Canker Blossom at DC9
Who doesn't enjoy an old-fashioned snotty Punk band? Yeah okay, probably lots of people but they don't go to shows anywhere smaller than the 9:30 Club. Canker Blossom are a Baltimore punk trio (sometimes duo) whose songs are mosly under two minutes long and have titles like:
- Go Fuck Yourself
- I Hate Everyone
- Not Your Friend
- Asshole
- Quarantined Puppies (this can't possibly be good)
...though they also do a poppy cover of the Ska classic "A Message to You, Rudy". It clocks in at 1:44.
Although they sound like snot-punk to me Canker Blossom prefer the term "pop-punk", possibly because they actually know how to play their instruments and sound good and so on. Perhaps we can compromise on "snot-pop"? Sounds sick. I hate when I'm that sick.
This is what a real Punk Band is supposed to be. No glamour, just rock and attitude. Also a really cool logo. They even sell their albums DIY style: free but please donate. So fuck yeah, they're awesome, go see them.
Shirt/Pants at DC9
Shirt/Pants may be better known as "That's really their name?" Yes that is really their name, no you don't pronounce the slash, and yes it is an awfully memorable name. "Shirt/Pants" is the nosegay of rock-n-roll, a name which burrows into your memory and never leaves.
Musically Shirt/Pants is hard to pin down. A lot of their best stuff, songs like "Knockoff" and "Nadsat", are straightforward pop-punk. So four college kids made pop-punk band, nothing new there, right? But then "What Would You Rather" and to a lesser degree "Haze & Ginger" have a noir flavor of all things. Ttheir first single was two moody songs with almost no lyrics. Safe to say that they've changed their style a wee bit in the past couple of years. So if you're reading this in 2022 and they are now a world-renowned theremin quartet that is not my problem. Back in 2016 they were a fun garage/pop/punk/something band with catchy songs which had guitars and drums and so on in them.
The Mummies at Music Hall of Williamsburg
Back in 2009, a few months before I started this website, I caught The Mummies at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey. It was their first show in more than twenty years and was a huge deal in the garage rock community. Honestly this meant a lot more to other people than it did to me. Personally I just liked their music. However I had also started bringing my camera (a little point-and-shoot) to shows so I braved the mosh pit and took some photos.
They were really, really bad photos. I probably pissed everyone off by using a flash the whole time too.
That may have been the exact show which convinced me to get a DSLR. I wanted to be able to record this special once-in-a-lifetime event that was never going to happen again (heh) but just didn't have the ability. That is to say I lacked talent, but better gear helps too. It makes it easier to practice and thereby develop talent. Also, seriously, for concert photography you need as good camera. Maybe not top of the line but a good one. I bought a cheap DSLR and traded up twice within the next year.
So anyway, The Mummies continue to be goofy bastards who play very catchy, very rough rock-n-roll. And it turns out they can be photographed in color (who knew?) I had a blast once again just like I did last time, and the time before that, and the next time.
Wildhoney at DC9
I think of Wildhoney's music as "pretty psych". Some of the elements of psychedelia are there: reverb-drenched vocals and soaring guitar solos for example. Yet somehow most of their stuff is upbeat and light, just flirting with darker emotions. Consider this: they have a song called "Horror Movie" and it's actually incredibly perky! Must be written from the slasher's point of view. They always seem to be having a good time.
Getting back to the music, Wildhoney have been labeled "shoegaze", most notably by themselves on their Bandcamp page. Fair enough. They certainly do have a lot of pedals and do spend some time looking at them. It is possible to zone out to parts of some of their songs and they aren't super energetic on stage, though that blonde guitarist went kinda nuts at the end of their last song. The thing is, this just isn't downer music. If shoegaze was a 90s thing then their music is like the 80s alternative rock which preceded it. Still endowed with that upbeat New Wave influence. Aware of the existence of depression but not currently feelin' it.