It’s been a good while since Spanish Love Songs released new music. Sure, they did release the EP Doom & Gloom, four songs they covered on their Patreon, during the pandemic. But now they are back with a follow-up – maybe a strong word to use, but to 2020’s Brave Faces Everyone, which, let’s be […]
It’s been a good while since Spanish Love Songs released new music. Sure, they did release the EP Doom & Gloom, four songs they covered on their Patreon, during the pandemic. But now they are back with a follow-up – maybe a strong word to use, but to 2020’s Brave Faces Everyone, which, let’s be honest, left us all as emotional wrecks from having it on repeat for an entire year.
So, the lingering question that still stands… What about No Joy? Is it as heartbreaking as we’ve experienced with the other albums? Well, read on.
“Do you remember the look on my face when you told me you wanted to die?”Dylan Slocum sombrely sings during the bridge in “Middle of Nine”, one of the songs that Slocum wrote to his grandma. The sad and soft guitars accompany Slocum’s gentle deliverance until we hit the song’s bridge. A few lines in this song make it genuinely outstanding yet a different kind of heartbreaking.
Here’s a sweet video before you dive into the rest of the review.
“What other song was written for Slocum’s grandma?” – Well, my dears. None other than “Pendulum”– we’ve all heard it. A song that has managed to blend synths and guitar riffs in perfect harmony with unforgettable lyrics.
I mean, there will always be some hits and misses on any album, and for me, the miss was “Rapture Chaser.” Before you all come at me in the comment section…IT’S A GREAT SONG. It has some moments where it shines with catchy bars and beautifully written lyrics, such as, and I can’t believe how relatable this line “Your heart will never be full, so don’t waste your grief on fools” was until I heard the song. Yes, I may have read the lyrics before listening to the album.
“Mutable” – something about the song makes me like it; it’s sweet and straightforward. And there’s nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. It’s what gives its charm. “Here You Are” has this excellent acoustic guitar opening before the drums come in, and for some reason, I consider it a love song, but only because of one specific line that piqued my interest. Which is “Wish I could live my life until I got it right.”, something most of us might relate to. The fear of not living our truths, whatever that means to each of us. But indeed, we will always go out with a few regrets.
So, back to the question I started us off with. Is it as heartbreaking as we’ve experienced with the other albums? Yes and no. Despite the album being called No Joy, there are glimmers of hope, but there’s also the realization that people can’t do everything. And you hear that realization in “I’m Gonna Miss Everything”and that’s life. But the truly heartbreaking moment comes when Slocum delivers a throwback to “Middle of Nine” with the following lyrics “I can’t remember the look on your face when I told you that I might want to die.”
The vulnerable and, once again, honest lyrics Slocum brings to the table are only here because of the rest of the band. Meredith Van Woert on keyboards, Kyle McAulay on guitar, Trevor Dietrich on bass, and Ruben Duarte on drums set each song’s atmosphere and overall vibe. But I don’t know about you, dear reader, but after they released ‘Haunted’ in May, I hoped that this new sound with synths and, in some ways, a bit more upbeat guitars would continue. Also, if you get the vibes of The Killers in the music, embrace it.
Recommended songs: Middle of Nine, Exit Bags, Lifers
If you’re one of those people who prefers your punk to be a little more of the “post” variety, the Punk Rock Museum has something pretty cool cooked up for you next weekend. On Sunday, August 27th, they’re hosting a book signing event centered around Michael Grecco’s best-selling “Punk, Post Punk and New Wave: Onstage, […]
If you’re one of those people who prefers your punk to be a little more of the “post” variety, the Punk Rock Museum has something pretty cool cooked up for you next weekend.
On Sunday, August 27th, they’re hosting a book signing event centered around Michael Grecco’s best-selling “Punk, Post Punk and New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face 1978-1991“. Grecco was a long-time scene staple in both NYC and Boston (and eventually worked for powerhouse Boston rock radio station WBCN – rest in peace) and took many iconic images of those formative scene days.
