff Ziga (AAJ, Armalite, Amateur Party, etc)

2008-06-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

Jeff Ziga is a man that you've probably seen around Philly. A lot. He's taken your money at the Church door. He's stage dove on you at many shoes. If you're lucky, you've seen one of his 6 million bands. If you're me, you sat with him in an airport while a pilled out black dude tells you about hanging out at TGIFridays in Gainesville. Jeff gave some really detailed answers, complete with links for you! Because it's so long, I left it all in lower case, which normally bugs me, but at least he was consistent with it, so I'll let it slide. Enjoy!

1. Ok, you have friends in from out of town. What five places in Philly do you take them?
ok weather's nice, so we're gonna assume that in this hypothetical situation. first, we'd go to mini-golf in franklin square. every bullshit tourist spot that i went to on a field trip ages ago is represented in miniature but are no less impressive than the actual tourist destinations they represent. plus you're playing minigolf. also, i think they sell ice cream there. second, ray's for iced coffee. it's probably the best iced coffee in the city and it is also nearby. third, probably south street. people like it and want to go there. i used to and sometimes still do, but i'm deferential to other people and their wishes and if i was visiting their city i'd probably want to do whatever corny thing they are totally over. i like sitting in the park better. soooo, fourth, the park. which ever one. i've never gotten in trouble for drinking in the park except once in washington square when my friend pretended to burn a miniature american flag on the memorial flame and a park ranger saw her. if you can somehow manage to not to do something completely retarded like that, you'll be fine. anyways, parklife is fun and relaxing and it is a good place to hang out for a bit, have a few beers and start calling people and find out who's doing what. that leads us to... fifth, i don't know. we're at the point in the day / evening when you have to let it ride and see what happens. this hypothetical day has been all about that already. starts off somewhere and just sort of winds around with no rhyme or reason. i'm dealing with some general "friends from out of town" and not specific people. it's like this, i'm not gonna take my aunt record shopping. so it's tough. mutter museum? have they been there? are they edge? are they up for sneaking into a hotel pool late late night or do they want to nerd out and listen to records and drink? it's all good in my eyes.

2. Favorite venue in Philadelphia to play? Favorite to see a show?
dis-fucking-graceland. it's also my favorite bar. hands down. it's actually the only bar in the city that i have a strong opinion about. most places are just places. i don't give a shit about what the place looks like. i like it if the people that i'm forced to consider while i'm there are likeable. but disgraceland i like because of the actual place and that's sometimes in spite of who i have to hang out next to. i've been drinking in there on more than one occasion and the guy working the bar was blasting cock sparrer's shock troops, which i appreciated greatly. i don't frequent the place at all as much as i'd like. the last time i was there was to see forca macabre and someone was all "what are you doing here?" and it made me feel weird but i guess i brought that on myself for wearing a plain white t-shirt to a crust show. i also wore khacki pants to see angelcorpse at the troc. eh.

3. Favorite all-time show(s) you've seen in Philly?
i have no idea. ink and dagger with dave w on drums? american nightmare at 802 lombard? tool at the first union center with floor seats and two personal joints? i'm just going to put avail at the first unitarian church on a sunday afternoon sometime around '96 or '97 because it was a good early show experience and it was very hot and crowded and i talked about it a lot afterwards. there's just too many. i've been impressed so many times. but i put avail on there cause i saw them most recently at the fest in gainesville last october and they still killed it.

4. Top current Philadelphia area bands?
tough to say. but i'm committed to putting one and only one. clockcleaner.

5. Top all-time Philadelphia area bands?
again, tough one. but i'm committed. ink and dagger with dave w on drums. i actually don't think that's true, but whatever. they were awesome and it's a reasonable enough answer.

6. What records are you loving right now? (Not just Philly bands)
recently repeated listens have been given to the germs -- m.i.a. the complete anthology, death side -- the will never die [two disc collection], deep wound -- almost complete, the misfits -- legacy of brutality, iron age -- constant struggle, los crudos -- all, the descendents -- milo goes to college, cold world -- no omega
some of those aren't albums, but collections, but it's not like i'm gonna ever track some of that stuff down. maybe someday.

7. Best food in Philly. Which is your top spot for each?
Pizza?
marra's. any other resonable answer is equally acceptable. i don't discriminate when it comes to the world's perfect food. also, not enough people give props to cacia's / sarrcone's / iannelli's and the other bakeries that serve up pizza and tomato pie. under-appreciated to be sure. and i know this isn't part of your question, but, hands down, the best pizza i've had in america is from totonno's on neptune avenue in brooklyn. though i haven't been to difara's or anywhere in new haven, ct yet. and supposedly pizzeria bianco in phoenix arizona is amazing everyone who eats there so hopefully i'll go sometime. anyways, everyone's got an opinion on this. it's the most delicious debate and i could consider the evidence forever always.

Burrito/Mexican?
jose's? veracruzana? i've never really nailed this one down i guess. again, i'm not very discriminating when it comes to food in general. i don't eat bullshit. as long as it's good, i'm all about it. i'll go to the nearest good place. i also like mexican breakfast better than burritos and la lupe on 9th and federal is good for that.

Cheesesteak (vegan counts)?
now that i'm basically no longer a bloodmouth, it's all govinda's / gourmet-to-go. it's better than gianna's and anyways, i try to stand in solidarity with robby redcheeks as best i can [but sometimes everyone's getting it delivered and i don't want to starve (or think for myself apparently)]. honorable mention goes to the palm market on 2nd between fairmount and brown. descent veggie and vegan options [including chicken salad hoagie!] but they'll also put avocado on anything you want. oh and when i ate meat, the best steak i've ever had was at lucky's on kensington and lehigh. but i've never been to a few of the supposed classic places [jim's, chink's, that other one i can't remember right now] so what do i know.

Chinese?
i just eat at "a-mandarin resturant" near the first unitarian church because i'm always there working or otherwise and they have a dish called "three kinds of mushroom" and the lady is nice and will put some steamed bean curd in there for me. but if we're talking eastern / asian cuisine, i prefer sushi on a conveyor belt and supposedly there's going to be one in center city soon. right now, you have to go to that eyesore of a steven starr place "pod" on upenn's campus. other than that, i like vietnamese a lot. especially dishes with peanut sauce.

Other?
oh i could go on and on. food rules. hoagies? this is philadelphia we're talking about! hoagies are essential and they're everywhere. surprisingly, i go to subway a lot. it's near work [it's near everywhere] but it's not that great though i don't really eat meat and i like the variety of veggies that they can put on there. i like primo's sometimes if it's lunchtime. they have a good sandwich with broccoli rabe, roasted red peppers, eggplant and provolone. you can get that basic sandwich at citizen's bank park too. my favorite hoagie comes from the palm market [mentioned above]. basic cheese hoagie with provolone, spicy brown or dijon mustard and then every hoagie vegetable you can think of, in addition to black olives and avocado. sometimes i don't even get the cheese. it's all about the mustard and crunchy veggies. and tomato. cannoli? my favorite dessert and the very last thing i'd give up if i ever went vegan. all vegan cannoli is shit and tastes like they're filled with sugarwaxcream. can you tell that i grew up closer to the italian side of my family? i dip almond biscotti in my coffee and eat my salad after the meal. isgro's / termini bros / cosmi's for cannoli or just go anywhere if you want. it's not like any of them don't really know what they're doing. now is probably a good time to mention that my other favorite dessert is italian rum cake. oh and falafel is important. during the day, 20th and market, there is a zany one man cart that serves the best falafel in the city. he also serves chicken but i've never had it. it takes forever and he'll talk your ear off, but it's worth it. other than him, mama's vegetarian and bitar's are probably the best.

8. Closing up, what do you guys have planned for the near future? Shows/records/tours/etc?
i'd like to pull together a new armalite seven inch sometime this year. as for aaj, we're a band that has played together for 10+ years and has four cd demos and a half of a seven inch to show for it. it's called inertia. also, i'm gearing up to play keyboards in a cover band. ugh this was a depressing question. should have ended with the food part. also, i stopped putting up website addresses because i mentioned a lot of stuff and i assume that people know how to use google. later!

Photo taken from Armalite's Myspace.

Plow United - Narcolepsy

2008-06-04T16:07:00.000-07:00

Creep Records

When I was in 7th grade, my exposure to punk rock was pretty minimal. A kid in my neighborhood had given me a mixtape with some Rancid, Minor Threat and Operation Ivy a year before, but that was where my knowledge reached its end. That changed in 7th grade when Scott McDonald played me two Plow songs from the Creep Records Who Gits the Deer? compilation. I was hooked and immediately got my hands on a copy of their first LP. It was poppy but snotty, and the songs were fun. It was different from the other punk I knew, and it was something that I fell in love with.

As Plow continued putting out full lengths, their sound progressed. Goodnight, Sellout was more mature and a bit darker. It wasn't as fun as the first record, and it was a lot less poppy. But I was happy to have another full length in my hands. When Narcolepsy came out came out, a lot of people were upset. It was heavier. Much heavier, and much angrier. From the opening cries of "Entropy, entropy, things aren't, aren't what they used to be," it was obvious that this band had changed. Of course, this record came out after they broke up, and we'll never know what would happen if they stayed at it. Luckily, they left us with this great full length to end on, and it's come to be one of my favorites from this era, and at times, it's definitely my favorite Plow United record.

The version below is a vO rip of the original press, not the cash-in reissue that Creep did a few years ago with worse sound, shittier artwork, and without paying the band anything.

DOWNLOAD

The Gaslight Anthem / Scream Hello - 5.29.08

2008-06-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

Disgraceland
7:30 PM

Wow, typing this made me realize I went through most of May without going to a single show. Luckily, last Thursday, The Gaslight Anthem played what will probably be their smallest Philly show in a long time. This band is blowing up like crazy, and their new record will only propel that ascent to the bigger clubs and "punk" venues that cities have. So, I decided to skip Blacklisted and Paint it Black and in NJ to catch Gaslight on one of their last "intimate" shows.

I'm glad I did.

Scream Hello opened, and although I was unfamiliar with them, I had a good idea of what to expect. They hail from New Brunswick, and come from a variety of other bands I'm semi-familiar with. I was told they sound a bit like Braid or more aggressive Get Up Kids, and that was pretty spot on. They opened with good energy, and sounded tight, even if the vocals were a bit low in the mix, and their songs had a tendency to run a bitttt long. Overall though, I was really impressed. They have a new full length on the way which should be good and I'm excited to hear it. I'll definitely check this band out when they play the area again.

After a delay that was a bit too long, The Gaslight Anthem started up with the opening notes of their 2007 full length, Sink or Swim. From minute one, kids were screaming at the top of their lungs and the temperature of Disgraceland skyrocketed. They played a tight set, mixing most of the songs from the LP, as well as three songs from their recent EP. I was bummed that they didn't play "Senor and the Queen," but hearing "Blue Jeans" live was great, and fairly unexpected. As they did a few months ago, they slipped in a bit of "Stand by Me" between their upbeat storytelling punk anthems, and closed with "We're Getting a Divorce, You Keep the Diner," which had kids screaming "It's all right, man. I'm only bleeding, man. Stay hungry, stay free, and do the best you can." If you get a chance, check these guys out as soon as you can. Don't say I didn't warn you when they're playing huge venues on their next time around.

Super Hi-5 - 9.21.99

2008-05-07T18:40:00.001-07:00

Asscard Records

9.21.99 was a vinyl only 10" on Asscard Records from Germany and was only available for a short time in the US. Years ago, after the Creep Store closed, I used to stop by the Creep house to pick up records. I happened to stop by one afternoon and Arik had just gotten this box in from Germany, and I immediately snagged one, despite only being able to use my dad's record player. Needless to say, this is one of my favorite Super Hi-5 records, and I'm glad to finally have a decent rip of it. 10 songs, many of which went on to be on their final release Songs for Working, as well as a Leatherface cover. This was a nice step of them. Arik's voice was getting better and better with each release, and Sid still sounded gruff and husky. The musicianship was a step up, and hugely dynamic and this release even experimented with new instrumentation. The use of a Fender Rhodes electric piano added a bit of extra melody that wasn't really on earlier releases. Listen and enjoy. Thanks to Dave Jannes for the rip of this.

DOWNLOAD

Alison Ranger - s/t demo

2008-05-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

I figured in an attempt to liven things up, I'll start uploading older albums that I loved and that still hold up now. The first is the demo from Alison Ranger. Alison Ranger was a screamy emo band from West Chester, PA. I saw this band a handful of times, and they never disappointed live. This is their first demo, which they put out themselves in a decent looking packaging, which I've since lost. They used to have really fun shows at the bassists house and brought in screamo bands from all over the country, as well as some awesome locals. Not to mention they would take a lot of the door money and go buy pizza for everyone! Sick. But I digress. Six songs of screamo with keyboards used fairly tastefully and a drummer who seemed to be playing a fill constantly. They also had a full length titled Formula Imperative on Creep Records, which I'll up if there's interest. In the meantime, check this record out.

DOWNLOAD

Interview - Braindead

2008-05-03T07:41:00.001-07:00

Braindead is a hardcore band from Philly that should be way bigger than they are. Unfortunately, things never really seem to work out for them. They've had lineup changes and problems with the rhythm section almost steadily in the last few years. Still, their demo 7" on Braindrain, and their split with Blackbirds were both great. Their debut full length will be out this summer, and it's great. It seems that they've finally found the sound they were going towards, and in doing so have recorded a really strong first full length. It'll be out soon, and I'll have a review up in the next few weeks. Below is an interview with Steve (vocals) and Eric (guitar), two of the original members of Braindead, and great dudes.

