Bands: Fat Creeps, Dirty Fences, Strict Agnostics
Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Venue: Roggie’s (Allston, MA)

Firstly, I have never stepped foot in this place Roggie’s. I’ll take a step back and say I don’t even know if I am pronouncing it correctly. Row geeze? or Raw geeze? OR Rogue eeze, ehh that just sounds lame. Going into this, I am a bit perplexed by the sports bar reputation, though the basement of this place is a different story. It seems pretty legit, I’m feeling Moe’s Lounge/Radio Down vibes, a small, cozy spot. On the other hand, it kind of feels like a wannabe version of that. Either way, I can’t really complain, it’s still pretty chill and I am really digging the 25 oz Busch drafts for $3! Anyway, since when did we become a bar reviewing web site? Fuck it, let’s get to the bands…

Strict Agnostics – Strict Agnostics, my kind of band.  This trio consists of familiar faces in the form of NIce Guys Jake Gilbertson (vocals/guitar), Cam Smith (drums), and the incomparable Kurt Eggheart (bass/vocals) of Miami Doritos and Thigh Masters fame – apparently it is always his birthday, happy birthday Kurt!

Going back to Strict Agnostics being my kind of band, I’m not just stroking their salamis, I really do appreciate the style of music they are embracing and producing, and defecating. It’s off the wall, grimy noise garage garbage punk a la Reatards and Oblivians. Fast, shouted, mumbled vocals with the grit of a garage band and the speed of an early hardcore group.

After spending a not so healthy chunk of my free time with their bandcamp, I recognize most of their fiery adolescent themed anthems on display, such as my favorite, “Huff My Smoke,” why thank you Jake I will. I recently heard some lady lecture about the hazards of second hand smoke, it was pretty boring, but this song was racing through my brain the whole time.

Safe to say, Strict Agnostics are a charming bunch. Listen to their bandcamp here and become a champion: http://strictagnostics.bandcamp.com/

Set- List:
“Pilgrim In An Unholy Land”
“American Chop Suey”
“I Wanna Be A Sociopath”
“My Baby Got Splattered”
New Song
“Analysis Paralysis”
“Huff My Smoke”
“Dingus”
“Destructive Behaviors”
“Weird Life”

Dirty Fences – These dudes hail from New York and Roggie’s is the last stop on their current U.S. tour. Cheers! I’ve actually never heard of Dirty Fences up until this show, so I am pleasantly surprised by what I hear. To me, it’s a combo of 70s’s punk,  smooth garage, and power pop. I liken them to fellow New Yorkers, Ramones and Hector’s Pets. Overall, my one gripe is that  it seems like they stick with that specific punk rock fused power pop sound for most of their songs, but that isn’t a terrible thing either because it’s a sound I enjoy gracing my ears.  http://dirtyfences.bandcamp.com/

Fat Creeps – So, it’s cool to see Fat Creeps as a full band again! I’ll admit upfront that this performance is a little blurry for me, but generally speaking a solid show.  They open with either “Blue” or “He Comes In Loudly” and they roll out at least a couple of newer songs as well.

Some other highlights include “Secrets,” mainly because it’s my bro’s favorite Creeps song and he frenetically slams me on the shoulder to let me know that he LOVES this song, calm down now. I also dig hearing “Cherry” again, since it’s been quite some time since I have had the pleasure of hearing this number during a live show. For this tune Mariam and Gracie switch from bass to guitar, respectively. As a whole, it’s sweet to see Fat Creeps in a little, packed bar without a stage – I guess intimate is the word I am looking for. You could say, it has a basement feel, but I think that may just be a slight exaggeration. So yeah, we’ll stick with intimate for now. http://fatcreeps.bandcamp.com/

Ohh hey and pick up a copy of Fat Creeps 10″ (VINYL) EP from KLYAM Records! http://klyam.bigcartel.com/