The B-52s, as shot by Michael Grecco
Some of those pics featured none other than Fred Schneider and his legendary band, the B-52s. Schneider wrote the forward to Grecco’s book, and as fate would have it, they’ll both be on hand to sign books and tell stories. Plus, if you buy the book on-site, you get admission to the whole museum! Also…maybe just maybe…you’ll get to meet one of your favorite Dying Scene contributors! If you’re in Vegas next Sunday, head over to the Punk Rock Museum from 5pm – 7pm and check it out!
After more than 20 years, The Kilowatt in San Francisco’s Mission District has started hosting shows again, and even better, many of them are free. This August night (which was cold and foggy like most summer days in the city) we got a full line-up of local punk bands and a solid crowd. The Bay […]
After more than 20 years, The Kilowatt in San Francisco’s Mission District has started hosting shows again, and even better, many of them are free. This August night (which was cold and foggy like most summer days in the city) we got a full line-up of local punk bands and a solid crowd.
The Bay Area has a long tradition of parody bands, and just plain silly punk bands. Blobby, KaBoom & The Least Friends follows this tradition with lead singer Nettie Kaboom appearing here with a spectacular wig that went flying halfway through their set, Fun, fast pop-punk.
Class of ’77 are a fairly new group of Bay Area punk veterans. Formed as a tribute to the sound of 1977 they plan to have original music available on their web site.
The Creepy Crawlies formed in 2020 but recently went through some lineup changes, adding Flexx Bronco’s drummer Thor Dsr and new bass player Zoran. They’ve also been getting attention in the Bay Area scene, drawing bigger crowds and playing bigger venues. They plan to record in the fall.
Closing out one great show were Oakland’s The Rinds who have been putting out solid garage punk for 12 years. Their 4th LP Everything Dimed! is soon come out on Sacramento’s Outloud Records
Check out our moody black & white photos of the whole show below:
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Blobby, Kaboom and the Least Friends at The Kilowatt, 8/11/23
Breaking news! Milford, Connecticut’s American Thrills will be releasing a Split LP with the Jukebox Romantics, Lost in Society and Night Surf next month. Your pals at Dying Scene are bringing you the exclusive premiere of the first single “Hungover in Church”. Check out the brand new music video below! Here’s what the band had […]
Breaking news! Milford, Connecticut’s American Thrills will be releasing a Split LP with the Jukebox Romantics, Lost in Society and Night Surf next month. Your pals at Dying Scene are bringing you the exclusive premiere of the first single “Hungover in Church”. Check out the brand new music video below!
Here’s what the band had to say about the theatrical direction of the video:
“We got sick of making videos of fake live performances. We dressed Jeff up like Jesus and he got hammered all over town. The video is a metaphor for how shitty life can be sometimes.”
Brighton, UK skate punks Making Friends‘ upcoming album Fine Dying is one of my most anticipated releases of 2023, and with good reason! The first three singles “Damage Report”, “ATM” and “Heroes Die” were absolute rippers, and Dying Scene is pleased to bring you the exclusive premiere of another brand new single from the album! Check […]
Brighton, UK skate punks Making Friends‘ upcoming album Fine Dying is one of my most anticipated releases of 2023, and with good reason! The first three singles “Damage Report”, “ATM” and “Heroes Die” were absolute rippers, and Dying Scene is pleased to bring you the exclusive premiere of another brand new single from the album! Check out “Happy Fucking Whatever” below.
Here’s what the band had to say about the new track:
“Happy Fucking Whatever is the latest single from the upcoming LP release. It’s already a firm favourite in the live set with the band because it’s so much fun to play. We’re looking forward to releasing it, so that those who haven’t had to catch it live yet will get a chance to hear it. The song is about a desire to mask your problems and pretend they never existed. It ends with a bit of a tribute to No Use For A Name, a band we all grew up with.”