1. Ok, you have friends in from out of town. What five places in Philly do you take them?
Steve: Well, if it was up to Eric, they would end up at his house playing Halo and nothing else.
As for me: 1- I guess a classic cheese steak. I mean, why not, and for the vegans there are other places we could go. 2- Since I'm a big art nerd and I like free shit, I would take someone to the art museum. If you got a student ID. I just think it's a sweet place to go. 3- Monday night Dudes Night at the Khyber. 4- Pretzel factory. 5- Art making Machine Studios. It's rad place cool gallery, and awesome studio spaces. Movie Nights every Wednesday night.
Eric: If I had any friends from out of town, they'd probably stay with Stevie because I'm from Jersey and I never leave my house unless it's to play Halo at Chris'.

2. Favorite venue in Philadelphia to play? Favorite to see a show?
Steve: Church is fun to play, and as far as favorites to see a show, I'd say Disgraceland and the Church, no doubt.
Eric: Hands down, the First Unitarian Church. Just something about that place, no matter who it is or how many kids, it's always full of energy.

3. Favorite all-time show(s) you've seen in Philly?
Steve: Recently, I would say Formaldehyde Junkies at Disgraceland.
Eric: Converge in Funrama's basement, American Nightmare and Count Me out at the Killtime, Saves and Day and NFG at the Church. The list could go on and on.

4. Top current Philadelphia area bands?
Steve: Lighten Up, Let Down, Paint it Black, BlackListed, UNIVOX
Eric: Blacklisted, Paint it Black and Let Down without a doubt

5. Top all-time Philadelphia area bands?
Steve: Shit, Knives Out is one of my favs.
Eric: Damage II or anything Mike Drelling got kicked out of - LOLz.

6. What records are you loving right now? (Not just Philly bands)
Steve: Death Spell Omega - Fas-Ite, Maledecti, in ignem, Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters, Superdrag - Regretfully Yours, Quicksand - Manic Compression, Cursed III, Polar Bear Club - Sometimes Things Just Disappear.
Eric: Title Fight - Kingston, Title Fight - Kingston, Title Fight - Kingston

7. Best food in Philly. Which is your top spot for each?
Steve: Pizza - Key Pizza in Fishtown
Burrito/Mexican - Call me crazy, but I still love the Qdoba Chicken Queso
Cheesesteak (vegan counts) - Pats
Chinese - Vegetarian Kingdom, and Master Wok on Temple's Campus
Other- Burgers at Standard Tap.
Eric: Pizza? Whatever you're buyin' me.
Burrito/Mexican? I don't know
Cheesesteak (vegan counts)? Who wants a vegan cheesesteak? No thanks.
Chinese? I'M KOREAN
Other? Wawa. Duh

8. Closing up, what do you guys have planned for the near future? Shows/records/tours/etc?
Steve: New record out in June, tour with Ruiner this summer for 5 weeks and just trying to start playing out as much as possible. Have a bunch of stuff lined up before tour. Also, keeping consistent band members. If anything has slowed us down its the lack of a steady lineup. Me and Eric are the only people in this band that have been with it since its inception.
Eric: Hopefully we can hook up an Xbox so we can play Halo on tour, that is unless we kill each other first. Can't wait for This Is Hardcore 08.

Cloak/Dagger / Affirmative Action Jackson - 4.25.08

2008-05-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

Deep Sleep
8PM

Despite being a kinda shitty, rainy night, I met up with some friends for pizza beforehand, and then headed over to Deep Sleep for my second Cloak/Dagger show in four days. Deep Sleep has had some pretty killer shows, and this would be my second time seeing AAJ there. This was my first show in the basement there, and it's a pretty solid show space.

There was a bit of a delay in the 7:30 start time, but that was for the better as it allowed for a lot of pretty awesome people to show up. Heather got there a bit late after a final, and I got to see some friends that I haven't seen as much as I'd like to lately. So, as much as I didn't really feel like waiting around on a Monday night, it ended up being a fun time.

Philly's favorite thrashy hardcore/joke band played first, and killed it. The last time I saw them was at the Fest, and it actually their last show. They made mention of it being their last show, and that they haven't even practiced since then. Andy and Josh attempted that afternoon, but gave up quickly, deeming it worthless. They must have been right, because they slayed it. The set was short and quick, but filled with the typical AAJ between song banter. Multiple references were made to Josh's cell phone set list, as well as mocking the "individualized street wear" sold at Deep Sleep, and emails chastising their Nikes. Always hilarious, and tight as usual. They played a lot of the songs they've been playing for years, and ended with two songs from the Sound of Failure split, which they are still selling, as well as Toshi t-shirts. Swish.

Since the bands were sharing cabs, after drums were set up, Cloak/Dagger started pretty quickly. They came out raging with a pretty similar set to Friday night in Doylestown, but they actually seemed even more energetic. Jason was bouncing all over the place with the mic on the stand, and about halfway through took it off. The set was going great, but came to a fairly abrupt halt when Colin's amp or guitar started causing all kinds of problems. Luckily, while trying to solve all of this, Mike from The Loved Ones entertained everyone with jokes. Interesting to say the least. After switching guitars, amps, and cords, The Daggers finally got going again and launched into two more songs...until the snare drum gave way and they called it quits. I'm glad I got to see them for again so quickly, as their sets keep getting better and more energetic. They also had the new 7" with them, but unfortunately they're still waiting on the LP version of We Are. Hopefully they'll be around again soon and they'll have it with them.

Paint it Black / Cloak/Dagger / Lighten Up! / Stay Sharp - 4.25.08

2008-04-26T18:51:00.001-07:00

Siren Records, Doylestown
8PM

Heather and I made the trek up to Doylestown on Friday night for one of the more solid punk lineups in a bit. I was genuinely excited to see every band on the bill, and I'm not just saying that because I have friends in a few of them. We got there and grabbed some Rita's just in time to get in and see Stay Sharp getting started.

Stay Sharp are a newer punk/hardcore band from Philly, and I'm glad I finally got to see them live. The first thing I noticed was a slick gear set up, and it paid off because they sounded really good. Big and full, which is something you don't always get from an opening band. They had a fairly energetic set, with the singer bouncing all over the stage and everyone else looking excited to be playing such a solid show. They threw in a Warzone cover and closed with "Charge The Mound" (from their Myspace), and although the crowd wasn't losing their minds or anything, they seemed to enjoy Stay Sharp, so hopefully they picked up some new fans from their solid opening set.

It's been a long time since I've seen Lighten Up, which is weird, since they're one of my favorite local bands, and great group of dudes. I tried to remember, and I think the last time I saw them was at This is Hardcore back in April. I know they took a bit of time off, but it still has been way too long. Since then, they've added Colin (None More Black, Paint it Black, others) on second guitar, and it definitely beefed up the sound. Both he and Kev ran through a variety of great sounding amps, and their set sounded great, although a bit too loud. They played a handful of songs from their demo and I'd Rather Be Snoring 7", as well as some newer songs. They're recording soon for a full length on Jumpstart, which should be pretty awesome. Their set was quick and to the point, and I was glad to finally see them again.

Another band that it's been too long since I've seen is Cloak/Dagger. The last time I saw them was Fest, when they turned in one of the best sets I've seen from them. Last night was another good one. They mixed songs from last year's great We Are with some songs from their demo and 7 inch. They really didn't waste much time, and flew through their set, which seemed a bit short. Thankfully, they're playing Monday at Deep Sleep, so I'm hoping they play a bit longer. I also hope they have their new 7", since they didn't have it on their table when I walked by last night. Regardless, it was a fun set, and they sounded good.

Now, a band that I have seen a lot lately is Paint it Black, but they never disappoint. Last night was no exception. They came out with tons of energy on "The Ledge" and within minutes, Dan's mic had been ripped away and he had blood dripping down his chin. As with Cloak/Dagger, their set seemed a bit shorter than usual, but they ripped through it with the usual energy and intensity. Dan's banter and stage presence seemed a bit more aggressive than usual, and the crowd matched it, although the stage dives were some of the worst I've seen in a while. There was a 12 year old there who threw up some of the best of the night. Hilarious and great. They closed with the normal ending lately of "Memorial Day" and "Atticus Finch" but didn't play "Shell Game Redux" to set those up. Bummer. I didn't hear "Goliath" either, which they've been playing lately and I'm really loving. Either way, they played a great set full of energy and a good song choice. With as much as they've been playing the area lately, I assume it will be a while before I see them again. Hopefully that will be soon though.

Interview - Stay Sharp

2008-04-24T14:52:00.001-07:00

Here it is: the first Go Sleeveless! interview. I sent out a handful of questions to Philadelphia area bands I'm friends with, or bands I really respect, and Scott, their bassist, was one of the first to respond. Stay Sharp is a fairly new punk band from Philly, and their recent recordings sound decent. On top of that, they have a killer show at Siren Records tomorrow, so consider this my endorsement for that.

1. Ok, you have friends in from out of town. What five places in Philly do you take them?
- Love park. Everybody I know has always asked about the LOVE sign. Invariably, I always will tell them how much Love Park sucks because you can't skateboard there anymore.

- South Street: South Street is always a hit because most of my friends like to poke around the stores there and take in Philly's own little Lower East Side, if you will. Most of them will always want to get a cheesesteak from Jim's. This is where I sigh because I don't eat meat and I have to make myself like their fries and or waiting in line for a thousand years. Always will stop by Repo because this will make my tour de philadelphia semi-interesting for myself since most people that visit me from out of town could give a shit about record diving.

- 6200 block of Osage Avenue. Normally people will say "Why are we driving to the ghetto?" Its a fairly simple answer. To show them the location where the PA State Police were ordered by then-mayor Wilson Goode to drop a bomb on a row home occupied by the MOVE organization (deemed a 'radical and terrorist' organization), which subsequently set an entire city block ablaze. Philadelphia isn't all cheesesteaks and LOVE signs; this usually has a nice jaw-dropping effect.

- Temple University. This was my alma mater. For people who haven't been there, it's great to show them this little part of my collegiate story nestled right in the middle of North Philadelphia. Besides the obvious self-indulgence this affords when friends ask me about my college experience, I also get to exaggerate when I field questions about what it was like going to school in the "hood."

- Fairmount Park. A breath of semi-fresh air in the middle of urban blight. Even though Fairmount park is teeming with violent sex offenders by nightfall, during the day its nice to take out-of-towners to show them the beautiful side of Philadelphia. If the regatta is going on that's a plus because then, again, I can make up answers about Temple's Crew team and pretend that I knew people on it and make up crazy stories involving me and Temple's Crew team members.

2. Favorite venue in Philadelphia to play? Favorite to see a show?
- The best show I've played in Philly was in a basement on 19th and Catherine affectionately dubbed "The Dust Pit." Stay Sharp played here in the beginning of April, and I thought that the 'dust pit' moniker was solely based around the fact that there's an excavation site (a byproduct of leveling a chruch - take that organized religion) across the street from the house.

I later find out that when amps are turned up to 10 and kids are dancing, drinking, and screaming along to songs, tons of (what looked like) asbestos dust mixed with fiber glass rains from the ceiling. It was awesome to play because the place was literally 10 x 20. Kids were smashed together, everybody was wasted...it was awesome.

For the burbs, you can't beat Siren Records really. What they are doing for kids up there, collectively, is amazing because younger kids just starting bands will always get a shot to play with larger bands, so its awesome to see how cohesive the Doylestown scene has become recently because of how great this venue and the kids helping to organize things there have been. Everybody gets a chance to play. It's hardcore/punk rock personified.

As far as seeing shows? I'll usually default to the First Unitarian Church, maybe because that's where I've seen most of the shows I've been to in Philadelphia. I love a good basement show though. Plan B House was an awesome place to see bands too because the house was big enough for everyone to fit comfortably and the kids there were extremely nice and awesome to talk to.

3. Favorite all-time show(s) you've seen in Philly?
- The Explosion's last show at the First Unitarian Church - August 30th, 2007, I believe.
- Paint it Black's show in front of Sailor Jerry's (13th and Sansom Streets)- April 10th, 2008.
- The Dan Stone Benefit Show (Little League, Horrorshow, One Dead Three Wounded, Blacklisted) at the First Unitarian Church - October 22nd, 2006.
- Philadelphia Sound Record Release Party @ the Pontiac Grille w/ Knives Out (last show), Paint it Black, Go! For the Throat, The Curse. October 2002.
- Coalesce HellFest Make Up Date (w/Turmoil, All Else Failed) at the First Unitarian Church - August 2005 sometime.

4. Top current Philadelphia area bands?
Paint It Black, Let Down, War Pigs, Lighten Up, Amateur Party, Towers.

5. Top all-time Philadelphia area bands?
Kid Dynamite, Affirmative Action Jackson, Go! For The Throat, The Curse.

6. What records are you loving right now? (Not just Philly bands)
Cloak/Dagger - We Are
Paint it Black - New Lexicon
Mother of Mercy - No Eden
The Steinways - Unoriginal Recipe
Let Down - We're In This Alone
Title Fight - Kingston
War Pigs - No Hope, No Faith, No Point
Stereolab - Dots and Loops
The Weakerthans - Left and Leaving
Off With Their Heads - Hospitals

7. Best food in Philly. Which is your top spot for each?
Pizza? Well, Andrew, now that Pizzafuse has happened, I think I can say I fully support Lazaros on 18th and South.
Burrito/Mexican? La Cantina on Passyunk, Los Jalapenos on 4th and Moore streets.
Cheesesteak (vegan counts)? Govinda's Vegetarian/Gianna's Grille (Broad and South, or 6th and South respectively).
Chinese? Mai Lai Wah or Jade Harbor in Chinatown.
Other? Go grab a beer at the Pope on 10th-11th and Dickinson if you want a diverse selection of booze and a lower-key atmosphere. Run up somebody's tab at Sugar Mom's in Old City because they will forget to charge you for everything you order.

8. Closing up, what do you guys have planned for the near future? Shows/records/tours/etc?
We're playing with Paint it Black, Cloak/Dagger, and our boys in Lighten Up at Siren Records on April 25th. REALLLLLLY looking forward to that. I think there's talk of recording a couple songs for either our own 7 inch, or a split with somebody else this summer. Whether it will be put out by Monkey Wrench (our guitar player, Bryon, runs this label), or by somebody else is all a tossup. As far as touring, there are a few festivals I'd like to try and get us on in the fall - I don't think I have to really say which ones, but we really want to play a lot this summer. I'm looking forward to everything there is to come.

4/25 - Siren Records
S. Main Street/Doylestown PA 18901
8pm/8bux
Paint it Black
Cloak/Dagger
Lighten Up
Stay Sharp

Paint it Black - 4.10.08

2008-04-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Out front of Sailor Jerry's, 13th and Sansom
8PM

Last Thursday night was easily one of the best night's Philadelphia punk/hardcore has seen in a long time. When I read a few months ago that Paint it Black would be playing out front of Sailor Jerry's, I didn't quite know what to expect. Other shows that happened out there had smaller crowds, but the prospect of stage diving out of trees was pretty damn awesome. As the show got closer, news started coming out... the street was being shut down entirely.

When we got to the show after a crucial Lazaro's/Rita's pre-show hang out, I had one of those "holy shit" moments. Hundreds of kids had 13th street completely full, and Paint it Black had their gear set up on the sidewalk, facing out towards the street. After about an hour of bullshitting and running into friends, I made my way towards stage right, almost directly behind a PA speaker.

As PIB came out, people started getting real excited, and climbing trees, street signs, and parking meters. As the first song got started, 13th street exploded. The first outlandish thing was Jeff Ziga hurtling from atop parking meter, leap-frogging the PA speaker, and falling out into the crowd, cracking a clip on the PA stand, and sending the speaker to the ground. From there on, total chaos erupted. Kids were throwing themselves all over the street, flipping out of trees, crashing into the band and their gear, and swallowing Yemin whole. I managed to sneak my way up to end up leaning on Andy's bass amp, and things were completely wild. Halfway through the set, Yemin proclaimed Philadelphia the best city in the country, and Andy and Josh started a "Fuck El Vez" chant, weirding out everyone at the upscale restaurant across the street. Everyone was excited, and the energy didn't really stop.

As far as the actual set was concerned, a solid mix of songs from all three full lengths was played, similar to what they played at the record release shows. I was really glad to hear "Goliath," as the more I listen to it, the more I'm bummed it was left off New Lexicon. About halfway through, Andy's bass input got demolished by something/someone, and the set was almost cut short. Luckily, Mike McKee physically held the chord in until some duct taped was procured, and the input was "fixed." They ended strong as expected, with all the big sing alongs ("Shell Game Redux," "Memorial Day"), and left kids screaming for an encore, which never came.

Overall, this was one of the most surreal sets I've ever seen. It's up there with the Paint it Black house show, and in terms of insanity, probably surpasses it. The set was great, the crowd was out of their mind, and the setting was something that will probably never be seen again by the city of Philadelphia. Hundreds of kids destroying a downtown street, while one of the best bands in hardcore rages, and cops stand by AND SUPPORT IT. Unreal.

Below are some exclusive pics that Robby Redcheeks sent me and some from Paint it Black's Myspace. For more, see his site, linked at the bottom.

For the completists, here is a link to a .divx file of the entire set!

For other wild pics and videos, check out these links:
Robby Redcheeks
Mike Brennan
Fun Vampires

Josh Small - Tall

2008-04-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

Josh Small - Tall
Suburban Home

A few months ago, my friend Jon said to me, "I'm tired of people who don't listen to folk or punk trying to play folk punk." This is as true a statement regarding the folk punk explosion as you'll ever hear. Luckily, Josh Small listens to lots of folk, and plays it well. This record doesn't fall into the same genre as your typical Against Me! clones. Instead, Josh Small plays bluesy folk music that stands on the strength of its songwriting, rooted deeply in Americana.

For those that don't know, Josh Small is a singer/songwriter from Richmond VA. He's toured with a variety of bands, and recently has been playing in Tim Barry's touring band. Small is a talented musician, who plays guitar, mandolin, and banjo pretty extensively on this record, and plays these, as well as other instruments in a live setting.

Tall, his debut LP, is 12 songs that sound like Richmond. Josh definitely lives slow, and this album sounds like it was written in late nights on a front porch sipping whiskey, or around a campfire with some friends, and I mean that in the best way possible. This slow life is best personified when Small cries "If New York's all you need, you don't need me." Layers of honesty and downright soulfulness weave intricate stories and melodies that get stuck in your head, long after the record is over. At times, and this sounds strange, but I get a very Sufjan Stevens vibe from a lot of the songs. Small has an ability to turn a simple folks/blues song into a memory. Part of this honesty comes from the production of this. The layers of instrumentation is crisp and clear, and the vocals feel like they're in the room with you. The slight breaking and creaking of Josh's voice comes through in every word, and comes through as intimate and personal.

Really, I can't say enough good things about this. If you're into blues or folk, or even the more recent folk-punk boom, I would definitely check this out. My only problems with this album are slight. I think some of the songs run on a bit too long. Few song clocks in under 4 minutes, and while they're good, there are times when I just don't have the attention span. Secondly, I'm having a hard time finding this LP at a decent price. It's actually a double LP, and I'm sure it looks great, but Suburban Home sells it for about $25, which is pretty high, especially since shipping isn't included. However, I'm sure I'll be picking it up soon, and definitely if I find it cheaper.

"Damn, look at that porch!"

Blacklisted - Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God

2008-04-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

Blacklisted - Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God
Deathwish Inc.

It can be hard watching a singer air his problems with an openness and I-don't-give-a-shit attitude. In this day and age, there's a good chance that heart-on-the-sleeve feeling is completely fake, produced by someone trying to seem desperate. Or, you have that feeling that sooner or later they're going to go over the top, and singing such absurdities as found on recent Hawthorne Heights singles. Thankfully, George Hirsch, Blacklisted's vocalist, is about as open and honest with his flaws as you can get. And on their newest LP, Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God, George lays his faults out for the world to see. Not only that, he relishes in them. And it couldn't be better.

Blacklisted was never really a band that I was too into. The first EP and full length (Our Youth is Wasted and The Beat Goes On, respectively) have their moments, but never really grabbed me. Last year's Peace on Earth, War on Stage, however, knocked me on my ass. Fresh off an almost breakup, with a revamped lineup, George and the boys dropped a 7" that was one of my favorite hardcore EPs in a long time.

Luckily, the newest LP picks up right where they left off. Only stronger. In the last year, Blacklisted has tightened up and written one of the strongest full lengths hardcore's heard in a long time. They come out punching you in the face on "Stations" and keep blazing through track after track. A dirty bass tone, and heavy guitars keep moving and show hints at old Blacklisted. But like Philly friends Paint it Black, Blacklisted have learned that the most demented and fucked up parts in hardcore aren't the loud ones; they're the quiet moments, when you learn to not play, but knock your listener on his ass. This record is full of moments just like that. Where breakdowns aren't pummeling, but warped all the same (see "Tough Test," "Wish," and "Circuit Breaker" among others).

And leading the charge into the demented is Hirsch. When he screams "Cause all I know is the downside" ("Memory Layne"), you know that he felt that. It's not MTV created anguish; it's legit. When he takes on religion and informs the listener/believer "We don't need Jesus to please us, it's not as comforting as you'd like to guess," it's beyond convincing. Hirsch even takes on marriage in "Matrimony," claiming "Tell me I'm childing all you want, I just want to love myself," and you know he's not selfish. He's truly searching for that spot in his life. And you, listener, have this search on wax.

Truly the most different track for Blacklisted, and the most honest for George is "Wish," the album's closer. The 3 and a half minute dirge wanders almost aimlessly, with no chorus, but the repetition of "wish" keeps it moving. And when the album closes with Hirsch screaming, "Wish the darkness didn't cloud me, wish I wasn't an emotional wreck," you know that you've witnessed a cathartic moment, recorded for the world to hear.

Jena Berlin / Young Livers - 3.22.08

2008-03-24T15:35:00.001-07:00

Washington College, Chestertown, MD
8PM

Our trip to Marlyand started in Philadelphia around 2, and involved many pit stops before we actually made it to the show. The first, and probably most entertaining was a trip to Christiana Mall to grab a computer at the Apple store. There was also a good deal of shenanigans, as well as a meeting with Miss Delaware, who should have her crown revoked for poor grammar during autograph signings, as well as mis-use of the word "chong." Pretty poor pageant winner if you ask me.

After leaving the mall, Heather, Mike, Kev and Rhiannon and I all piled into Rhiannon's car and headed to our second destination - Capriottis. For those not in the know, this sandwich shop has outrageously great turkey sandwiches (both of real meat or vegan - sweet!) that are huge. We all grabbed something to eat and relaxed before the boring stretch of road into Washington College.

Washington College sits in a pretty bare stretch of nothing in Maryland, but let me say that Chestertown has a few things going for it. One, the porches there are unfuckwithable. Seriously, the best. There are also lax as hell liquor stores and pizza places with top notch mozz sticks. All in all, awesome!

We get to the show and hang around for a while, while various members of our entourage and Jena Berlin down whiskey and beers. A college that sells beer on campus! Wild. Eventually, Young Livers get started. I've written a bit about them on here before, and I really like their debut EP. I'm actually in the process of waiting for No Idea to mail it to me. So far, no luck. Hopefully it comes soon! They started with the first two songs from that record, "The Small Hours" and "Non Monumental," and played a good chunk of The New Drop Era. They also played a new song that was great, if not a bit more relaxed seeming. The energy was high, and they sounded tight and pretty huge. A little heckling went down, with my personal favorite being Kev's "You guys are from Florida? Where are your beards at?" They played a pretty short set, only about 6 or 7 songs, but they were really impressive, and nice guys on top of it.

Jena Berlin started next, and were the only other band of the night. As I said above, I love these dudes, and this set was no exception (even if it was a bit long for me). They started with a new song ("this is a song that Small Brown Bike probably would have written") and played a few more new ones than they did a few days earlier at the M Room. They also played a good deal of songs from Quo Vadimus and more from Passion Waits... than I've heard in a while. Most of my favorites were played, and I was glad they ended with "Truth About Liars," since I was bummed when they didn't play it on Tuesday. Jon was as energetic as usual, and they handled the good natured, but relentless heckling fairly well. There were a few too many "we don't have a setlist" breaks, but still a solid sets from one of my favorite locals.

Jena Berlin - 3.18.08

2008-03-20T13:53:00.001-07:00

M-Room
8PM

This entire show was based off the bait and switch. It was originally said that this show was $8, or $13 if you wanted the AKAs record, which I didn't. We were also told that there would be free rum and vegan treats. When Heather and I got there, w found Kev wandering Girard Ave with a rum and coke. At least the rum was provided. We did find out that the show was $13 no matter what, and there were no vegan treats. Total bait and switch. Either way, we got there and lots of free rum was consumed by all of my friends. I was still bummed at the lack of vegan treats, but it was a great time for the first hour or so. Around 9, Jena Berlin headed over to the side room to start playing.

I'm going to preface my brief review by saying how much this band bums me out. I love Jena Berlin. As far as Philly bands go, they're easily one of my favorites, and their live shows are some of the best I've seen. Quo Vadimus, their full length from last year, was in my top three records of the year. However, this band is sadly underrated and not given the respect they deserve, even in their hometown.

They opened up with a song from Quo Vadimus, and played about 8 songs. Most of the set was from Quo Vadimus, but they also threw in one from the first record and two new ones. The new songs were great and good to hear, despite the fact that I probably won't hear them recorded for a while. There were lots of tempo changes and dynamic shifts in them. They kept the same sound as the previous songs, but with the evolution that they've come to show over the past few years. I hear they're going on break for a bit, but hopefully they get these songs recorded and put out in the near future.

Aside from the songs played, they sounded really tight, even as a four piece. Their lineup has been changing a lot of late, but they still sound great. Jon's voice sounded really strong and he was all over the place. He was diving all over the crowd and really energetic. Dave's backups were on point, and Jeff was spot on drums. Jesse was playing bass and did a good job, despite I guess being a fill in (maybe? who knows?).

The highlight (or lowlight, depending on how you look at it) came at the end when a ton of diving went on. Unfortunately, a girl in a wheelchair got dove on, and when messing around, another girl got shoved into a wall. This pissed her off enough that she punched Mike in the face, and a small scuffle broke out. Free rum and a wild band will make that happen! All in all, a fun night, and I can't wait to see them with Young Livers this weekend in Maryland.

Pink Razors / Amateur Party / Erin Tobey / Kick Rocks - 3.14.08

2008-03-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Circle of Hope (Back room)
7:30PM

I'd never been to a show in the back room at Circle of Hope. It's a ton smaller than the first room, but definitely a good space for a smaller show. The lights were out, and the only thing illuminating the room for most of the show was a few strands of white Christmas lights. It sounded decent, and despite my original thoughts that the "stage" set up was awkward, it actually allowed for a good semi circle to form around the band and everyone was packed in nicely.

Kick Rocks played first. They're the new pop punk band from Peter (Algernon, Peter & Craig, Velouria, P4, etc) and Craig (Elder, Towers, every band ever). They sounded pretty decent, although some of the lead lines sounded a bit off. They had three different vocalists, with good harmonies and slightly out of key pop punk vocals. The songs were short, but they strung them together well, and it was a solid set, which I think may have been their first. Since it's Peter and Craig, expect multiple split 7"s and cassettes and shows in weird places often. I'd check em out again.

Erin Tobey played a solo set next. She's the girl who joined Pink Razors last year (or before? I forget), and the set was just her singing and playing guitar, and the other guitarist from the Razors playing bass. Really, this wasn't my thing, and I just headed outside after a few songs to hang out with some people.

I'm thinking about changing this to zigaband.blogspot.com, because I feel like I write an entry about a Jeff Ziga band at least every other entry. This was another Amateur Party set, and much better than the last one. They opened with "Public Utility Complaint" and ended with "Sounds and Halls to House Them" and "Gun Fever," and filled the rest of the set with new songs. I'm getting bummed that they're not recorded yet, and it will be a while since Steve is going on tour with Off Minor for a few months. Anyway, other than a bit of good natured heckling from Mike and Kev, some of which threw McKee of his banter game, this was a really good set and I was happy to hear it. It seems like they'll be inactive for about three months, so hopefully my next Ziga entry will be Armalite (!) or AAJ (!!).

Pink Razors set up quickly and started with "Disapproval Rating" and immediately I could tell that they sounded better than the last time I saw them (at the Fest). Ever since their lineup shakeup, I've been hit or miss on these guys. I miss the gruffness of the singer that left, but sets like this one really turned it around for me. They played a handful of songs off of the LP and their EPs, but they also tested out a bunch of new songs, which they'll be recording with Steve Roche as I type this. Definitely sweet! They played "Sew it Seems" which is still a great song, no matter how many times I hear it. Hopefully they'll resume the "playing Philly every 6 weeks schedule" that they were on for a while, and I'll see them turn in more quality sets like this one.

The Danger O's - Nineteen Ninety Four

2008-03-08T17:05:00.001-08:00

The Danger O's - Nineteen Ninety Four
Creep Records

Nineteen Ninety Four is the second release from The Danger O's, and the first featuring one of my best friends from high school, Nick, on drums. Since the recording of this record, another old friend, Abe, has joined on guitar. I'm very happy that they're both playing music and doing something that they love so much. They seem really happy with the new band, and the new record, and I'm proud of them both.

Now, setting personal connections aside, and on to the actual record. The Danger O's play poppy, sometimes dance-inspired indie pop. There are moments that have the heavy bass and drums of more modern bands like Bloc Party, as well as classics like The Police. Lots of spacey, open guitar arpeggios and delayed Edge-inspired lines weave in and out of the complex drum parts. The vocals are hit or miss with me, but when he either really subdues his voices, or pushes it to the higher register, I really like it.

In addition to the standard three piece arrangement, lots of tasteful pianos, synthesizers, hand claps, and various percussion instruments add a lot to the mix, without overdoing it. None of the extra instrumentation is overwhelming, but they all supplement the songs perfectly. You can tell that this is a very well thought out record, and attention was paid to every detail, from instrumentation to vocal effects and harmonies.

There's a certain beauty to the two and a half minute long pop song. The perfect pop song is difficult to achieve, but when you do, there's a reason it's perfect. This is by far the most poppy project that Nick and Abe have been involved in, and they're striving for that perfect pop song. And on this record, there are a number of moments that come close. "Canada" is a song that should wouldn't sound out of place in a WB teen drama or one a romantic comedy movie while the date montage plays. "MFW" bounces along and feels like something The Beatles would write if they were just starting out in 2008. "Doomsday" alternates between a verse that sounds like Quicksand, and a much poppier chorus, and gives a more aggressive edge to the record and provides much needed tension.

The biggest problem the Danger O's have with crafting the perfect 2:30 pop song is that almost every songs pushes 3:30 or 4 minutes. Looking at the tracks, there isn't one shorter than 3 minutes on the entire record. Part of what makes a perfect pop song is the desire for it to keep going - wanting to hear it, even after it's finished. Unfortunately, one thing that I've noticed about a lot of these structures is the repetition of a chorus four or five times, which pushes it a little longer than I would like, and almost seems as if it makes the parts less memorable instead of strengthening the songs. While the songs and parts are generally impressive and solid, a little bit of economy with the choruses may help. Of course, that's just the opinion of a guy who listens to predominantly 2 minute punk rock songs.

All in all, I'm impressed with this record, having never really heard much of the first Danger O's release. I'm happy that my friends are playing such solid music, and enjoying doing it. Aside from the length of the songs (and the lack of lyric insert in the LP!), I have no major complaints about this record. Hopefully big things happen for these guys!

Strike Anywhere / Paint it Black / Riverboat Gamblers / Higher Giant - 3.5.08

2008-03-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

First Unitarian Church
7:30PM

After yet another crucial pre-show food outing in Chinatown, a bunch of us made it to the Church right in time to see Higher Giant. This was their third show, but you'd never know it from the tightness of their performance, and how well written the songs were. Of course, this is to be expected when Ernie Parada (Black Train Jack, Grey Area) and Dave Wagenshutz (Kid Dynamite, Paint it Black, etc) are in the band. Basically, they sounded like a third Grey Area record, which is awesome. They played six or seven songs, and despite a few technical problems, sounded really good. Nice, tight song structures, great drum parts (duh!), and Ernie's high pitched vocals. They were a nice start to the night, and I really hope that they stay together. Something tells me that this will be a short lived project, but I'm reallllly hoping I'm wrong on that.

After a trip to Wawa, I caught a bit of the Riverboat Gamblers. I know a lot of people really didn't like them, but there was a small pocket of kids up front who seemed pretty excited. They were snotty, rock and roll-ish punk, but their singer kinda seemed like a total goober. Lots of mic tossing, and Mick Jagger strutting around. He also liked to climb on speakers and amps and whatnot, but then just kind of casually hop off. Lame. They had their moments, but overall I was pretty unimpressed.

The lights went down, and a dark, hip hop beat started over the PA, and Philly's favorites stormed the stage. Paint it Black ripped straight into "The Ledge" from their new record, and kids lost their minds from minute one. Their set had a handful of songs from the new record (mostly ones played at the release shows), and a lot of old favorites like "Nicaragua," "Cannibal", "Womb Envy" and "CVA." "Shell Game Redux" sounded great towards the end of the set (with Mike McKee doing back ups), and "Atticus Finch" seemed like a strange closer after the penultimate excitement, but as usual, kids went nuts and gave them a great response. As usual, Dan spoke a lot about political issues such as the upcoming election, Central American politics, and gentrification of urban areas, and Andy mentioned Ardmore. There's no reason that New Lexicon shouldn't be the best record of the year, and Paint it Black should really start garnering even more attention as one of the best bands playing punk/hardcore.

"We're just the Paint it Black afterparty," were the words of Strike Anywhere frontman Thomas when they started their set. It's been a while since they've been in Philly, and they had some huge shoes (Chucks?) to fill after the Paint it Black set. Unfortunately, I don't think they achieved it. The first sign of this came when they started with "Prisoner Echoes" from Dead FM. Don't get me wrong, I like the album, and it's well written, but it definitely lacks a lot of the energy of early Strike Anywhere. The group of kids piled up front were obviously into the newer stuff, but this didn't really incite much energy. As a whole, the set was a little heavy on songs from Dead FM and Exit English. The first four songs from Exit English were played, but so was "Til Days Shall Be No More" which I've never actually seen them play. There were a few old songs scattered throughout, and I couldn't help but make my way up to the front for "Timebomb Generation" and "Chorus of One." Closing with "Sunset on 32nd" was also a nice touch. While I would've liked a few more older songs, I can't entirely complain about the set.

On large problem with the set was Thomas' voice. It pains me to say this, but it sounded pretty damn bad. He's still an energetic frontman, and one of the most passionate players in the game, but he was shrieky and his voice kept cracking from the get-go. I've heard that he sounded stronger at other spots along the tour, but it was really tough at times. There would be moments or lines where it sounded good, and then it would kind of fall apart. It was kind of sad to watch a band that meant so much to you over the years turn in such an average set, but that's how I felt watching them. I traveled all over PA watching for the last few years, and last night was definitely the weakest set I've seen from them.

The show was a good time, and seeing so many great friends was awesome. I have high expectations for Higher Giant, and hope to see Strike Anywhere put on a better set next time I see them. Paint it Black killed it, as expected, and if I never see Riverboat Gamblers again, I'll probably live.

Petition / My Turn to Win - 2.29.08

2008-03-01T10:37:00.000-08:00

Lunt Hall, Haverford College
9PM

I was glad to see that there was a show going on at Haverford. Even if these bands aren't really my particular style of hardcore/punk, it's nice to have a show within walking distance of my house. I didn't get to walk to this since I was coming after the show in West Chester, but hopefully more of these happen.

I got to this pretty late, and actually expected it to be almost over, but at about 10:30 I figured I could catch the end. Turns out that neither MTTW or Petition had played, so I was in luck. Two shows in one night and getting to see another set of friends play...awesome.

This was my first time seeing MTTW with the new lineup, and it was definitely the best yet. I've told Dave this before, but I've seen them play some pretty sketchy shows, and I was always trying to figure out who the weak link was. But seeing them with two guitarists, and a tighter rhythm section was good. Dave's voice sounded strong, although the PA was pretty low in the mix, and two guitars really makes them sound a ton fuller. I hadn't heard much of the new demo, but I assume that's what they played a lot of, or songs from the upcoming full length. I didn't notice much from the earlier demos, aside from a song or two. They also did their cover of "Ready to Fight," which freaked out a lot of the Haverford kids who wandered down and weren't really sure what was going on. Plus, Jess bled. A lot.

After a delay that was way too long, Petition got started. Straight edge. Sweet. This was especially awesome, considering the amount of drunk Haverford goobers, and "pigs" smoking inside. While I'm not too into this style of hardcore, as I said above, they sounded good and were definitely energetic. Highlights of their set include Josh giving a fuck you to the aforementioned pigs, Josh falling down while trying to jump, Dan Yost casually sipping on a straw in his milkshake with an absurd mustache, and closing with a Texas is the Reason cover ("Back and to the Left").

Not my particular style of punk/hardcore, but it was definitely fun to see some friends play in a new venue, which was pretty sweet and close to home. Good times.

The Danger O's / The Scenic - 2.29.08

2008-03-01T10:19:00.001-08:00

Union Ramp Park
6PM

I got to this show pretty late, but ran into Nick outside, so it was good to catch up. We also had a nice awkward conversation with a handful of my students. Abe showed up shortly thereafter, and we headed inside. Even more students in there. Upwards of 20. Outrageous.

Anyway, I watched a few songs from The Scenic, who were good at what they do, but not really my thing. If it was about 7-8 years ago, I'd probably like them a lot more. They had a poppy, indie emo-ish pop punk thing going on, but really slick sounding (think Copeland or Mae). A little toooo clean for my tastes. But, they did have some outrageous gear, so they sounded really good, and nice and tight. They're not bad at all, just not really something I'm interested in listening to when I could just put on Clarity.

After they played, I grabbed my copy of Nineteen Ninety-Four, the free LP that the Danger O's were giving out to celebrate the release. Of course, taking it out to my car led to making my way through the gauntlet of students, but overall it was funny and pretty entertaining. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions to answer on Monday.

When I came back in, my brother, Todd and I grabbed a spot just to the left of the stage area, and the Danger O's got started. I was glad to catch a full set, since I'd either seen partial sets, or missed them completely multiple times. So, it was good to be able to watch some of my old friends in a new band, and have a blast doing it. Since obviously most of the songs were from the new release, I didn't know too many of the songs. Also, the PA was pretty shitty, which made hearing or understanding vocals pretty tough. The only one I outright recognized was the closer, "Dance, Dance Revolution Part 2." But, they were real energetic, watching Nick drum is always a blast, and kids seemed into them. They sounded tight, which with that style of music is important. Nick is a great drummer, and the rhythm section sounded good, which gives a nice base for the leads and open style of playing that Abe does in this band. So, being tight is pretty necessary, and they managed to nail that. Overall, it was good to see them play well and have people really enjoy it. You can check out songs from the new record, or order the LP here.

The Loved Ones / The Gaslight Anthem / The Ergs / Amateur Party - 2.24.08

2008-02-27T19:07:00.000-08:00

First Unitarian Church
7:30

First and foremost, there was a crucial burrito meeting at Salsalitos beforehand, which also turned into a trip for coffee, hot chocolate and apple cider at a gelato spot. So, about 10 of us rolled to this show stuffed, but excited. The line at the church was marginally long, but we entertained ourselves by generally outclowning anyone in our immediate area. Once we got in, limited edition vinyl was purchased, but I was bummed to notice that Gaslight didn't have their new 7".

Amateur Party started the night, and if you've ever read any of this blog before, you've probably noticed their name. They sounded good, but their set ran a bit long. Scott's basslines on the new songs were really impressive, and added a lot to all of the new songs. They only played two songs that they have recorded ("Sounds, and Halls to House Them" and "Public Utility Complaint"), but they also played "Gun Fever," which they've been playing for years, but I have yet to hear recorded. My only complaint on this set was McKee's "solos" seemed pretty off. With the addition of a second guitarist, he should possibly think about relinquishing some of the lead guitarist roles and focus on keeping the rhythm. On the whole, however, a solid start to the night.

The Ergs were next and I still don't care. Kids seem into them, but I just don't get it, so I went to Wawa. I came back, and it seemed like they were tight, but I just can't enjoy this band. Sorry folks.

Next up was the band of the night for me. I was excited to see The Gaslight Anthem, since I missed them at Fest due to scheduling problems. I can easily say that this was my biggest regret of the whole weekend. After seeing them on Sunday, I'm even more disappointed. They came out blazing, and the kids who were into them went off. Their singer, Brian, sounded even better live than he does recorded. Nothing they've recorded, despite being great, has come close to capturing their energy. They played most of the favorites from Sink or Swim, and "Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis?" from the upcoming 7". They were perfectly tight and full sounding throughout the entire set, and musically sounded just like the records, down to the smallest nuance. My only gripe about the set was the silliness and theatrics of the lead guitarist. Playing a tapping solo behind your head? Save that for Atreyu shows, please. Setting that aside, it's easy to argue that The Gaslight Anthem was the band of the night, and that their recent success has been well deserved. I can't wait to see what 2008 holds for these guys. Hopefully it's lots more shows in Philly.

