20 February, 2006

The Hate Game, Pennyred, Scars Like Ours, Eulogy XL

The large room stuffed with comfy couches and tables slowly filled with goth and emo kids dressed in black and ready for some head-banging.
The Hate Game played first, starting off a little hesitantly, but quickly launching into their fun and fast catalogue of tunes. What they lacked in popularity they quickly made up for with stage presence and spunk, and the dance floor soon had small crowds of dark-clothed teens nodding their heads in approval. The first act is always a tough one, but the Hate Game did an excellent job revving up the crowd for the rest of the show.
Pennyred was on second, playing from their 2005 CD The Citystate Falls, a conceptual album following the Greek myth of the gods Apollo and Saturn. Although the concept is a little over the top it works for the band, who took their melodic punk-rock to an intellectual high as they played out the Greek dramas.
Scars Like Ours the locally well-known hardcore band played third. Everyone found a place on the small dance-floor to watch Max (guitarist) play barefoot, Glen (vocals/bass) smash around and jump on tables, Chuck (vocals/guitar) scream into the mic, and Gabe (drums) smash out some excellent rhythms. The boys put on quite a show creating an atmosphere dark, angry, and sarcastic and reminding me more than a little of the Alkaline Trio. The highlight of the show was definitely the end of Scars Like Ours set where all hell broke loose, the mic Chuck was singing in died and Glen threw his bass to the floor and dove into the drum set while Gabe was still playing the drums. Talking to Glen and Max after the show I found out that they’re working on their second album right now (they played a few new songs during the show) and won’t be playing shows regularly until about April.
Euology XL put on quite a good set too, slowing the music down a little after all the excitement of the Scars Like Ours set. The band has an album out now with a dark sound that reminds me of Nine Inch Nails. Ironically (or appropriately) enough the best song in their set was a cover of “Terrible Lie.”
Altogether an excellent show where four local bands showcased their talents and proved that punk rock is certainly not dead.

17 February, 2006

HOT TOPIC IS NOT PUNK ROCK!!!!

Hey people who read this blog!!

Check out MC Lars if you want a good time. I meant a musical good time, but you guys knew that...lol.

Anyhoo, I think I shall go buy his album...RIGHT NOW!!!! This very very second, because it is that good.

Peace love & all that jazz!

"Nolite bastardes te carborundorum"
-Musicsnob

Time For Biting by The Dents

The Dents are a female fronted Boston punk band known for their excellent live performances and their scathing commentary on love, friendship, and “the scene”. The Dents’ first full-length album, Time For Biting, is a whirlwind of punk rock music that is both extremely catchy and well-polished for such a young group of musicians.
The Dents, like Social Distortion before them, are straddling the fence between all-out rock ‘n’ roll and punk music. Songs like the bouncing opener “One More Time” show the punkiness of The Dents, almost leaning towards a California hardcore sound with the opening guitar riffs. The Dents real punk attitude shines on “Too Late”, an angry DIY anthem aimed at the conformists and nay sayers of punk music. Yet, it is on the fun, almost Guns ‘n’ Roses sounding “Not Through With You” that The Dents begin to embrace their total rock ‘n’ roll side complete with a guitar solo.
Although musically the songs are interesting and well-polished the lyrics are rather trite and most stick to the formula of an angry breakup album. The few songs that move away from the angry breakup formula are some of the most interesting on the album, including the aforementioned “Too Late” aimed at punk-poseurs, and the almost pretty sounding “Goodbye” that talks about a friendship gone bad. “Better Off” is one of the breakup songs that shines on Time For Biting, bringing a Riot Grrrl “I don’t care about him” attitude to the lyrics that makes it all the more powerful. Frontwomen Jennifer D’Angora and Michelle Paulhus alternately share vocals and bring a slurred anger to the music that adds a much needed bite to the overall sound of the music.
The Dents have an extreme amount of potential, with a tight rhythm section, good vocalists, and a powerful, angry sound, making Time For Biting a good start to what will hopefully become a long and interesting career in Boston’s music community. With a little lyrical fine-tuning, the Dents should be well on their way to underground success.

"Nolite bastardes te carborundorum"
-Musicsnob

11 February, 2006

I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

Sorry for the lack of updates as of late. I've had very little to report, although the music community is as alive as ever.

If you guys need a good laugh check out Butch Walker's Cover Me Badd-EP. He does a live cover of Since U Been Gone which is slightly hilarious while also savoring all the yummy pop goodness of the Kelly original (yes, I like it. Sue ME!)

I think I should probably plug Scars Like Ours, 1. Because they freakin' rock! and 2. Because two people I know, know Max (the guitarist with a mohawk.) They're definitely fun.

If you want something weird and oddly danceable check out Gogol Bordello. I'm officially in love with Eugene Hutz (AMAZING) and the rest of the band's unique, Eastern European/Dub/Punk/GYPSY flavored music.

"Nolite bastardes te carborundorum"
-Musicsnob