King Tuff at Black Cat
Although King Tuff is now on Sub Pop records he used to be on Burger Records. This fact probably would not shock anyone who is familiar with that label. Musically he reminds me of Burger-buddy Nobunny, particularly his singing style. They're both a bit on the high-pitched side and both have a delivery which comes across as not entirely serious. He sings about banging your head to the music but not in the same way those metal guys do. It's more of a tongue-in-cheek sort of thing. I'm not saying that he isn't a serious rocker, but his music is usually about having fun. And boy, the crowd sure did have a blast as this show.
Man or Astro-Man? at Black Cat
No, Birdstuff isn't actually pissed off. He's just having a little fun with the sound guy.
Man or Astro-Man are touring as a six-piece these days. Perhaps they keep picking up passengers as they travel across the Universe? You better be getting gas money from those people! They were also joined on stage by members of The Pack A.D., specifically both members of that band, which means that the word "members" was redundant. The Pack A.D. are from Canada so they're locals.
Man or Astro-Man?'s Website, Music.
Posted: 9/28/2014 at 6:05pm Tags: Black Cat Man or Astro-Man?
PAWS at DC9
Personally I don't blame PAWS for ripping off U2 on that one song. Who hasn't wanted to rip off U2 at some point? Lord knows if I ever saw Bono on the street I would steal his wallet, whereas PAWS are probably busy gunning for Morrissey's.
Buzzcocks at Black Cat
Still inspiring mosh pits I see. The Buzzcocks sound pretty much the same as they always did: mostly punk though with a bit of a power pop side. I hate to call them "pop punk" though. They aren't. They were always just a bit odd, a little more catchy than most of their contemporaries. Perhaps this is why they had a series of minor hits in Britian, notably the top-20 singles "Ever Fallen in Love" and "Promises". So they were the well-known punk band which was a bit catchier than most. In some ways they were the inspiration for modern "pop punk", but they themselves are definitely just punk.
I was on Steve Diggle's side of the stage the whole time and apparently that was the right place to be. Everyone in the band played hard and Pete Shelly has some serious pipes, but the showman of the band is definitely Diggle. So I guess I got lucky.
Potty Mouth at Rock N Roll Hotel
The problem with writing a review of a band like Potty Mouth is that I can't remember the exact band from my college days (the mid-90s if you must know) that they remind me of. I guess they remind me of a 90s band I wish I remembered. Their sound is definitely of that era: guitar-led music with pop-like catchniness but too many tempo and volume changes to really be pop. That and meaningful lyrics. Pop, at least the most common sort, is about bland consistency. Potty Mouth's music is neither of those things.
I definitely know who Potty Mouth's lead singer reminds me of: the lead singer of Ume. Their set did not feature quite that same level of hair (or guitar) flailing, but enough that something like half of these photos feature hair catching air. Unfortunately this might also be due to the Rock N Roll Hotel's lighting. As usual it seems to be focused entirely on the front center of the stage. You know, most bands do have more than one member...
Posted: 8/31/2014 at 6:00pm Tags: Potty Mouth Rock N Roll Hotel