Last, but certainly not least, were Philly's favorite punk rock and rollers, The Loved Ones. Hot off of their two night New Year's Eve stint at the North Star, as well as the release of their second full length, the boy returned to the Church for their record release show. The aforementioned limited vinyl had kids excited, and kids already seemed to know a lot of Build and Burn. They played a good amount of songs off of that, including opening with "Pretty Good Year" and closing with "Louisiana." The only songs I DON'T remember hearing from the new record are "Third Shift" and "Dear Laura."

In addition to these songs, they played a good amount of stuff from previous releases, and most of the crowd favorites (especially "Player Hater Anthem"!). Dave's sister Missy played a handful of songs on piano, and his (much) younger played guitar for "Louisiana" while Dave grabbed the mic for the last song to end their set. After a very brief pause, they came back out to play three more songs, which ended with "I Swear." They sounded much better than they did at the New Year's show, which was good. The guitars sounded better and there was a lot more energy. Much better, and a strong ending to a damn fine show. It's a tossup between The Loved Ones and Gaslight for band of the night, but I definitely enjoyed myself.

(Photos courtesy of Manny Mares)

Fake Problems - Viking Wizard Eyes Wizard Full of Lies

2008-02-17T13:47:00.000-08:00

Fake Problems - Viking Wizard Eyes Wizard Full of Lies
Good Friends Records

Fake Problems is one of those bands that I really want to like. The ties to Gainesville punk rock, the steady stream of energetic live shows, and the constant touring make them appealing. Not to mention the fact that everyone deems them as so honest and hardworking. Unfortunately, their critically heralded debut, How Far Our Bodies Go, did very little for me. I gave it a few spins, found myself unimpressed, and have pretty much written them off ever since.

Their new 7", Viking Wizard Eyes Wizard Full of Lies, has done very little to change my mind. This record is three songs, all named after Blink 182 songs, with a folk punk feel. What makes this record a bit different from the full length is that it's a bit more southern feeling, as opposed to a seemingly generic folk punk record. The first and third tracks have a good amount of extra instrumentation. As a matter of fact, I'd say that I actually really like the organ on "Adam's Song," as well as the banjo on "Wendy Clear."

Despite their growth, and slight stylistic shift, I find myself really struggling to find something that really grabs me with this band. The vocals seemed forced. It's almost as if he's just trying to put the rasp in his voice, and trying for a southern twang, which to me just seems forced. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's not for me.

People seem to like Fake Problems, and they seem to be growing on each tour, so good for them. I just have yet to hear anything to really back up the hype.

Title Fight - Kingston

2008-02-17T13:19:00.000-08:00

Tight Fight - Kingston
Flight Plan Records

Title Fight definitely isn't reinventing the wheel on their newest 7". You've already heard what these young kids are doing, and if you were going to shows in the late 90s or early 2000s, you saw a LOT of bands doing it. You know, lyrics about girls, octave leads over catchy choruses, and hardcore influenced breakdowns. Title Fight would have fit right in on Vagrant or EVR in 2001.

What makes Title Fight different? Well, they're good. REAL good. Unlike a lot of the Saves The Day clones of the early 2000s, Title Fight shows tight-as-hell musicianship and creative songwriting to really set them ahead of the pack, especially considering they're young as hell. Not afraid to drastically shift tempos on a dime, or throw a curve into a stale formula, this three song 7" is a really impressive effort for these kids.

"Loud and Clear" really stands out to me as the best song on this record, with a memorable lead intro, and slightly off-key, but melodic vocals. New, creative parts come out of nowhere before even more gruff vocals come in, which add a nice touch. Then, out of nowhere, the song slows down and really calms down, with a bass line that wouldn't sound out of place on Jawbreaker's Dear You. The ending vocals are buried a bit in the mix, and add a nice dynamic.

"Youreyeah" is a strong closing track, and is a bit more straightforward than "Loud and Clear," but this doesn't mean it's not impressive. Then ending breakdown/outro would fit right in on Jersey's Best Dancers.

Kingston is an impressive batch of songs for a group of young kids, and shows that not only are they talented musicians, but they have a knack for writing catchy, but unique songs that can deviate from standard emotional pop punk structures and cliches.

Pick this record up so Bill, the mastermind behind Flight Plan Records can go buy some Checkers. Or put it towards his new record store in Old City, coming soon.

The Steinways - Unoriginal Recipe

2008-02-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

The Steinways - Unoriginal Recipe
It's Alive Records

For the most part, there are two types of Steinways songs. There are the sappy but silly Screeching Weasel inspired 2 minute pop punk songs, and there are the 15 second, extra silly pop punk songs. Their full length, Missed the Boat, was full of both. Since then, they've released a 10", some comp tracks, and a split, all following this same formula.

Recently, It's Alive has released the Unoriginal Recipe 7", which is six songs, all pretty silly, but sappy love songs. My favorite part is that none of the super short, almost teaser songs are on here. It's six solid, well written, well thought out songs that show what the Steinways are capable of.

The A-side of record starts with "Good Morning Sunshine" which has an intro very reminiscent of anything off Missed the Boat, but it's got enough catchiness in the chorus to make it stand out on it's own. The song that stands out the most on the A-side, actually, is the third song, I Shit (You Not). Ace, the band's guitarist, takes lead vocals on this track, which is a bit different than anything on the previous full length, although I'm told he sings a lot more live. That song also has possibly my favorite line of the whole record with "and I promise not to let you go, even when the Riverdales decide to tour." Great!

The B-side has three solid pop punk tunes, with "Main Street, Flushing, USA" being my favorite song of the whole record, detailing the singer constantly running into cute girls on the 27 bus (Riverdales again?) as well as their "stupid looking boyfriend(s)." It's got the same tongue-in-cheek silliness that you expect from The Steinways mixed perfectly with a sappy Weaselish pop punk song. The last song on the record, "Voce Tem Labios De Uma Galinha", is, you guessed it, sung entirely in Spanish, and has a nice acoustic guitar lead throughout. Luckily, the 7" comes with translated lyrics!

Possibly the coolest thing about this record, which I missed the preorder on, was the Pizza Pack that you could get it with. According to It's Alive, The Pizza Pack is an actual pizza box stuffed with the following: a pizza crust color vinyl 7", a thermo printed cd-r, an insert, a poster, a standard 7" jacket, a magnet, a button and a t-shirt with the cover art for the record silk screened on the front. Limited to 100 - very cool.

Now, really, I can't wait for their new LP. Their Myspace is currently featuring a song from it! Go check it out.

The Gaslight Anthem - Senor and the Queen

2008-02-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

The Gaslight Anthem - Senor and the Queen
Sabot Productions

"Wild hearts, blue jeans and white t-shirts."

When I think of The Gaslight Anthem, and really gruff punk rock in general, this line conjures up a pretty accurate representation. Their debut full length, Sink or Swim, was in my top three records of last year, and I've anxiously been awaiting this double 7 inch EP. The mp3s are available online, and I can't wait to pick up the vinyl at the show in two weeks with the Loved Ones. This EP has four songs, all of which are pretty different, and it shows them branching out a bit as songwriters, which is good.

The title track opens the record with a dark ringing chord which then leads into a verse similar to what we expect from The Gaslight guys. Uptempo, gruff rock and roll inspired punk, with technical leads over the top of it. The lyrics had the typical storytelling feel, with a half time chorus/outro. A solid lead off song.

"Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis?" is next, and starts with a very open feeling intro and a deep, rumbling bassline holding it all together before launching into a faster, scratchy verse. Something about the feel of this song is very loose, but it gives it a very natural, analog rock and roll feel. The lyrics continue storytelling and he continues talking to a senorita, which continues a theme from the first song.

The next track, "Say I Won't (Recognize)" is back to the faster, fuller sound we expect from Gaslight, and the technical leads (oddly reminiscent of Minus the Bear) reemerge. The chorus of "we're having a party, everybody's swinging, tonight won't you come down out of your tower, don't make me dance all night all alone" is super catchy and continues the story of talking with senorita (Maria?). About halfway through, the song drastically slows down and drops out, and the vocals take on a neat feel that his have never before. When it starts to rebuild, the hi-hat, bass drum and gang vocals give it a very southern "chain-gang" kind of mood, before heading back into to the chorus again.

"Blue Jeans and White T Shirts" is the most different of the songs on this EP. It's very stripped down, and has a Springsteen feel to it (you have to think there's a nod to him lyrically with "still we sing our heroes 33 rounds per minute"). It never really picks up, and there's a somber tone throughout, as well as great female backing vocals in the chorus. Feedback swells, light guitars, airy leads give it a feel that Gaslight has hinted at, but never really delved into. It's a nice change for them, and I'm curious to see what their next full length sounds like. Again, lyrically it addresses Maria, but this time lets us know that they "call every girl we ever met Maria," which throws a twist into the lyrics of earlier songs. Other than that, the lyrics are a repetitive, but catchy and thematically flowing for the boys in Gaslight.

On the whole, this is a solid EP, but for me it really serves as a teaser for the next full length. I'm definitely bummed that I missed them at Fest, but I really can't wait to see them at the Church with the Loved Ones in two weeks.

mewithoutYou / Papertrigger - 2.8.08

2008-02-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

Circle of Hope
7PM

About 7 years ago, my old band was playing a show with The Operation, who shared two members with mewithoutYou. I remember loving them, but thinking mwY was pretty bad. At the time they only had an EP, and Aaron was selling it at the Operation merch table. As I sat and talked with him, I remember mentioning this, and he was really nice about it. Either way, fast forward a few years and I went to see them in Wayne with a mutual friend. Needless to say, I was floored. The musicianship, the intensity, the honesty, and 50 kids screaming "and you'd better be alone!" during the break in "Gentleman" left me speechless. That night I got an unmastered copy of their debut full length [A --> B] Life, and I've been a huge fan every since.

On Friday, Feb 8, mewithoutYou played a memorial show for their good friend Jenni and Josh Bender's father who passed away. In addition to the show, countless artists, musicians, photographers, tattoo artists and others donated things to a benefit raffle. It was a great cause and a great evening. For more info on the benefit, click here.

Andrew, Nicole and I got there pretty late, and actually missed most of papertrigger's set. They sounded pretty good, although something that I'd probably have to be in the mood for. Lots of awkward start/stop rhythms, and multiple instruments. People seemed pretty into them, and in the right mod, I probably could be too.

Right around 9, kids started circling around the stage area, and mewithoutyou got started. Despite sound checking a bit with the intro riff to "Bullet to Binary," the first full song they played was from Brother, Sister and the energy was through the roof. Aaron, Mike, and Greg were bouncing all over the place, and Ricky was absolutely destroying his drums. Their set consisted of songs from Catch For Us The Foxes and Brother, Sister, their most recent full lengths. Needless to say, I was a bit bummed to not hear anything from [A --> B] Life, as were a lot of people there, but overall it was impressive.

They played for about an hour and fifteen minutes, with very few stoppages. Aaron played all three of the "Spider" interludes, as well as two solo covers. Other highlights included Josh Bender singing with them on "Four Word Letter Pt 2," and Aaron's energy on the "let's go down" chorus, raising his acoustic guitar over his head and screaming at the top of his lungs. Throughout the set, they passed out maracas, tambourines and other percussion instruments and really worked to incorporate the crowd. Songs like "O, Porcupine," "Torches Together," and "Tie Me Up, Untie Me" bounced with energy and got people clapping, singing, and dancing along.

Most interesting to watch dance was Ricky, their drummer. As I said above, he was destroying his drums. My brother once said that he should drum on every indie rock record, and I have to agree. He's one of the hardest hitting drummers I've ever watched, but at the same time, he's so crisp and on point with every hit that he makes. His beats are unique and impressive, but he's constantly dancing in his seat and beating the hell out of his drums. Every time I see them, I find myself staring at him for a lot of the set. Considering they have such an engaging frontman in Aaron Weiss, this is saying something.

As expected, they ended with "In a Sweater Poorly Knit" and ended with piano in addition to their two guitars. MewithoutYou is definitely one of the most inspiring bands to watch, and truly cares about what they do, and the causes they support. While I'm not really Christian, it's almost impossible to deny them when they stop their set and tell you to "turn to your neighbor and give them a 'peace be with you' or 'al salam alaikum'." They love what they do and their causes, and even if I don't always agree with them, I respect them for it.

Below are two pretty poor quality cell phone pics, but you get the idea of the closeness and organic feel and set up of the band and crowd.

Young Livers - The New Drop Era

2008-01-31T16:21:00.001-08:00

Young Livers - The New Drop Era
No Idea Records

Young Livers are from Gainesville. Young Livers have a record on No Idea. They are inspired by Hot Water Music. That should be enough to really tell you all you need to know about this record. But, in the sake of fairness, I'll go into a bit of detail.

This 8 song EP (?) definitely flew under my radar in 07, despite a lot of people telling me about them, and doing a string of dates with Jena Berlin. I missed them at Fest, and didn't really give their record the attention it deserved until pretty recently. As I said above, there is a definite Hot Water vibe at times, but overall it's a bit faster and darker than Hot Water Music. There are pretty much two consistently different guitar parts throughout, and octave leads and feedback builds give it a deep, dark feeling. The bass is fuzzy, but plays a strong role in the atmosphere of the album.

