Saturday, November 30, 2013

Fuck the Pumpkinheads v2013

In honor of the 91st Thanksgiving morning high school rivalry football game, I present to you Fuck the Pumpkinheads v2013.



01 Booze & Glory - The Day I'm in My Grave
02 Dead Kennedys - Too Drunk to Fuck
03 Direct Hit! - We're Fucked
04 Dirty Filthy Mugs - Drinks on Me
05 Dreadnoughts - Polka Never Dies
06 Dropkick Murphys - Going Out in Style
07 Fugazi - Waiting Room
08 Gecko Brothers - Let's Get Drunk
09 Gonads - Punk Till I Die
10 Hextalls - I'm The Best (In Bed)
11 Hextalls - Texas
12 Hextalls - Female Doctor Anxiety
13 Masked Intruder - Stick em Up
14 Misfits - Pumpkinhead
15 Naked Raygun - Wonder Beer
16 Off With Their Heads - Hard to Admit
17 Pietasters - Maggie Mae
18 Pour Habit - Bad Luck Drunk
19 Queers - I Only Drink Bud
20 Rage Against the Machine - Guerilla Radio
21 Rancid - