King Khan at Eurockeennes Festival at Malsaucy on July 3, 2009 in Belfort, France. (Photo by Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns)
This article discusses the very things KLYAM has been fixated on for the past four years. HOW A RETROGRADE STRAIN OF WEIRD, FUN PUNK STAYS ALIVE IN THE UNDERGROUND, OR: ARE YOU BORED WITH ANIMAL COLLECTIVE YET? By Beverly Bryan. http://www.mtviggy.com/articles/please-explain-garage-punk/
I hate the title, but it has some funny descriptions such as this: “Some audience members are bored enough to glance down and see a man’s legs wrapped in shredded pantyhose and shod in a pair of fuck-me pumps scrooching across the club’s sticky floor, headed for the stage. Nobunny has arrived, albeit on all fours.” Heh heh.
Bands: Fat Creeps, Space Bums, Fedavees, The BFS Date: Saturday, February 16, 2013 Venue: Massasoit Cambridge Elks Lodge (Cambridge, MA)
Fat Creeps– Hey y’all super cool people out there reading this, if you are in fact reading this, I got a little confession to make. I am a Fat Creeps fan. I know, it’s a shocker, who would have thunk? To say that I am a fan of this band would be a massive understatement, but I don’t want my Fat Creeps fanboyism to clog up this “review’ anymore. I am trying to imagine what it would be like to see them for the first time without having any prior knowledge about their music, ahh sounds awful, but I’ll give it a shot.
Fat Creeps are a three piece consisting of Mariam Saleh on vocals and bass, Gracie Jackson on vocals and guitar, and Jim Leonard on drums. They have taken over Boston by this point and are starting to overflow into Portland, Providence, Worcester, Northampton, Brooklyn, and Bennington, your city will be next. The charming trio of early twenty somethings play a variety of styles that is both familiar and appealing to the ears, but not always easy to classify. Lazy journalists might call it “garage” or “pop punk” or they actually hear those styles, I don’t know. Surely, there’s elements of each, but being somewhat of a connoisseur of contemporary garage and a vehement detractor of most pop punk, I’d say this is painfully misleading. It just goes to show that the band’s diversity makes them applicable to many genres and they can and have shared bills with all different walks of life from the rampant noise of SKIMASK to the playfully vulgar punk of The Coathangers, and everything in between. It’s all rock ‘n’ roll.
Tonight, the band rips through some fresh cuts as well as some vintage Creeps classics that everyone and their grandmother should know by now. I mean my grandmother probably does, she’s a hip, hip lady, I once caught her listening to Black Flag, strange. “Nancy Drew,” do do do doo, hey Nancy Drew, do do do doo, hey Nancy Drew, do do do doo, hey Nancy Drew, do do do doo, hey Nancy Drew. The song practically sells itself. You just have to hear it once and you can already sing along to it! Actually, once you hear the first do do do doo or second do do do doos, then you can pretty much sing along to it, unless you’re retarded. But, that’s okay I screw up lyrics all the time myself. “Nancy Drew” is a mini insight into the band’s quirky world. It’s simple, but ever so catchy, you can’t turn your back on it. I’d say this goes for pretty much most of the Creeps songs tonight. The main appeal to me is the memorable quality in all of their tunes, with “Nancy” being a boss example. That is the basic charm, but the band’s prowess as musicians and performers is what really hooks me in to their sound. Up front, Mariam and Gracie execute harmonies that rival the Vivian Girls, while Jim tenaciously assaults his drums behind them. In particular, I dig the way the delivery of their sound can match up with the direct nature of their lyrics like in “Secrets,” Mariam roars “Come closer I can’t hear you,” and it really feels like she is yelling at you to come closer.