Vocally, it's the gruff, cigarette and whiskey school of vocals that No Idea is famous for, with a very heavy edge. At times, the vocals remind me of Damian from As Friends Rust (especially in "Drinks are Our Amnesty") in both tone and delivery. There's a sense of urgency and bearded tension throughout as vocalist try to top each other for volume and gruffness.

This band definitely appears to be road warriors, so I'm sure they'll be around soon. Their newest tour doesn't seem to come too close to Philly, which is a bummer, but I'll have to find a way to see them soon. This is a solid debut, certainly worthy of coming out on No Idea and catching a good amount of praise.

Able Baker Fox - Voices

2008-01-31T15:55:00.001-08:00

Able Baker Fox - Voices
Second Nature Recordings

If you know me, by now I've probably talked to you about about this record. Voices is the first release from Able Baker Fox, a supergroup of sorts, comprised of members of The Casket Lottery and Small Brown Bike. Mike, Ben, and Jeff from Small Brown Bike have joined up with Nathan from the Casket Lottery to release a record that sounds enough like their old bands to warrant a comparison, but distinct enough to be a great record on its own.

Voices was written and demoed via mail and though digital recordings made in Missouri, Michigan, Illinois and New York. The band finally all got together in 2007, had a 10 hour practice, and then spent four days recording. For a record written over such vast distances and a long time frame, their is a strong sense of cohesion and a true band feeling.

Multiple vocal parts fill every song, with three different singers trading lines, verses and choruses. Textured guitars weave in and out of one another, and while there's a feeling of melody, it never really gets too clean or polished. There's a steady feeling of gruffness and edge. Dynamics really vary, as is expected from a band with this pedigree, and the vocals really push a lot forward. Personall, I'm definitely glad to hear Mike Reed singing for another band like this, as Small Brown Bike was a band I respected a lot, and really inspired me at Fest.

Overall, I can't say enough good things about this record. I wish that I could make it out to Chicago to see them Saturday with Hot Water Music, but I guess I'll have to use the LP as a substitute. I'm hoping that we see enough of this band for a second full length. This record was put together with one real practice; I'd be amazed to see what they could do if they all moved to the same state.

Lemuria - Get Better

2008-01-30T15:44:00.000-08:00

Lemuria - Getter Better
Asian Man Records

"You never missed a word I tried to fit inside a chorus, inside a verse, all my intros and a bridge. That's where I put all the awful things I think I am, and if you still respect me I guess I'll have a second chance."

These lines open up Lemuria's debut full length, Get Better, and really set the tone for the overall feel of the album. I'd been hearing a ton about this band in late 2007, but I kinda slept on them. I'm not totally sure why, but I'm really regretting it now. I finally got into them, and I'm definitely glad I did.

Lemuria is a pop/rock/emo-ish band with co-ed vocals. The majority of the vocals are handled by Sheena, but there are male vocals from the drummer and bassist (Alexander and Jason, respectively). I hate to say it, as I'm not always a huge fan of girl singers, but Sheena's really draw you in and make this record a lot more interesting. The male vocals seem uninspired and bland. While Sheena's vocal patterns can get stale at times (see: chorus to "Hawaiian T-Shirt"), she has a way of turning a phrase and making something so simple get stuck inside your head for hours. I found myself singing the chorus of "Lipstick" between classes at work the other day. Glad my kid's didn't catch me singing "Maybe I should wear lipstick too." And while the chorus of that song is what really hooks you, the verse lyrics are simple, yet sad and something that I think a lot of us can relate to, male or female.

Overall, the jangly guitars, sweet female vocals, and simple, yet heartfelt lyrics make this a great power-pop record, that is definitely deserving of the hype. I'm kicking myself for sleeping on this band for so long, and it's definitely time for me to start delving into the back catalog of splits, 7 inches and comp tracks to really see what else this band has delivered. I suggest you do the same.

Hot Water Music - Till The Wheels Fall Off

2008-01-27T14:36:00.001-08:00

Hot Water Music - Till The Wheels Fall Off
No Idea Records

Hot Water Music is easily in my top two bands of all time. When I first heard Forever and Counting when I was in tenth grade, I was hooked. The dual gruff vocals, melodic yet aggressive guitars, and tight rhythm section. The lyrics that focused more on the personal politics and the world around you. This was everything punk rock should be, and I've tried to include at least something from Hot Water Music into every band I've been i. wwhwmd?

So, as you can imagine, when Hot Water Music announced their hiatus, then subsequent break up, I was crushed. I owned everything they released (aside from one full length). I have a Hot Water Music chest piece. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, I only got to see them a handful of times, which was something I've always regretted. When I heard they were finally releasing a last b-sides collection, AND playing shows, I was beyond stoked.

Reading below will give you a review of the show, but here I'll talk about the new collection/record. This a collection of random splits (Alkaline Trio and Leatherface), 7 inches, EPs (Moonpies for Misfits), comp tracks, and a handful of random covers. It kicks off with "Kill The Night" and the line "It's hard to rest right with a different pillow every night, still I close my eyes and dream I'll make it home." This song almost made Chuck decision to leave the band blatantly obvious. Either way, it's a great song in the later style of Hot Water Music.

From there, the first major batch of familiar songs is the split with Alkaline Trio. "God Deciding" is easily one of the best Hot Water songs, and the two covers of the Trio are both fantastic. I still have memories of walking home in the snow during college on a bleak day, and Chuck's version of "Bleeder" seemed to be the perfect soundtrack for the moment. Straight from this, the songs from the Leatherface split come on. These are some of the best HWM songs in my opinion. The vocals are as husky as they get, and the lyrical content deals with struggle, and having the strength to overcome. "Take It As It Comes" is yet another of my favorite HWM songs.

After this comes three covers by Government Issue, Midnight Oil, and Turbonegro. All are great, even though the Turbonegro song was a definite surprise. The Moonpies for Misfits EP follows, which is an old favorite of most HWM fans. The collection ends with four outrageously solid covers: The Circle Jerks ("Wild in the Streets"), The Boss ("No Surrender"), and The Clash ("The Clampdown"). Most importantly, and my personal favorite of the bunch, is "Springtime" by Leatherface. This was on the Live at the Hardback release, and I always loved it. It's nice to hear a proper studio recording, and they certainly do it justice.

Overall, even though it's not new, and I've heard a lot of it, it's nice to have it all in one place and to have all of the covers. Hopefully this reunion isn't fleeting, and we'll have more new music from Hot Water Music.

The Loved Ones - Build and Burn

2008-01-27T12:42:00.000-08:00

The Loved Ones - Build and Burn
Fat Wreck Chords

After a major lineup shakeup that had the ever lovable Spider leaving, and Chrissy and Dave from The Explosion joining, The Loved Ones find themselves releasing their second full length for Fat Wreck and striving for rock and roll (not punk rock) greatness. Do they achieve it? Well, sort of.

There's always been that rock and roll element to Dave Hause's songs for The Loved Ones. Over the years and releases, from the demo until now, this has grown and grown. Build and Burn, their latest, is full of basic rock and roll structures, less distorted guitars, and far more instrumentation. They split their time between two studios for this record, but there was a lot of time spent with members of The Bouncing Souls and The Hold Steady (with two members lending guitar solos, as well as keys, saws, and other instruments to the mix). The overall effect is a very rock and roll, "Americana" record.

There's a good deal of storytelling, as opposed to more personal lyrics, which adds to the Springsteen vibe that oozes from this record. Songs like "The Bridge" and "Sarah's Game" both tell stories of "everyday" people and the trials and troubles that they face in their lives, and the toll that these lives take on them. "Louisiana" is a straightforward rock song that details the plight of people in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and the difficulty of rebuilding their lives, through the metaphor of pounding nails and physical construction.

Despite "Louisiana" being the strongest Dave's voice has ever sounded, it does showcase one of the biggest problems with this record - the repetition of lyrics and overall limitation of Dave as lyricist. Even with one listen, it's obvious that there is a continuation of lyrical "themes" or "motifs" from song to song with "keep your heart" and "build and burn" (as well as ideas of sandcastles). Part of me sees what Dave is doing and how there is a connection through all of their songs and albums. But, at the same time, part of me feels like this is a limitation that he's still not quite over in his songwriting (as shown by using two old Curse songs to fill out the first full length).

Dave and the Loved Ones can write a damn good rock and roll song, not just good punk rock songs. At the same time, I feel like they're capable of so much more. There are great lyrics on this album, and then there are songs that make me scratch my head and think "Didn't I already listen to this song?" You can portray a theme without beating your listener over the head with it.

Overall, this is a damn good record and I enjoy listening to it, but it already has me wondering what their next full length will be like. Let's hope they hit that rock and roll masterpiece that they're shooting for. Until then, this record will still get a lot of spins from me.

Paint it Black - New Lexicon

2008-01-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

Paint it Black - New Lexicon
Jade Tree / Rivalry Records

New Lexicon is Paint it Black's third full length, and the first great record of 2008. Early last year, they played a secret show at Disgraceland and played a set consisting of only new songs, which showcased a more melodic, yet somehow more brutal side of Paint it Black. Over the next few months, a few more songs were worked into their live set, and "Past Tense, Future Perfect" was released by Jade Tree online. This is an album that a lot of people have had high expectations for, especially considering some of the advance hype on it, and it definitely meets all of them.

A large part of what makes this album so special is the production. All live instrumentation and vocals were done by J. Robbins, so you know they sound great. The bass tone is especially outrageous. Dan had mentioned that they were going for a very Bad Brains feel with a heavy as hell bass tone, and this is definitely achieved. After J. Robbins did the groundwork tracking, Oktopus from Dalek stepped in to add his touch to the record. Because of this, the record is full of ambient effects, spacey interludes, feedback overlays and an overall chaotic/heavy feel.

Aside from the production, the songs are fantastic as well. Paint it Black has definitely hit their stride both musically and lyrically. Yemin's voice has never sounded better - angry and agressive. Lyrically, he gives a nod to the hip hop that he often talks about, with an abundance of well rhymed and clever lines. This isn't too say that he can't be straight to the point ("And that's as honest as I know how to be"), and "chronic defect in my head, I've got a chronic fuckin defect in my head" could be "Out of Step" for the 2000s. There are a great number of allusions to divinity, God, and what seems to be a pretty big struggle for Dan these days. The lyrical tone is definitely bleak, but with a sense of hope that keeps it from getting depressing.

I've already mentioned the bass tone, but this album has the best basslines Andy has played yet (see "Four Deadly Venoms"). Fast and aggressive, but with definite moments of melody that add a ton to the overall feel of the songs. Josh has some great, laid back spacey guitar parts that really give a new layer of atmosphere to the songs (end of "The Ledge" and intro to "We Will Not"). Jared makes you even forget that Wagz used to play drums in this band. To end the record, similarly to Paradise, there is a great sing along ending with "whoa-oh-ohs" coming from Jeff of Naked Raygun. Killer!

It was pretty ballsy of Paint it Black to give out 500 copies of this first weekend of the year, but you have to their admire their "Well, here it is: the best hardcore record of 2008" attitude. Not to mention just giving it away for free as a way to avoid the "commercialization of hardcore." Kudos.

Hot Water Music / The Lawrence Arms / Static Radio NJ - 1.25.08

2008-01-26T06:53:00.001-08:00

Starland Ballroom
8PM

Heather, Mike, Kev, Jon and I all piled into Heather's tiny VW and made our way up to the bustling metropolis of Sayreville NJ for this show. We got there way early and got some sub par pizza, and got back to the show to get in as doors were opening at 7. From 7 to 8 we hung out in the bar and saw some friends. Adam and Jessi got there just before the first band started and fun and drinks were had.

Having just seen Static Radio NJ a few weeks ago, I wasn't overly interested in seeing them tonight, and once I heard the sound in that room, I didn't change my mind. At one point I asked Kev and Adam if they had a guitarist, because all we could hear from our vantage point in the bar was bass and bass drum.

Next, the Lawrence Arms hit the stage for their 940th show, or so they claim. As expected, Brendan was visibly drunk, and his on stage ramblings were even more ridiculous. They were sloppy and vocals were pretty off in spots, but I still really enjoyed them. You have to be prepared for that when you see the Arms. Their set was heavy on Oh, Calcutta, but they mixed in a few older songs. Lately I've been on a big Oh, Calcutta kick anyway, so I can't complain.

After a quick break, Hot Water Music appeared just before ten. They went right into "A Flight and a Crash," which is a great opener, even if the album of the same name is probably my least favorite Hot Water record. The set, especially at the beginning, was a bit heavy on newer songs, but they also worked in plenty of old favorites like "Better Sense," "Manual," "220 Years," "Rooftops," etc. They played 24 songs total (see set list below), including a four song encore after ending their set with "Turnstiles." The only major downside to the set was a stoppage that came in the middle of one song ("Swinger,' I think, but I could be wrong) when a fight broke out. As soon as that was resolved, they launched right back into the bridge and kept going.

Seeing Hot Water Music again after not having seen them in about six years was unbelievable. I go to see the Draft often, and I've seen Chuck acoustic, but neither really do it for me the way Hot Water Music does. It wasn't just like seeing the Draft plus Chuck. Everyone together was a totally different band. The energy level was higher and they seemed to be having a lot more fun than the last time I saw the Draft. By the end of it, everyone in the crowd and the band was soaked in sweat, and that's the way it should be at a Hot Water Music show. It's strange that a band can play a less than perfect set list, but the whole set can manage to be perfect in my opinion. If I never get to see Hot Water again (who knows?!), I'll be content with the last words that I heard them sing are on my chest. Live your heart and never follow.