And we are still working on our Brakrock coverage! Today we will focus on day 2 and wrap it up nicely. A person requested that I added the timetable. And I am here to please the masses. So here, dear readers. Compared to the day before, the weather wasn’t on our side, but it didn’t […]
And we are still working on our Brakrock coverage! Today we will focus on day 2 and wrap it up nicely. A person requested that I added the timetable. And I am here to please the masses. So here, dear readers.
Compared to the day before, the weather wasn’t on our side, but it didn’t hold us back from living our best lives. It’s rise and shine, honey – because if you thought Friday had me running around like crazy. Saturday, I hit my cardio goal for the week. Let’s get this ball rolling because it’s going to be a long one. And if you read everything, I’ll send you a virtual cookie.
From Germany with love. Straightline took Woodstage to give us a taste of some fine skatepunk. For a rainy day – Straightline certainly did brighten up a rather gloomy day. It should go without saying that, once again, the sound technicians didn’t drop the ball, and the sound was terrific. “This next song is about fucking racists, fucking sexists, fucking homophobe dickheads. You are the true virus. This song is called “Virus”, let’s go.” Bart yelled in the microphone before he started throwing himself around stage. The band certainly does have the energy for festivals and the crowd was dancing along in the rain. I’m impressed that Bart could run on the spot through the duration of the set. Big band energy and we love it.
The Venomous Pinks are a well-rehearsed, three-piece from Arizona. And why am I introducing them? Well, sometimes awesome bands deserve to be reintroduced. And that’s my honest opinion on The Venomous Pinks. They are passionate; they are sincere, and firecrackers with some good messages in their music. That was certainly how I felt when Drea Doll mid-song told us to stand up for our beliefs and hold on to what our hearts want. After countless of tour dates, the fact that Drea’s hoarse scream hasn’t had her drinking nothing but tea, leaves me even more impressed. And Gaby rocking out on stage was amazing to see and vibe too. Did we mention that Linh Le from Bad Cop/ Bad Cop joined on stage? She’s the best hype person ever. I’m calling her if I ever need to be hyped up for anything.
Do you like ska? No? Okay, you should skip this part. Some people say that ska is silly music. And it’s not; it’s gold. After The Venomous Pinks, we were off to see Voodoo Glow Skulls – because why not? They are a brilliant band, fun, and there are masks. I’m in. But joking aside. Voodoo Glow Skulls bringing fast-paced ska to Woodstage, and, shit, can we talk about the performance? They are a highly energetic ska band, not only Efrem Schulz. No, the rest of the band can dish out as well. And honestly, I was picking up what they were putting down.
And the crowd was not standing still one bit either. Screw the rain; let’s get down and dirty to some ska. Ah, that concert is forever printed in my head. They did excellent and played all the bangers. I want to go back.
Authority Zero has gone from strength to strength over the past many years, they have evolved for the better, and they showed that very well on Saturday at Brakrock. And the crowd agrees with me on that. Chris Dalley, a rapid drumming machine, Jason DeVore’s vocal strength and connection to the crowd is remarkable. Mike and Brandon continue to show that performing live looks like the most straightforward job in the world. As it was actually my first time watching Authority Zero live and in action, I decided to stop taking pictures after a few songs and go dance with my friends. And from the crowd and from the stage, I was blown away and couldn’t stop dancing. Sometimes I might have forgotten I was carrying my camera, but I was feeling it. And there was a badass guitar solo. I’m done here.
Are you ready for it? Because I wasn’t. I’ll get my fangirling over Bad Cop / Bad Cop out of the way right here. But I hope to speak for many when I say that they are an inspiration, and as a woman, I look up to them for obvious and personal reasons. So I was happy to see them on the poster for this year’s edition of Brakrock.
So, that was that moment. Let’s continue to the fact of why you’re reading this.
They have a new member! Let’s welcome Alex! And she’s full of talent, and her spark is fantastic. Linh Le is still very hype as she was a few hours ago, and her vibe gets the crowd going. Stacey sounds fantastic, and Myra knows how to work the drums without overthinking. Her flow is insane.