This show is at the Cambridge Elks Lodge, a place I have never stepped foot inside in my entire life, until now. It’s a sweet spot, not too big, not too small, but just right, to paraphrase one, Goldilocks (I had to look the correct spelling up, this whole time I’ve been spelling it as Goldie locks). There was no stage and it was pretty much absent of any extraneous rock club bullshit, so it kind of felt like a glamorous basement show. Speaking of basement shows, a young chap by the name of Kevin Dacey- a frequent basmenter, is in attendance tonight, which is swell because I usually don’t see him at Boston above ground gatherings because of the ageist polices of the rock clubs :( Nonetheless, Mr. Dacey is a happy camper and he ignites some fine moshing during the Creeps’ kickass, fast rocker, “Daydreaming,” perhaps the most moshable song in the Creeps catalog. Definitely a highlight of the evening. http://fatcreeps.bandcamp.com/
The first three bands were all solid as well:
The BFS are a mixture of power pop a la Gentlemen Jesse and His Men/White Wires and pop punk. Check em’ out here: http://thebfs.bandcamp.com/
Spacebums have a similar psych sound, but with more of a fun, rock ‘n’ roll, garage sensibility. Check it out: http://thespacebums.bandcamp.com/
Before and in between some of the band’s sets there were a couple of screenings of bizarre, but humorous videos from “The Gooder Life With Dr. Jesse” and “The Family Factory.” They reminded me of a cross between John Waters, Tim and Eric, and Hollywood Nailz (Hunx’s show). http://www.thegooderlife.com/
Check out this Surfer video featuring the Fat Creeps’ Christmas classic “Bring Us Some Waves”
As a massive Deerhunter fan I am excited to hear about the band recording a new album in Brooklyn, which according to Rolling Stone, Bradford Cox describes as “a very avant-garde rock & roll record.” Sounds like Deerhunter. Apparently, Deerhunter has two new members in guitarist Frankie Broyles and bassist Josh McKay, does this mean bassist Joshua Fauver has left the band? Anyway, it will be interesting to see how these two new members influence the sound of the band on this record and in their live show. “Dream Captain” is the name of one of the new songs. Okay, I don’t need to hear more, I want to just listen to the album when it comes out. Take a look at these pictures from Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/deerhunter-record-new-album-in-brooklyn-20130208
Bands: Fat Creeps, Miniboone, Bunny’s A Swine, Pile Date: Thursday, January 24, 2013 Venue: O’Brien’s Pub (Allston, MA)
Act I: Fat Creeps– We the KLYAM first saw Fat Creeps here at O’Brien’s Pub last April, Friday the 13th to be exact. Here we are again, nine months later, a lot has gone down in the time since then: touring, an EP release, many shows (much of them KLYAM attended and reviewed), and loads of rightfully deserved media attention. I recall Fat Creeps as being a memorable band with catchy, weird pop songs that reminded me of The Shaggs, Beat Happening, and Vivian Girls. I wasn’t thinking whoa, this band has totally changed how I look at music! but there was something unique about them. Honestly, I thought they had this sort of outsider thing going on, which is pretty far from their actual “sound.” Overtime, I just developed a greater affinity for their music and it feels like they have grown significantly as musicians and performers in the nine months since my initial live experience. They sound stronger and heavier than ever and yet they still have that odd charm that sparked my interest in the first place. This performance is the longest Creeps set I have ever witnessed, it feels like I am seeing a national, headlining act on tour. My brother Justin, who has never seen the band, is in attendance as well and it’s as if I am seeing the band again for the first time through his eyes. I am glad he is here for this show, because they play a wide variety of tunes. They open with “Horoscope,” a song I haven’t heard live in a couple months, so naturally this is a pleasure. Of course, you have the other essentials like “700 Parts,” “Nancy Drew,” and “Secrets,” but they also play a batch of numbers I’ve never heard before (“Blue,” “I’ve Got”) as well as somewhat new tunes like “He Comes In Loudly,” the instrumental, “Back to School” and “Going to the Party,” which is like Devo meets Dead Kennedys. At least, I hear those dark, punk influenced surf vibes. At this point, most music fans can point to the Fat Creeps and say it sounds like 90s or surf rock or garage or lazy rock (whatever that means), their style has some easily identifiable features, but their actual songs expand far beyond any specific sound. In other words, they have created their own original brand of rock ‘n’ roll, so much so that when people ask me what they sound like, I just want to say they sound like the Fat Creeps, because I could conjure up more obscure references, but I feel like it just trivializes their distinct personality.