Paint it Black / Hope Conspiracy / Have Heart / Damnation AD / Crime in Stereo / LetxDown / 1.6.08

2008-01-25T12:17:00.000-08:00

First Unitarian Church
7PM

Heather and I got there late and missed Let Down (I heard they were the same as usual - fast, short, angry, edge), and Crime In Stereo (I heard, as expected, that the singer can't pull of the new songs). Luckily we were still able to get our copies of the "Goliath" 7 inch, which was going for over $50 on ebay later (not ours, other kids').

Damnation isn't my thing aside from huge amps. Neither are Have Heart. Kids do definitely go off for them though, and it's obvious that Philly is finally catching on to them being on of the biggest bands in hardcore.

Hope Conspiracy came out led by Kevin Baker (bearded, strongly resembling Leonidas from 300) and immediately kicked everyone in the room's ass. They sounded huge and totally ferocious for the entire 45 minute set. Old songs opened up huge pits, and anything from the new album ("BORING" proclaimed a heckler) got kids up front piling on. They ended with "They Know Not" which sounded strange as a closer and not an opener, but it was definitely great to see them back and in Philly. Hopefully it won't be four-five years until the next time.

Paint it Black played a similar set to the night prior, but opened with "Past Tense.." and played a few other new songs (including "Goliath"). They also didn't end with "Memorial Day" which was strange, but they were still fantastic. Yemin sounded a bit worn out from the night before, and his voice cracked often, which only added to the ferocity. Great end to the weekend.

Paint it Black / World Inferno / Marked Men / Dustheads / Amateur Party - 1.5.08

2008-01-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

First Unitarian Church
3PM

I'm not going to go into too much detail on this shows, since I waited way too long to write about them, but this was a great weekend.

Amateur Party opened and were great as usual. Lots of new stuff, as with the FEST. They need to get into the studio soon and record some of these new songs, because they're really awesome. There was a noticeable lack of Mike McKee banter, which was due to the early timeslot on a packed show, but it was definitely missed.

Oh no, what's this? It looks like trouble! Dustheads played their biggest show in Philly to date, and it was great to see them get a good reaction. I've read that there was a lot of their NY fanbase there, but there were definitely a far amount of Philly kids going off for them. Snotty, fast, angry punk/hardcore. One of the best bands playing this style right now, and I hope to see them in Philly a lot more.

I'd never heard the Marked Men before this weekend, but they're a power pop/punk band from Texas that shares members with the Potential Johns, who rule. Their set was good although I knew very little about them and obviously knew no songs. They sounded good though, and lots of kids seemed into it, which is rad. Their set at the afterparty was supposedly a highlight.

World/Inferno Friendship Society was next and I couldn't care less. "Cabaret" punk? Get the hell out. Lots of weirdo kids with staches and neon were stoked. I was confused.

Finally, after darkening the stage, Paint it Black came out and got an insane reaction right out of the gate. Yemin was extra angry, Josh and Andy were all over the place, and Jared made everyone forget who used to drum for this band. They only played a handful of songs from the new album (two of the same ones from FEST and "Past Tense, Future Perfect"), but it was obvious that the free CD everyone got that day was going to be hard to top for 2008. The ended, as expected, with "Memorial Day" and the stage was packed with kids crowding around Yemin. Great ending to an awesome CD release show.

The Unlovables / Static Radio NJ / Order of Service / Algernon Cadwallader - 1.4.08

2008-01-09T11:29:00.001-08:00

Disgraceland
7 PM

Disgraceland is one of the best kept secrets in Philadelphia. I'd only been there once before, even though they consistently have great shows. It's a small house somewhere in south Philly that I consistently forget the exact location of. It's a small corner rowhome that's been converted into a show space. The walls are covered in drywall and sound baffling that keeps it moderately quiet to the outside world, and because of the need to keep the neighbors happy, shows seem to run fairly close to on time. Not to mention that when you approach, it's kind of hidden and has that speakeasy feel to it, as Jon Loudon said.

Regardless, we got there and Algernon Cadwallader started close to 7:30. This was their first show (I think) with a new drummer since Nick moved to Boston, and they sounded good. I'm not too familiar with them other than the demo (do they have anything else?), but they played the dinosaurs song that I like, and otherwise sounded a lot like Cap'n Jazz. Which is a good thing. I want to say that more bands should rip them off, but I think most would do it in a shitty way, so it's better that just Algernon does. They have a lot of complex guitar tapping and interplay, paired with off-key sing-shouted lyrics. This band was riding the hype train in Philadelphia for a while, and even though it seems to have slowed down, they're still really awesome and I'm excited to hear the LP.

Order of Service set up next. For those familiar with the fest blog below, this is yet another band from Jeff Ziga and Scott from Amateur Party, as well as Drew from True If Destroyed (which Scott was also in with Jeff's brother John - confused yet?). They played angular indie rock/emo with a lot of dynamics between quiet and loud. There were some parts I really liked, and wished they kinda rocked more. I didn't like Drew's voice enough for the quiet parts to completely keep me interested.

Next, Static Radio NJ played. I think I saw them once a few years ago in Trenton with the Loved Ones and NMB, but I'm not totally sure. They sound like a solid Kid Dynamite influenced hardcore band. It was interesting to see them in Disgraceland, since in a few weeks I'll be seeing them with Hot Water Music in a much larger, less fun venue. The PA started to cut in an out during their set, but overall they were decent, and I'd be curious to check them out recorded to see if they're really just a Kid Dynamite clone, or if they can add something fresh to their interpretation.

The Unlovables were the final band to play, and they were damn impressive. They're a girl fronted pop punk band, in the same family tree as The Ergs! and The Steinways. They sounded tight and played a good, fun mix of songs from both of their full lengths. One song that was noticeably absent was the oft-requested "Ramona" from their Art of the Underground 7". Either way, they played almost any song I wanted to hear, and were super fun. I felt like such a dork, but watching Hallie sing these overly cutesy songs about boyfriends and making out and whatnot was just too much to not smile at. While when it comes to pop punk there are other bands I think I'd rather listen to (depending on my mood), I will definitely make it a point to go see the Unlovables any time they're in Philly or nearby. Too fun to miss.

After this show, lots of delicious Mad Mex was consumed. Swish!

The Loved Ones / Weston / Hey Angel / Ram and Ox - 1.1.08

2008-01-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

North Star
9PM

Right around 9:30, Ram and Ox took the stage. This is the new(ish) band with CPM and Paul from None More Black. They play more straight up punk rock and hardcore than None More Black did, with a bit more thrash. Colin sings and is the only guitarist, with Paul handling backups. I really want to like this band because of how great NMB became towards the end, but overall I just can't get into it. Not really sure why. However, CPM definitely has some sweet gear/amps.

Hey Angel was next and played a bit more indie rock. Their guitar tones sounded awful and Joey's voice isn't really my cup of tea. They have some cool parts, but overall I can't get too into it.

Finally, Weston took the stage. I was never SUPER into them, but Got Beat Up is a great record that has gotten a lot of play from me. Unfortunately, the only other time I saw them was when they were trying to be serious and weren't fun at all. Luckily, this time they were hilarious and fun. They came out to the Rocky theme music, and started the song Got Beat Up after some on stage antics. They played a bunch of great songs, and had a lot of energy the whole time. I was getting nervous about not hearing some of my favorites, but in the last few songs, they hit "Retarded," "No Kind of Superstar," and ended with the 1-2 punch of "New Shirt" straight into "Heather Lewis." Wonderful ending.

After an extended pause that included a New Year's countdown from CPM, the Loved Ones came out dressed to the nines to celebrate the New Year in style. Adding Dave and Chrissy from the Explosion has really filled out their sound, but unfortunately the guitars were way too quiet in the North Star. I've always said that they needed two guitars, so I'm glad they finally do full time. They played all my favorites off of Keep Your Heart ("Player Hater Anthem," "Arsenic") and a handful of new songs (one of which can be downloaded here. They played with a ton of excitement, and Hause seemed super happy to be playing new songs in Philly. Since I recently got a new record player for Christmas, I picked up their LP and EP 10". Sweet. And Bill danced like a drunken snowman on a balance board all night. This whole show was fun as hell and a great way to start the new year.

Chuck Ragan / Sundowner / Mischief Brew - 12.2.07

2007-12-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

First Unitarian Church
7:30

Heather, Kev, Jon and I met at Five Guys before hand for burgers, fries and grilled cheese sandwiches. Damn right. Nothing like five pounds of fries to get you ready for a show.

So, we headed over to the Church and got there a few minutes before Erik Petersen (Mischief Brew) was about to start. I remember growing up listening to Orphans songs, and really loving them, and I liked the first Mischief Brew EP. Erik's stuff is good, and I like it better solo, but I've never been a huuuge follower. He had a ton of kids there eating everything up, and they were singing along to a bunch of songs and requesting others. I recognized "Boycott Me" and "Roll Me Through the Gates of Hell" and evidentially a lot of other "punx" did too. I like Erik's music, but I can only listen to so many songs with similar rhythms and lyrics before I zone out.

After a short break, Sundowner started, sans band. While I liked hearing Chris with just a guitar, I missed a lot of the vocal melodies and string parts that are on the record. He did a lot of originals, a Leonard Cohen cover, and some Lawrence Arms songs ("Boatless Booze Cruise," "100 Resolutions," and one other I'm blanking of). It was a good mix, but his vocals seemed a bit off. I'm not sure if it was just part of playing without the band, or the fact that he's been on tour for quite a while, but he was a bit nasally and off-key. Still, that did little to dissuade the huge Lawrence Arms kick I've been on the last month.

Kev and I made a quick run to Wawa and were happy to see that Chuck Ragan had just started when we got back. I was bummed that I missed half of "Open Up and Wail," but what I hear sounded great. Heather's quote was "I think that one song changed my life." Well, I stood absolutely enthralled for the better part of an hour, while Chuck played every one of my favorites from his LP (Feast or Famine), his live record (Los Feliz), and his many 7 inches. He threw in "God Deciding" for the Hot Water fans, and ended with the Rumbleseat song "California Burritos." The energy that he puts into just folksy acoustic songs is unbelievable. The addition of a banjo and fiddle on a lot of it made it interesting and kept things changing. Not to mention the fiddle player could wail.

As a side note, during Chuck's set some seemingly drunk girl kept trying to get a seemingly reserved dude to dance with her. Next thing I know, they're making out like savages, with her slamming this dude into the wall right next to me (seriously, rubbing shoulders). These two had been attracting attention for a while, but now half the room is expecting them to bang right there, as Kev is screaming "Be real man and fuck her in the bathroom!" over and over. Afterwards, the dude came over to Mike and said "I'd never even seen that girl before in my life!" Hilarious.

Regardless, Chuck was amazing. Absolutely inspiring and made up for the fact that I was pretty underwhelmed by the first two bands/acts. This has me super excited for Hot Water Music reunion in January, which will be outrageous.

Welcome

2007-11-27T19:42:00.001-08:00

Welcome to Sleeves to Members Ratio. This is a blog documenting the trip that Heather, Kev and I took to Gainesville, Florida for the Fest 6. Remember next time you see a band: add up the number of sleeves the members are wearing, then divide by the total number of members. The sleeves to members ratio should be less than or equal to 1:1.

Fest Day 1

2007-11-27T19:35:00.002-08:00

Friday – 10/26
Friday morning Heather and I got a ride to the airport and arrived about 40 minutes before we had told Kev to meet us. I had to check in at the desk, and while I was doing that, Kev came in yelling “Fest!” This became a rallying cry for the weekend. After getting through security, and having the old bait-and-switch pulled on us for breakfast, we headed to the terminal.

At the terminal, we saw a wide variety of Philly punk rock types on the same plane (thecubandan, various members of Paint it Black, AAJ, Amateur Party, some dude that Kev accidentally insulted from Hostages and others). We also met the original drummer from Yellowcard, who unfortunately left due to creative differences with the singer. Luckily for us, he provided us with tons of stories on his near-celebrity, his frustration with having to check his guns with baggage claim, and his obviously intimate knowledge of the Gainesville area. Did you know the hot Fest afterparty was at TGIFridays? We did, thanks to him.

The plane ride ended up being rather tame, other than a few highlights. These included middle age boob (which turned out to be sheathed in a bra – bummer), Kev hitting on any and all flight attendants, and aerial shots of the hellhole that is northern Florida.

Upon landing we ran into Dr. Dan, who flagged us down at Starbucks, and Kev’s friend Aly. We took a cab to the rental car place (our first of many price gouges this weekend), and got the “reserved” car. Except the reservation wasn’t there. It felt vaguely like that Seinfeld episode. We finally got our car, which cost roughly twice the quoted price online, and proceeded to Gainesville. Despite some traffic and a top notch stop at Sonic, we made it there in about two hours. If you’ve never been fortunate enough to travel through northern Florida, do yourself a favor. Rent an underpowered four cylinder car, put on 100.7 (with all your favorite hits by Shaggy, Coolio, Beyonce, et al), and drive the scenic paradise that is 301 South from Jacksonville. You’ll thank me later. At least we can stop at Sonic!

SONIC!

We get to Gainesville and find out way to the hotel. A bit on the lay out of Gainesville, if I may. Sure, we all know the grid system is an efficient way to lay out a city, but these people found a way to fuck it up. Instead of starting at 1st street and working the numbers up, they have four quadrants, so there are four different sets of rising and falling streets, labeled with NW, NE, SW, SE. It was relatively easy to navigate eventually, but difficult at the beginning, and I can only assume (hope?) that drunk kids get lost there easily.

We checked into the hotel, and dropped off our bags before picking up FEST passes. The whole town was already crawling with punk rock kids, and we wandered around, taking it all in and snagging free zines, beer koozies, fliers, etc. Bands weren’t starting until about six that night, so we met up with Bill, bought a few 12 packs (beer and Coke), and some whiskey, then headed to the rooftop pool. It was a bit chilly and overcast, but people were still swimming and having a blast.

