















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.

















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...



















Dead Gaze at Black Cat
Now here's a band that brings the rock. And only the rock, apparently. Some of the songs on their Bandcamp sounds a little like that disco-punk stuff which is so hip these days, but apparently they will have none of that hipster stuff live. They will however give the crowd shit for not standing closer to the stage, then jump into the crowd and party with 'em.