Bands: Vundabar, The TeleVibes, Nice Guys, Midriffs
Date: Saturday, December 13, 2014
Venue: The Overlook

DAN! DANNY BOYYYY!!! Glen and I race over here to the old Overlook like a couple of Jack Nicholsons; freezing, drunk, and losing what’s left of our minds, no baseball bat though. We just came from the Lastfest over at the old Lasthaus. That was an extravaganza, lots of angsty, awesome bands. Tough competition, hard to follow or so we’ll see at the old Overlook. Let’s back up, this Overlook isn’t old though, it’s in fact a new spot – unless I’m hearing wrong or I’m drinking some bad liquor or something, but this is apparently the Overlook’s first show. Well sir, I’m happy to be a part of it. Let’s back up our sweet asses even a few more steps. I LOVE The Shining, if you couldn’t already tell. And if you’ve seen The Shining then you know that the Overlook is a monstrosity, a maze you won’t find yourself escaping from anytime soon. Well sir, house names sure are peculiar, funny little gems and this one is no exception, except it is. The title is fitting, cause this place is a huge motherfucker.

I ain’t kidding you though about the place being massive. As I’m walking in I stop by the Nice Guys merch table to say some hellos, shake hands, kiss babies, etc and this is in the foyer, if you will, the rest of the basement space where all the attendees are is around the corner. So, I walk around the corner expecting a bigger basement, but HOLY SHIT I didn’t expect it to be this huge. The room is very long, narrow. It’s just body after body after body of excited, partying  college kids. I can’t even see the band, which by the way is Midriffs and they’re pretty rad. I can only hear them though. It’s so damn packed. Check out their sheet here: http://midriffs.bandcamp.com/

Set-List:
“Swamp Don’t”
Taboo Tattoo”
“Fresh”
“White Washed”
“Death Beach”
“Sunday Morning Cigarettes & Orange Juice”

Nice Guys – The last time I wrote about a Nice Guys show I fell a little off the old wagon. To be frank, I may have had too much Haddenbear and booze in me and by may I mean absolutely. Here have a look, if you feel so inclined: https://klyam.com/2014/12/14/show-review-the-monsieurs-record-release-free-pizza-nice-guys-club-bohemia-12514/ Stumbling on my own words. Inadvertently, however, I did  raise a few points about their music. You won’t find a Nice Guys love ballad or a Nice Guys song about the alienation of the modern age. Maybe, they need more of this, maybe not. Either way, they’re the perfect band for a place like the Overlook. It’s packed to the gills, but we manage to make our way to the very front and like many other Nice Guys sets, it’s a rollercoaster from start to finish. We’re practically falling over, on top of the band, mic stands are falling down, it’s a wild affair. Alas, we’ll have to wait another month or so before we can enjoy another wild affair from these Allstonites. Eat up their bandcamp here: http://niceguys666.bandcamp.com/

The TeleVibes – Love me some TeleVibes, tellies as I say. This is my first time seeing the crew in a long while, I think. Once again, kids moshing and sloshing, just as much as there was during Nice Guys’ set if not more. There’s even some crowd surfing, all in this basement with a low ceiling. Everyone is having a rambunctious old time, it’s pandemonium. Perhaps the craziest basement show I’ve ever seen. Not best, but perhaps craziest.

The TeleVibes are one of my favorites in Boston right now. They’re a little smoother than the frenetic noise of Nice Guys, but they share similar vibes, if you will. It’s fun, rock ‘n’ roll, the exact kind we encourage and extol on this site. “Fun, rock ‘n’ roll” can be pretty vague, I admit. I know what it means to me and it might mean a totally different thing to you. In the case of The TeleVibes, it’s possessed punk slime surfing on the edge of a nasty acid trip. And these boys know a thing or two about surfing or at least the beach. Contrary to popular belief, the whole band IS NOT from Rowley, they also from Salisbury Beach. Get your shit straight wack ass music journalists scumfucks. Though, most likely Glen or I popularized this myth, I’d have to check the archives.  Either way, it’s the Northshore. It’s the NOTSURE KID. Well son, I’ll give you something to be sure about, The TeleVibes. http://thetelevibesofficial.bandcamp.com/ Grab a beer, a babe or a dude however you roll, roll a splifft, and lay back and listen to this sheeet. Give you those warm, summery (tele)vibes in the dead of winter. Trust me, you’ll need em’.

Vundabar – “WHAT DID YOU COME HERE FOR? TELL ME WHAT YOU COME HERE FOR.” Well mister, I’ll tell you what I came here for, I came here to get my mind blown by these various local rock musicians, that’s vat I came here for. I too love the German language and using Vs in places of Ws. It’s been a vunderful night thus far Vuy not end vith a band like Vundabar? I’ve  seen them a few times now and while I prefer things to sound trashier, I can admire their music and I find much of it to be catchy. You can actually dance to it in both conventional and unconventional ways. I can best compare them to the “Post-Punk Revival” ilk of the double ohhs such as Interpol and Editors. http://vundabar.bandcamp.com/