They played their newest single, “Shattered”, and I loved it. They highlighted those old white farts wanting to take away women’s reproduction rights. And as I usually say, No uterus, shut the fuck up. Maybe that’s why I love Bad Cop / Bad Cop as much as I do.
Ups forgot to take photos – but it was pissing down at this point, and something something played a few rounds of snaps. Let’s move on to Frank. Upfront, I am not the biggest Frank Turner fan. Actually, he is what I would say… If he is being played around me, I don’t care. And for that, I must say I am in the wrong.
But holy shit, I think I became a Frank Turner fan that night. He is fantastic and really put on an incredible show. I forgot it was wet and muddy. The company, Frank Turner, and beers were everything that night. And why are his songs so catchy? I really want to know. Oh well, Frank, until October, I’m certainly coming and dancing along again. Here’s a short review of how you gained another fan.
Before we wrap up, I want to thank Brakrock for the fantastic festival, the volunteers, the sound technicians, the light technicians, the bands, and the people serving me food and alcohol for a great first time at Brakrock. We will return next year to do the same and praise your hard work and dedication to the scene. To my friends, thanks for your patience. And Dying Scene and Public Serpents, thanks.
In the meantime, dear friends – please enjoy some behind-the-scenes pictures!
My favorite thing about writing for Dying Scene (aside from the money, fame, and numerous accolades) has always been discovering lesser known bands from all over the world; 7 Years Bad Luck was one of the first bands I stumbled upon when I come on board in the early 2010’s and I’ve remained a loyal […]
My favorite thing about writing for Dying Scene (aside from the money, fame, and numerous accolades) has always been discovering lesser known bands from all over the world; 7 Years Bad Luck was one of the first bands I stumbled upon when I come on board in the early 2010’s and I’ve remained a loyal fan ever since.
The three piece punk band hailing from Innsbruck, Austria has been around over 20 years. They’ve released sixth full-length albums, with the most recent No Shame coming out earlier this month on Monster Zero Records. 2017’s Great, Big, Nothing was was an excellent album, and No Shame is a worthy successor. Check it out below, grab the record here, and hit up Bandcamp to catch up on 7 Years Bad Luck’s extensive back catalog.
Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold […]
Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold one, and break out those wallets, because it’s go time. Let’s get into it!
Check out the video edition of this week’s Record Radar, presented by our friends at Punk Rock Radar:
Our friends at Punk Rock Radar and Cat’s Claw Records are having an awesome sale in their webstores this week. Get 30% off everything when you use code CATS13 at checkout! Both labels have a ton of awesome records, shirts & other stuff to load your cart with. Sale ends Saturday, August 19th.
Pure Noise Records has announced Volume 2 in its Dead Formats series, featuring cover songs from 15 bands on the label’s roster. Notable tracks include Less Than Jake covering The Kinks and the Bouncing Souls’ take on “In the Dark” by Billy Squier. There are a handful of different color variants up for pre-order on the Pure Noise webstore.
Rancid’s legendary self-titled debut album is getting reissued in honor of its 30th Anniversary. Links to where you can get all four color variants can be found here. My favorite is the US Indie Exclusive white w/ black splatter – hit up your local record store for that one.
The Riverboat Gamblers’ Something to Crow About turns 20 this year and it, too, is getting a reissue. There are three variants, each limited to 500 copies. Get it on black and/or white wax here; the slate gray color variant is a Garage Land exclusive. This is the LP’s first repress since its original release in 2003.
A mysterious reissue of Face To Face’s Don’t Turn Away has popped up on Amazon and some other ecommerce sites with an October 13th release date. No specific color variant is noted, but there’s quite a bit of speculation this will be on pink colored vinyl. Why not roll the dice and find out?
New Found Glory’s From the Screen to Your Stereo 3 has been repressed on gold colored vinyl, not sure how many copies. Get the 10” here.
Our friends at Thousand Islands Records have brought Spanish melodic punks Adrenalized’s sophomore album Docet Umbra back in print for the first time in 8 years. There are three variants – teal, pink & gold – each limited to 100 copies. Get your copy here.
