Canker Blossom at The Sidebar
Canker Blossom are the funnest band I found since moving to DC. So yeah, here are some photos of them again because I keep going to see them. The lights were turned down for this set so the photos kind of suck but oh well. See the next photoset for some decent photos from The Sidebar with colors and so on.
This show was the release party for "Gooner", an album they put out in 2013 and forgot to throw a release party for. Any excuse for a party, right? They also released a "special edition" of Gooner which is burned on nicer CD-Rs than the original, has artwork on the cover, and also has a cover. Apparently back in 2013 they just handed people CD-Rs. This is what DIY is supposed to be, people.
Canker Blossom's Website, Music.
Posted: Tags: Canker Blossom The Sidebar
Sløtface at DC9
I was expecting something a little different from Sløtface. Having never seen them before I read a couple of reviews before deciding to go to the show and more than once those reviews decribed them as a punk band. Now, Sløtface are certainly high energy like a lot of good punk bands and the songs are nice and catchy. The show was a blast, no question about that. However I have to disagree with anyone who calls them "Punk" (or God forbid "Garage-Punk"). Honestly, these days lots of Pop music sounds like this. I can imagine Miley Cyrus covering a song like "Pitted" (though she wouldn't and shouldn't). So catch Sløtface while they're small before a big label grabs 'em up 'cause that is exactly where this is going.
Weakened Friends at DC9
Lead singer Sonia Sturino's voice reminds me of Gwen Stefani's. Even I think that's a weird comparison. There is not a hint of ska or pseudo-hip hop in Weakened Friends' music but somehow the comparison feels so obvious. That's who she sounds like, if Gwen Stefani sang rock songs.
Weakened Friends' music is defined by its sense of urgency. Not that the band sounds particularly aggressive. Noone would mistake this for punk. It's just that they sounds vital, like they really care about what they have to say. I can imagine a singer-songwriter type performing some of their songs acoustic, emphasizing the lyrics and the emotion, but I prefer them as they are: catchy rock songs with feeling.
Their band name, on the other hand, is a pain. It is impossible to spell without backspacing at least once. Believe me, the wrong form of WeekendWeakened is just too easy to type by accident. Ack!
Weakened Friends' Website, Music.
Posted: 1/12/2018 at 9:00pm Tags: DC9 Weakened Friends
Beach Slang at Black Cat
Rock-n-roll lives on. Not that it has evolved so much over its lifetime. Beach Slang have that small but still grandiose rock sound which is reminiscent of more than a few bands from the 80s. They seem to know quite well how much they were influenced by The Replacements. So maybe it's not impressive in some sense that a current band sounds like one of the best bands from thirty years ago but... that's what I want to hear.
Posted: 11/29/2017 at 9:00pm Tags: Beach Slang Black Cat
Dude York at DC9
Dude York are about 180° away from that last band I saw. Real whiplash weekend I had there.
Dude York's music is super-high energy... Pop? Hmmm, can it really be Pop music when there's this much volume? Not to mention all the guitar solos. They're really more like Pop-Punk except without the, uh, Punk, if that makes sense. No? Fine. I mean it's not that they lack attitude but they're not really "Punk" exactly. Power Pop? Well, their sound is really too crunchy for that. So I guess their music is just "Rock". Not very descriptive though, is it? "Rock" could mean anything. They could be playing Skynyrd or BTO covers or whatever and still be playing "Rock".
How about this. Dude York's music is a cheery, sometimes cheesy, fun, high-energy, mix of Rock and Pop and a dash of Power Punk. Yeah, that should cover it.