POOL FEST

When Barlights got into town, we met up with those guys and headed to Gator Dawgs, a spot we heard about in our FEST brochure. Between the eight of us, a safe estimate would be 20 hot dogs, of the meat and vegan varieties. We also got to see the owner’s large sword, which he seemed pretty proud of. A large majority of the time around Gainesville was spent screaming “FEST!” at the tops of our lungs, not wearing sleeves, and throwing high fives out to everyone. Kev and Bill spent a large amount of energy giving out “Schwings” to the ladies of the FEST, and we all felt the FEST spirit.

GATOR DAWGS

After mapping out our schedule, we finally headed over to Common Grounds to see our first band of the FEST – Planes Mistaken For Stars. I don’t think any of us were really huuuge fans of this band, but they’re a good time, and it was one of their last shows, so it was definitely something to check out. We stayed for a little more than half the set before quickly jetting over to The Venue to catch Gainesville legends, Radon. Despite being up there in years, they turned in a great set, and the hometown crowd really ate it up.

After Radon, a few of us went our separate ways, eventually reconvening at the Sidebar. We watched Party Garbage, a snotty punk band, and then decided what we were doing next. Heather headed back to the hotel for some rest, Kev and Bill hit up Checkers for even more transfats, and Mike and I went to 1982, where we hung out with some people and talked about the legacy of RVA punk rock. Later, I went back to the hotel for some much needed caffeine, while Kev went to see Chinese Telephones (I regret not going). We then started planning out how to get to the real FEST kick off show: Shook Ones and Paint it Black at the Thurnderdome. Thankfully Jimmy Walsh (Shook Ones) and Josh Agran (PIB) kept us posted via text message and we got details on arguably the coolest show of the FEST.

At 1:30 we piled into the rental car and drove about two miles south of Gainesville and into a small apartment complex. We saw a crowd of people and knew that we were in the spot. We went up to find gear all set up and the Shook Ones about to start. After they ripped into the first song, it became apparent that the floor was not prepared to hold 100 kids (?) flipping the hell out. The only person that would admit to living there, Ryan, grabbed a mic to tell everyone this, and that the ceiling below was starting to buckle from the pressure. So, everyone in the middle of the room sat down, leaving everyone against the wall standing, and the Shooks started again. They played four or five songs, including a Descendents cover, and kept the energy up, complete with stage dives onto a seated crowd.

SHOOK ONES

After they wrapped up, people saw cops in the parking lot, so Paint it Black ripped into their set immediately. The place went absolutely insane and the sitting rule went right out the window. After a few songs, a cop came in and watched two songs (claiming “this is awesome”) and then asked Josh to stop playing. He took Ryan outside, and was gracious enough to give ten more minutes. Paint it Black blazed through more songs, taking requests from the kids crammed into every corner of the tiny apartment. In an effort to keep Josh from being killed by a falling PA, Mike struggled to keep people back while Heather and I continually fixed the speaker stand. Kev just slingerpointed. After the show, Bill picked up some roommates, and we headed back to the room. Mike, Jon and Barlights stayed with us, while Kev went up to Aly’s room to stay in her spare bad. Around 4, we called it a night.

PAINT IT BLACK

Fest Day 2

2007-11-27T19:35:00.001-08:00

Saturday – 10/27/07
I woke up to a crowded hotel room at 8 am and couldn’t sleep. I got dressed quickly and headed down to the lobby, with ringing in my ears. I knew that it was going to be a long weekend if I didn’t get some earplug. I asked Caty, the friendly front desk girl, where I could get to a CVS or something. She told me there was a Walgreens a few blocks up 13th street. A few blocks turned into a mile and a half. I knew I had nothing else to do, so I just kept walking. I eventually made it there, got some fancy pants plugs for myself, and a ten pack for everyone else in the group. Then, I started my trek back.

When I got back to the hotel, I grabbed my laptop and sat around at the hotel bar drinking tea for my already scratchy throat. Around 9:30 Kev showed up, bleary eyed, and we actually sat with the drummer from Radon for a while. We shot the shit for a bit, and eventually woke everyone up to head over to the No Idea house for a giant “garage sale.”

Walking over to the sale, we ran into Kevin Allen, a friend of some of the guys, who said that the place was packed and we’d be lucky to get in, even though it was just starting. We got there, and saw a line stretching around the block. We hung out for a bit, then realized from someone in the front of the line (wearing a Lighten Up shirt, no less) that it took him over an hour to move about 200 feet. Pass. We took off, which probably saved me a lot of money. Amateur Party wasn’t starting for another hour or so, so we went to grab some lunch.

On the way to Harvest Thyme Café, Heather stopped and picked up a new shirt, and Mike posed for a sexy photo op. Once we got to Harvest Thyme, it was pretty delicious. Definitely a spot to check out for fairly healthy, and reasonably priced, food in Gainesville.

We hustled into the Atlantic right as Amateur Party was starting, and as usual I was impressed. They played a lot of new stuff that I’d never heard before, and the new lineup sounded good. Jeff Ziga played his first of three sets that weekend on second guitar, and their new bassist (Scott?) did an adequate job replacing former Philly standout Andrew Martini. Good stuff, and excellent guys.

When they ended, Heather and I headed to Common Grounds to check out the pop punk band Ringers. They were really good and played a nice mix of songs. And, from what interaction I had with their singer later in the weekend, they were good dudes. While we were there, Kev, Bill and Aly went to check out Bridge and Tunnel at Market St Pub. When Ringers ended, that’s where Heather and I went to see Pink Razors. Unfortunately, it was pretty packed, and sounded like absolute crap, so we headed over to The Venue to get in line for the Fat Wreck showcase, which stretched around the block.

Heather and I waited for a bit, and Kev and company came down the street. We hung out for a bit, and eventually Mike came stumbling down too. After screaming “FEEEEESSSSTTTTT” he immediately found us and we went in.

Dead to Me was playing as we got in, and I was impressed. Cuban Ballerina has gotten a lot of play from me over the year, and they definitely brought the energy live. Plus, they were pretty low on sleeves, which is always a good thing. They were quickly followed by Smoke or Fire, who have impressed me more and more each time I’ve seen them. I was underwhelmed when I saw them with Lifetime in 05, but they’ve been spot on the last few times. They were joined by Tim Barry for “Cryin’ Shame” and the crowd went nuts. After much questioning, they closed with “California’s Burning,” which was the first major “too soon?” moment of the weekend (this was the week of the California wildfires).

After a short break, American Steel started. It was my second time seeing them and the Lawrence Arms in a week, and I was a bit bored with American Steel after a bit. I enjoy them, but I’ve never been a huge fan. So seeing them play two 40 minute sets in a week, of material I barely knew got a bit long. Not to mention their set in Florida was almost exactly the same as it was in Philly. The Lawrence Arms, on the other hand, never cease to impress me. I’m always blown away by their mix of songs, and hearing two Broadways songs (“15 Minutes” and “The Kitchen Floor”) for the second time in a week was something that I never expected. They always explode with energy and play a good range of stuff. One of my favorite bands.

LAWRENCE ARMS

What can be said about Avail that hasn’t been said a million times before? One of the hardest working, most inspiring punk bands of all times. These guys have earned their legendary status. They played a fantastic mix of songs, and Tim and Beau Beau bounced all over the stage for about 45 minutes. Beau also entered himself squarely at the top of “best stage dive of the weekend” with a front flip off the speakers into a raging crowd. The last four songs or so were outrageous, and the ending with “Scuffle Town” sent hundreds of kids absolutely nuts.

AVAIL

Finally, the band that the whole room was waiting for: D! 4! Avail was a tough act to follow, and Dillinger Four did their best. They played really well, and their set spanned all releases, but when it comes down to it, they just didn’t play long enough. They were on stage for about 45 minutes and had amp troubles that caused about 15 minutes worth of nothing. Well, not nothing. Any time Paddy is filled up on speed, you get plenty of great comments. He kept the large crowd entertained, but this wasn’t enough to keep me from being bummed over a 30 minute set when an hour was set aside.
DILLINGER FOUR

As this showcase wrapped up, we all filed outside, throats raw and arms finger pointed out and decided to head to Common Grounds to check out Shook Ones for the second night in a row. Unfortunately, the rest of Fest had the same idea, and we knew there was no chance of getting in on time. So, we took off to get some burritos at El Indio with the intention of heading back for Paint it Black. We got our Mexican food, which was pretty damn good and cheap, right as the place was closing, and headed back to the hotel to relax for a few.

Barely letting the beans, cheese and sour cream settle, Kev, Bill, Aly and I headed back to Common Grounds, which Heather and Mike relaxed at the hotel. We walked over with some righteous blokes from across the pond, who informed us that Kid Dynamite was “massive” in England, and that pints in the US were disappointing compared to those in England. Either way, awesome group of guys. The line for Paint it Black was huge, and we wasted time standing in it while we could’ve watched LaSalle or Dear Landlord. Bum times. However, the line was fun, and Kev even got a P4 shoutout (if you don’t know, you weren’t meant to).

We finally got in, about 10 minutes into Paint it Black’s set, but managed to have a blast. They played some awesome new songs, Yemin commented about anything and everything punk rock, and the last three songs or so were spent trying to one up Municipal Waste’s record of “infinity stage dives.” I got some good ones in, and Kev headwalked all over some Philly locals. Nice.

PAINT IT BLACK

We got back to the hotel shortly after 1am, and there was a rooftop pool party going on. Mike, Kev and I headed up, but it was kind of a bust. Lots of dudes naked, and random guys dropping jaws at the three girls gutsy enough to strip down to bikinis. Bummer. Not to mention it was fucking cold. We hung out with some people for about a half hour, if that, and called it a night. Apparently the party got pretty wild after we left, but I could only stomach so many wangs. Mike crashed on the floor, and Kev headed up to Aly’s room for the night at about 2.

FEST Day 3

2007-11-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

Sunday – 10/28/07
After getting an almost good night’s sleep, I was up at 10:30 and at the hotel bar again drinking tea. My voice felt like I’d been swallowing sandpaper, and I vowed to not sing along too much today. I swore this. I knew it wouldn’t happen though. How was I going to explain this to my students on Tuesday? Oh well.

We quickly got ready and hit up the pizza place across the street, Leonardo’s, for a quick lunch, and were not disappointed. Solid pizza for being outside the Philly/NYC area, and good salads. The place was packed with a ton of bleary eyed kids and band members who were in a rush to catch Philly supergroup Armalite.
We got to Common Grounds and were in right as they were starting. They sounded good, just as they do every time they play on their “two show a year Philly to Gainesville” tour. There were some tech difficulties with Yemin’s bass, but Mike McKee entertained the crowd with his babbling (as usual) and his “ushering in of vegan hip hop” (hilarious!). They also covered “Fucked Up Kid” by Crimpshrine, which went over with little attention – kind of a bummer.

The crowd thinned out after they left, which was lame because there were two great pop punk bands following them. The Arrivals played rock and roll inspired pop punk, and surprisingly, Paddy (D4) stayed quiet. Weird! They were damn good, and played a short set. Next was one of my favorite bands of the weekend, Off With Their Heads. They came out and played a ton of songs, from all of their random splits, EPs, collections, etc. I got denied on a dive during “Die Today” by some random dude, but it was ok. This was the first band to really break my no-sing-along rule. I love this band and was glad to finally get to see them.

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

As soon as they were done we hauled ass over to The Atlantic to see Cloak/Dagger. They had just started, and they sounded great. Every time I’ve seen them they’ve had a different bassist, but they seriously sounded good and were really energetic. They had a ton of good merch too; unfortunately I couldn’t pick up any. As soon as they finished, Affirmative Action Jackson got started. As usual, hilarious and raging. It’s amazing that this band never plays, but always does a good job and sounds tight. For playing their third sets of the weekend, Andy and Jeff seemed pretty energetic. I wish I had recorded versions of the new songs.

Heather and I then headed over to The Venue for the final showcase we intended to see of the weekend. Kev and Bill stayed to see New Mexican Disaster Squad and said that they were solid. The Figgs were the first band at the Venue and I have no idea how they got on that show. No one seemed to care, and they didn’t really impress me, but they seemed energetic.

Speaking of energy, The Draft were really lacking it. I don’t know why, but they did not really seem into it, which was a bummer. Maybe it was the fact that it was Sunday, maybe it was the middle of the day, maybe it was all of the Hot Water Music rumors, but I wasn’t super interested which made me feel bad. I have seen them a handful of times and always liked them, but this seemed weird. They played a good mix, but I guess I just wish I was watching Hot Water Music.

Picking up the energy was Lopan Takes Japan, or Less Than Jake. I only know one or two records really well, but they played a ton of songs I knew and enjoyed. They were off the wall, and the hometown crowd lost their minds for everything song, particularly “Gainesville Rock City.” I’m not a huge fan, but damn were they exciting and entertaining.

Up next was the set that crushed my soul. Small Brown Bike was a band I’ve always loved, but hadn’t seen since 1999 at the Troc with Hot Water Music when they were touring on their first record. They killed it. The sound was amazing and the drums sounded absolutely huge. They came out to “The Cannons and the Tanks” and for the next hour I was entranced. They blasted through about 15-18 songs, predominantly in chronological order of full lengths. Then, they closed with “Make This a Holiday” and I officially killed whatever was left of my voice. I have rarely heard a band sound that huge and that full. I really hope they keep it together for a few more reunion shows or something that I can see them again.

SMALL BROWN BIKE

After this, lots of people seemed stoked on Seaweed, but I’ll be honest – I’ve never heard them. We were exhausted, stoked out but starving, so we took off and grabbed some dinner. Outrageous weekend.

All photos by me, all videos copped from random YouTube sites. Thanks to people who upped all of them!!

Testing

2007-10-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

Swish!