Toronto’s PKEW PKEW PKEW have a new record coming soon! Siiick Days was recorded with Bouncing Souls guitarist Pete Steinkopf at his Little Eden recording studio in Asbury Park, NJ. Check out the first track “The Dumbest Thing I Ever Done” below and pre-order the record here.
Finch‘s debut album What It Is to Burn is getting a special 20th Anniversary reissue from Take This To Heart Records. The first pressing has already sold out, but they’ve already launched pre-orders for a second pressing of 2,000 copies on “Color in Color (Ruby + Black) w/ Tangerine Splatter” colored vinyl. Get it here.
And last up in this week’s long line of reissues is Set Your Goals’ This Will Be the Death of Us. This Smartpunk Exclusive is limited to 500 copies on blue w/ red splatter colored wax. Grab your copy here.
Well, that’s all, folks. Another Record Radar in the books. As always, thank you for tuning in. If there’s anything we missed (highly likely), or if you want to let everyone know about a new/upcoming vinyl release you’re excited about, leave us a comment below, or send us a message on Facebook or Instagram, and we’ll look into it. Enjoy your weekend, and don’t blow too much money on spinny discs (or do, I’m not your father). See ya next week!
Wanna catch up on all of our Record Radar posts? Click here and you’ll be taken to a page with all the past entries in the column. Magic!
Hi babes! I’m finally over my festival blues and ready to bring you my second highlight of the year. Or third? It could be fourth or fifth. I’ve lost track, and who cares anymore. As many of you have noticed from my Instagram and our Dying Scene’s Instagram, I’ve been in Belgium to visit the […]
Hi babes! I’m finally over my festival blues and ready to bring you my second highlight of the year. Or third? It could be fourth or fifth. I’ve lost track, and who cares anymore. As many of you have noticed from my Instagram and our Dying Scene’s Instagram, I’ve been in Belgium to visit the highly recommended festival, Brakrock. The festival took place on August 4th and ended the following day. Yes, a totally sad face from my side. But you know, sometimes we must go home and regroup for next year’s festival season.
Anywho, let’s get on with it. Because Day 1 is already going to be longer than… Something. My brain didn’t survive Brakrock. So how was it? What happened? Did it blow my mind? All these questions will be answered. But first, here’s a sweet picture of our wine and water—something you’ll need to get through this post.
So, Brakrock! That happened, and we started with me getting a few bracelets. Fine, fine. I entered a different entrance and hit right when Public Serpents did soundcheck. I had to race to my friends because I had our locker combo, and I had to return for Public Serpents to go on stage. But FIRST, let’s do a Brakrock 101.
At Brakrock, you don’t pay with a card – Actually, that’s a lie – you can pay with a card or cash for merch. But if you want wine or beer or food. That’s tokens, my friends. 10 tokens cost you about 30 euros. Yup. But it’s whatever. It works? I was actually not convinced until I tried it myself. If you want a locker – please, reserve it prior to the festival. It sucks waiting 20 minutes in line to scan a bloody QR-code. Or actually, Brakrock, make sure there’s maybe three screens for the lockers? Idea. Beer or Wine? Wine. Always wine. Belgium beer is amazing, but it does fill you up fast. Switch things up. But honestly Brakrock, I actually missed my cider.
But everything else worked. Clean toilets, barely any queue for drinks and food. Nice people. There were three stages; Riverstage, Ruinstage and Woodstage. They weren’t more than three minutes apart, so you can tell it was actually a nice and intimate compared to many of the other festivals I’ve covered this summer. I loved it. I could find my friends, easily. I could find merch and there were bars at every stage. What more could a girl ask for?!
So let’s get to my job. Which is reviewing bands and hopefully not pissing anyone off with this review. Oh and due to miscommunication, we actually didn’t know we were press until we were there and therefore all pictures and videos from day 1, are from my telephone.