Set-List “Horoscope”
“Blue”
“He Comes In Loudly”
“Nancy Drew”
“700 Parts”
“Fooled”
“Secrets”
“Going To Party”
“Dadweed”
“Daydreaming”
“I’ve Got”
“Back 2 School”
Act II: Miniboone– This is my first time seeing these New Yorkers, I’ve actually never heard of them, but one of the members of the band Earthquake Party! (a kickass band I recommend y’all check out) informs me right before the band plays that they sound like a mix between Talkng Heads, Queen, and Bruce Springstreen. Sounds wild enough, I’ll take it. I can definitely hear arena rock and fast, power pop influences in their perfomance tonight, physically and musically. They are an entertaining band, but they do not blow me away either. I feel like they have the musical chops and decent songs, but not distinct enough for my ears. Then again, this is the only time I’ve seen them, and I am not too familiar with their music, so who knows? http://miniboone.bandcamp.com/
Act III: Bunny’s A Swine– Western Massachusetts’ Bunny’s A Swine describes themselves as “awk pop slops rock,” not sure what that means, but it sounds better than “indie,” that’s for sure. To me, they sound like Pavement, which I feel like I say a lot, but that’s what I hear. That makes sense, Pavement is kind of awkward, but poppy and a bit sloppy. I don’t necessarily see the sloppiness in this band, they seem to have their shit together. The band speaks of party hardy times with headliners, Pile, maybe that explains why they have songs like “Pour It Out At Parties” and “Nobody Wants You Here (Sober).” Check em’ out at their bandcamp here: http://bunnysaswine.bandcamp.com/
Bands: Bent Shapes, earthquake party!, Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion!, The Fagettes Date: Saturday, January 12, 2013 Venue: Great Scott (Allston, MA)
Act I: The Fagettes – The Fagettes are a KLYAM band. Period. There are many styles/genres I could attribute to this band, and pretty much all of them we dig, hence why they are a KLYAM band. Rock ‘n’ Roll, Garage, Punk, Psychedelic, you name it, they got it. Their sound and aesthetic fits perfectly with the punk slime we proudly promote every day on this site, which I honestly can’t say about most of the local bands we see. That isn’t to say other bands around here suck, not at all. It’s just great to see a Hunxian “garage” band in Boston. We saw them once before performing as Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood for a Halloween cover show, and as much of a blast as that was, we yearned to see them as FAGETTES. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited. As I mentioned earlier, these guys have nailed that fun, fun rock ‘n’ roll sound down pat, but they also have a real cool look to them. Especially Ryan Major (vocals, guitar, harmonica); he is simply one suave motherfucker. He rocks the shades and from a distance he looks like Jared Swilley, but up close he looks more like John Holmes, either way he is the man and he is a great singer. Ryan shares vocal duties with Melanie Bernier (one half of one of the best local bands, The Electric Street Queens – check them out!), who also plays drums. But, Melanie isn’t the only one that sings and plays drums, oh no. A wonderful gentleman by the name of Peaches commands the kit in the back and provides some sick backing vocals. The bass player, who’s name escapes me (sorry dude!) is enthusiastic as he always is, love that guy. But, wait there’s more. Matt “Nice Guy” Garlick is riffing on guitar. In fact, before the band plays their set, I can hear Matt jamming on The King Khan & BBQ Show’s “Waddlin Around,” killer song. I should also mention that Matt is completing the second half of his double header tonight, having just played at the Butcher Shoppe with his other badass punk band, Nice Guys, wowzer! The Fagettes’ set consists of all the fun tunes you’d want to hear, oldies like “Catholic Riff Raff,” “Mystery Pills,” and “Water, Tea, and Alcohol,” as well as their latest offering, “Gonna Die Out Here,” one of their sexiest to date. They also play all three cuts (“If I See Him Again,” “On Drugs,” and “My Girl Looks Like Johnny Thunders”) from last summer’s EP If I See Him Again. With “On Drugs,” they really make it feel like a place you come to visit, where the fun never stops. This song and every song sounds terrific. The Fagettes live is a visual, auditory monster. With all these vocals and percussion jostling me, I feel like I’m being trampled by a lion. The sound is that big, perhaps not that terrifying though, but my ears are equally pleased and damaged. I can’t recommend Fagettes more, going back to what I started saying at the beginning of the review that they are a KLYAM band, meaning they play rock ‘n’ roll the way it ought to be done: short, but simple pop songs, fun, filthy, and catchy. Sweetness meets sickness. Like, Shannon and the Clams, there’s enough loud punk and soft pop for all to enjoy, and usually somewhere in between. I am exhausted, but Fagettes can keep me up all night. Be awesome like me and listen to all their crazy music here: http://thefagettes.bandcamp.com/
