Titus Andronicus at Glasslands Gallery
Glasslands Gallery has colorful lighting, garish wall decorations, pretty good sound and no airflow. They have two ceiling fans at the front of the stage, apparently to cool off the lead singer and the most aggressive audience members. Drummers can suck it. Everyone else can suck down the free water (and assorted non-free adult beverages) and enjoy the music.
Pop.1280 at Dead Herring
When I photographed these guys last time they seemed a bit listless. It was a big room (The Knitting Factory) with a small crowd. This time it was a small room with a slightly bigger crowd. Now I see what was missing from their first show: contact with the audience. Specifically lead singer Chris Bug, who repeatedly launched himself into the audience with mic and mic stand in tow!
Mucca Pazza at The Knitting Factory
The stage at The Knitting Factory is pretty big, but I still wasn't sure how Mucca Pazza was planning to fit on there. The band has 30+ members, after all. When they started out by mingling with the crowd I figured that at least some of them might stay there. In the end they did perform on stage, though a couple of 'em had a hard time staying on stage...
Stumblebum Brass Band at The Knitting Factory
Mohawks and brass instruments, eh? I did not know what to expect from these guys at all. I definitely didn't expect the trumpet player to strip naked. Anyway, drum and tuba sound a lot like drum and electric bass. Add singing and the occasional trumpet solo to that and you get something which sounds a bit like ska, a bit like psychobilly, and obviously more than a little bit punk. Worked for me.