I will be honest; I love ska. I do. And I like Public Serpents; they are the fine mix between ska, and there’s some screaming, some hardcore in there. You know what? I suggest you get your asses out to a show if they are around you. They started us off with ‘Hated by a Nation’ – probably one of the most popular songs that helped put them on the map. People were getting ready to mosh, and the crowd gathered fine around my friends and meme. It’s important to state here; Public Serpents are far from unknown here in Europe. And the name that they’ve worked incredibly hard for has only benefited them. I saw young people bring beach floats to the show to throw around and start a wild mosh pit where I needed to excuse myself. I wasn’t prepared for that at all. But damn, that show was one of the best I’ve seen that day. They would have had me going immediately if I hadn’t been in the mood to dance before their set. Another thing, their set went by in a flash of the eye. I was surprised how well everyone in the band was to interact with the audience and keep the mood high. I’m excited to see them again.
After a show like Public Serpents that has the adrenaline rushing, it’s time for some nice, slow third-wave ska and chill. That’s right; it’s time for me to experience The Slackers for the first time. I fell in love with their album, and I had heard their previous material in passing, but not where I could tell you the name of many of the golden oldies they played. I will say they played the songs that I know and hold dear. “Shameboy”, “Wasted Days”, and “Married Girl,” and they did a cover of Misfits’ “Attitude,” and that was even better than Misfits’ own version. Yeah, I said it; it was awesome! Words can’t describe how much I’ve fallen in love with The Slackers after this. They were even the best-dressed band the entire weekend. I could have spent another hour listening to them. They sounded outstanding and respect to the audience for feeling the music as much as the rest of us.
Ah, yes. I forgot about this clash, and honestly, that was my first annoyance (we will get to the rest). I had never seen either band live. I have been a fan of The Dickies since childhood, so this felt obvious. But I wanted to check out the hype about Wonk Unit to see if they were all talk or the fact that they deliver. So, fair is fair sometimes; you decide to leave halfway through a set to see the end of the other band’s set. I’ll start with Wonk Unit because they were the first of the two bands we decided to see.
Wonk Unit
Wonk Unit is punk. It’s unique and super underrated. It reminds me… Of some 90s punk but updated, the whole band is just firecrackers. I had a considerable part, and so did my friends. I lost Annette; she entered the crowd while Bjarke (from The 20 Belows) hung out on the side and took it in. They don’t care if you know the songs or if you do know each lyric in the music. They want you to dance, and dance was something we did! Shit, everyone should book them.
The Dickies
The Dickies! Dream comes true to the smallest ones of us. Okay, I’m pretty tall, but still! I fangirled throughout the last fifteen minutes of their show. And when we arrived, who would happen to come and join The Dickies on stage? None other than one of my favorite bassists, Randy Bradbury from Pennywise. I was full after that show. I felt I had seen everything, yet I wanted more of The Dickies. Call me greedy. It was fun, and the sound was good. I was standing nicely on the grandstand. The view was good, and probably one of my new favorite spots for Riverstage. It worked out well. Let’s get The Dickies back for next year?
They might have a tough name, but Satanic Surfers are still to date some of the sweetest guys I’ve met on my journey as a music reviewer. This is my second time seeing them, which blew me away. Now, the setlist was full of the bangers “The Usurper”, “… And the Cheese Fell Down”, “Don’t Skate on My Ramp”, and my all-time favorite song, which they aced and closed their concert off with “Head Under Water”. Rico still goes hard on the drums, and Andy steals the show as usual with his outgoing personality on bass. Max and Magnus throwing themselves around on stage. But the sound, compared to the last time I saw them was much more rehearsed, much more intact, and they delivered. I had my own party on the side.
Are we going to pretend for a minute that I would skip Good Riddance? Not today, Satan. Apart from the annoying smoke machine, I have little to contribute to their show. Russ was feeling the crowd, and the crowd was feeling the energy that Russ was delivering and the rest of the band. Mosh pits found their way to the front, and I witnessed a few crowd surfers. Honestly, Good Riddance has been around longer than I’ve been on this planet. And last year, when I saw them in Copenhagen, they had an off day. But on Riverstage, it was the complete opposite. They had room to move; they had room to perform. This has to go down as one of the best concerts from Brakrock’s day 1.