Act II: Beware the Dangers Of A Ghost Scorpion!– Now, here’s a sweet band. With a name this enormous and eccentric, they ought to send me into an oblivion. And like their name they are both fun and puzzling, but in a pleasant way. ‘Beware’ is a five piece and each member is dressed the same: bandannas covering their noses and mouths, blue jeans, and black shirts bearing a picture of a presumably dangerous, ghost scorpion. The set is entirely instrumental and with the exception of Big Mess, I typically am not fond of this style of music, but these men capture my attention and entertain me for the next half hour. They rock out pretty hard, playing early 60s surf rock with a bit of an extra kick, in fact a lot of emotion and physical energy. This is especially true of the man on tambourine. This dude bashes away at the tambourine, unlike anyone else I’ve seen before, I can’t imagine what his hand looks like after each gig. But, he goes beyond that in his showmanship. He makes the crowd move and shake and he is the leader of all this hype and excitement in the room, as if he is holding the crowd in the palm of his hand, perhaps a cliched comparison, but he just holds this undeniable command over the crowd. What’s even more fascinating and unique about this man and the group as a whole is the lack of vocals. As I mentioned, they are an instrumental band, but they literally never speak throughout the whole performance. No words, just music. Actually, let me rephrase that, words do appear at various moments, as they are scrawled across a sign that the tambourine player triumphantly holds, reading: BEWARE THE DANGERS OF A GHOST SCORPION! This guy gets an A+ for the night. Solid set, sick band, but I don’t know if this is the kind of music I see myself listening to at home alone in my room, with that being said, I hope to see them again in the future and I hope others catch their set too, for this is a live show you won’t want to miss. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EmoBSVPoXs
Set-List: “Red River Tombstone Hustle”
“Heads Will Roll”
“The Lover’s Curse”
“The Nameless One”
“Caught Dead”
“Cateye Glasses”
“We Welcome The Living, But Only If They Come Here To Die”
“Satan’s Invisible World”
“13 Stabs”
“SOS”
“Denton County Casket Company”
“Haintmaker”
“The Legend of Goatman’s Bridge”
Act III: earthquake party!– Earthquake Party’s a perennial rock force in Boston, and a very talented band at that. Their set is loud and noisy, but with some pop beneath the heavy volume. Their keyboard driven songs mixed with grungey/screaming vocals remind me of the Lost Sounds and Yo La Tengo. There’s a harsh quality to it, but it’s also satisfying and never overstays its welcome. Listening to their bandcamp, I hear the songs more clearly, they have some real great pop numbers here. I’ve seen them a couple times before and each show has been an enjoyable experience. Definitely a KLYAM recommendation: http://earthquakeparty.bandcamp.com/
Act IV: Bent Shapes – Like earthquake Party! Bent Shapes are familiar faces around the Boston rock scene and they have earned a reputation for creating catchy, mellow, pop songs that rank up there with the finest in music today. So yeah, they’re one of my favorite bands right now and it’s great to see them in front of a packed crowd at the Great Scott. Great Scott is the first place I saw Bent Shapes (well Girlfriends) many, many moons ago, opening for another brilliant, underrated pop band, Harlem. At the time, I didn’t really pay attention to local music, for no particular reason, I just didn’t. Girlfriends stood out to me though, I think the first local band that I really dug. Flash forward to the present. They sound excellent and they play some of their best songs including the sunny “Leave It Till You Need It,” and their recent flexi, “Panel of Experts” and “Bites and Scratches.” They have a somewhat soft pop style to their craft, but they rock just as hard as all the other bands. The set closes with one of my all time favorite songs, “I Was Here, But I Disappear,” which always gets me super ecstatic, there’s just no way of describing my love for this song without sounding over the top. Perhaps, the best performance I’ve seen from Bent Shapes. Check them out, if you haven’t already. http://bentshapes.bandcamp.com/
Set-List “Big Machines”
“Panel of Experts”
“Boys to Men”
“Spazz”
“Bhead”
“Wut?”
“Space”
“What We Do Is Public”
“Bites and Scratches”
“Leave It ‘Til You Need It”
“Brat Poison”
“I Was Here But I Disappear”
Just look at this cute fella, he’s ready to protect and serve you.
Y’all better rest your ears up for this fresh cut from one of my favorite Boston bands, Nice Guys. “Cop Walk” has a dark, surfy, early 80s hardcore vibe to it (the only hardcore I really dig). Think Adolescents, Dead Kennedys.
Check it out: http://niceguys666.bandcamp.com/
Go see Nice Guys with The Migs and Vegans @ Middlesex Lounge (Cambridge) on Wednesday, February 6!
