Big Ups at Black Cat

As you look at these photos pay attention to lead singer Joe Galarraga's shirts.  First, how many different shirts was he wearing anyway?  And second, a lot of people in the audience wanted that Dope Body shirt.  Now there are two bands who should really consider touring together.

Posted: 3/16/2014 at 4:27am     Tags: Backstage  Big Ups  Black Cat 

Big Ups at Baby's All Right

Big Ups have a quiet-loud style which you don't hear too often in punk circles.  The nice thing about that is that the "quiet" part is that you can actually understand what they're saying.  Or maybe more to the point, the band has to write lyrics which mean something because if they don't the audience will figure out how silly they are.  Big Ups are definitely not silly.  They sing about life and death, about modern-day information overload, and generally serious stuff.  Then they get to the loud part, singer Joe Galarraga starts doing yoga and punk rock at the same time, and the crowd shifts into raw survival mode.

Someone shot a video of this show and I'm in it!  Sorry about getting in the way of the camera at 1:58 there.  Anyway, if you want to check out Big Ups live without being bruised and beaten then either stand near the back of the room or watch that video (or this one).

Posted: 12/31/2013 at 4:38pm     Tags: Baby's All Right  Big Ups  blue  Exploding In Sound Records 

Big Ups at Shea Stadium

Well, that's what I get for shooting in color at Shea Stadium. I took an all-male punk band and turned them pink. It looks... cute.

So what do Big Ups sound like? I would say they are somewhere between the Circle Jerks and Henry Rollins. They're not as funny as the former or as long-winded as the latter, but they have that same talk-then-rock style. They also have a penchant for climbing up on the drum kit. I think the only person who didn't climb up there was the drummer.

Posted: 6/17/2013 at 9:00pm     Tags: Big Ups  Northside Festival  Shea Stadium