… I got stuck in the mosh pit and experienced my first human sandwich in the worst possible way ever. One from the back and one from the front at the same time. But it was AWESOME. It’s not exactly how I imagined my first Cigar concert but damn. Can we talk about how fantastic Cigar is? It’s flawless. They started with an oldie from the album they released back in 1999. And I set the playlist up in perfect order. In between the old stuff, they played “We Used To”, “Classic You” (one that I’ve always said is a stand-out on the album), “Legacy of the 7 Piles”, and “Gone Wrong” from the new album. Rami has terrific vocals, and they are equally impressive live. Jon Sortland made me tired watching his powerful drumming; I’m terrified of him.
It’s been eight months since I last saw Pennywise. It’s been eight months since the venue in Copenhagen killed my first time seeing Pennywise. I still haven’t forgiven the venue. BUT how can you stay mad at a band that helped shape you? Or, in fact, a band that has such a massive impact on your own kid’s life? You can’t.
As it is Pennywise, and everyone was there, you couldn’t not expect some minor appearances from different bands. We got some NOFX covers from Pennywise and Russ from Good Riddance to sing a Minor Threat cover; we had Steve Caballero from Urethane on guitar during “Bro Hymn”. And Brakrock also had a pleasant taste of Dying Scene’s very own favorite ginger, ME, on stage for Bro Hymn. We had kids singing and showing us why Pennywise are where they are. Randy Bradbury, on bass, was on fire once again. I have yet to witness a better bass game from anyone but Randy, which is why he is my favorite bassist. Fletcher and his unforgiving humor got the already rowdy crowd going.
I didn’t care about anything else. I was taken aback because I had been waiting for this in January. I got to experience it and became an even bigger Pennywise fan. #sorrynotsorryfriends
They delivered an incredible show and continue to amaze after decades on the scene. People commented that this may have been the best Pennywise show they’ve seen post-covid. So, I am not alone. Pennywise, we love ya.
Hey Diesel Boy, I know I’ve reviewed your new album, interviewed you, and now I’m reviewing half your gig for the first time. I’m counting my lucky stars. Okay, so it’s been years since Diesel Boy has been on stage, and it’s their first time at Brakrock – What a catch for Brakrock. What a catch for me. After Pennywise, I need a drink, and I want to see what Diesel Boy can deliver since the hype around them has been so huge. I come in time for “Lime Green” from their ’96 album Cock Rock, Diesel Dave, the vocalist, does know how to sing. I’ll give him that much. So, sipping my beer, I noticed how the band seemed energized even though they were closing the festival with The Meffs playing on Riverstage.
They played well together; my beer was excellent, and they continued to play their golden oldies. To be nice here, that is why most of us were there. Listen to the old stuff and hold out hope for some new stuff. But either way, after five songs, it’s time to go home because there’s a new day, Saturday, and it’s as heavy as Friday.
I actually might need to see Diesel Boy once again to give a proper, and decent review.
Nebraska pop-punks The Young Hasselhoffs returned last year with their comeback album Life Go In The Way, and they’ve already got another new record on the way. The band’s 5th LP Dear Departed was recorded at the fabled Blasting Room and is due out October 6th on Mom’s Basement Records; the same day Mom’s Basement Fest […]
Nebraska pop-punks The Young Hasselhoffs returned last year with their comeback album Life Go In The Way, and they’ve already got another new record on the way. The band’s 5th LP Dear Departed was recorded at the fabled Blasting Room and is due out October 6th on Mom’s Basement Records; the same day Mom’s Basement Fest is happening in Youngstown, Ohio!
We’re stoked to bring you this exclusive premiere of the album’s lead single (and title track). Check it out below and stay tuned to the Mom’s Basement webstore for pre-orders launching soon.