WHOA dude! A show with Colleen Green and Fat Creeps, hot damn, it must be my birthday. Thursday, April 25 @ Radio (Somerville), GO TO THIS SHOW! More Colleen tour dates will be posted shortly, stay tuned.
Bands: Heavy Petals, Big Mess, Kal Marks, Frankie Teardrop, SUNS, Tawny Peaks Date: Sunday, January 6, 2013 Venue: Wilder Zangcraft (Lowell, MA)
Act I: Heavy Petals – I am excited to say this is the first show I am seeing in 2013. Overall 2012 was the best year for shows, each year seems to get better. Anywho, Heavy Petals (I hope I have this name right, please inform me if I don’t) is a last minute addition to this bill, so I’ve never seen their name in writing. They are a five piece and they deliver a sick, rocking set drenched in folk-country mixed with a little bit of punk. This reminds me of Those Darlins, especially with two female vocalists. In fact, I’d specifically recommend them to fans of Those Darlins – a lot of traditional country vocals. I also notice that they expand beyond these elements and feature a more sinister side, bearing resemblances to Sonic Youth. All in all, a fun set.
Act II: Big Mess– Big Mess as always is a flat, sonic death punch to the gut. I never get sick of hearing those catastrophic guitars and heart pounding drums. Seriously, someone has to synch up these songs to a slasher/horror flick. I can’t say this Big Mess set is particularly unique from any other Big Mess performance, but that’s not necesarily a bad thing. I consistently look forward to their high quality sets and they have never let me down. I’m also glad to hear that some of the touring bands are fans of Big Mess now. Indeed, more kids need to experience this colossal band. You can start here: http://bigmessma.bandcamp.com/album/big-mess
Act III: Kal Marks – Kal Marks have made a name for themselves in the Boston underground, charming us along the way- https://klyam.com/2011/06/01/concert-review-peach-kelli-pop-problem-house/ Unfortunately, unlike Big Mess, I (we) haven’t seen Kal since May 2011, opening for Peach Kelli Pop at the Problem House as can be read in the link above. I remember thinking they were a diverse group, able to capture various styles and sounds all at once. I still feel that way, and I especially admire their latest EP Piss of the Century. Lead vocalist Carl has a highly distinctive, high pitched voice with a certain drawl that oddly reminds me of Kurt Cobain. Tonight, Kal Marks is a two piece (in need of a bassist), but GOOD NEWS! AS OF WRITING THIS THEY HAVE FOUND A BASS PLAYER NAMED MIKE. WORD. Though, they still sound awesome as a two piece. Can’t wait to see them back in action again as a full band. It’s a good set for the most part, but in some of the louder songs, I can barely hear the vocals, while on the softer tunes those sick pipes come through a bit clearer. http://kalmarks.bandcamp.com/ So, I hear Big Mess and Kal Marks are going to tour together in March, GO SEE EM KIDS!
Act IV: Frankie Teardrop – Going into this next performance, I don’t know what to expect. And I’ve professed before that’s how I like it. I like the unexpected. Frankie isn’t just one dude (it’s funny, up until now, I had this image in my head of this sad lounge singer in a tuxedo with a whiskey bottle, though I was positive it wouldn’t be like that and for everyone’s sake, it is not). Frankie’s a full band. One dude on vocals/guitar in the front area where attendees stand and the rest of the members in the conventional band space in the back. The man on vocals and guitar, Frankie perhaps, flails and flings about as he rocks through his frenetic set. He looks possessed. It’s noisy and somewhat amateur, but I like it a lot. I can’t not fixate on this dude and his weird movement. I’ll have to listen to more of their music, because I can’t pin down any specific idea or style, but it’s satisyingly peculiar, that’s for sure. By the way, Frankie Teardrop is on tour from Ohio, and in fact they also played with Fat History Month and Pile at O’Brien’s Pub. Sounds like one helluva tour fellas, excellent! http://frankieteardrop.bandcamp.com/
Act V: SUNS – These dudes have a pop punk sound to them, but they sound better than most folks with that label. Still, not the kind of music that sets my rocks off, but maybe it will turn you on. Check it out here: http://sunsmusic.bandcamp.com/
Act VI: Tawny Peaks– Like their tourmates SUNS, not really a Chris DeCarlo kinda band. Can’t remember too much, sorry. But, they play emo that is similar to Slurred Speech, so if you dig that, maybe you will enjoy Tawny Peaks. Check em’ out: http://tawnypeaks.bandcamp.com/
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 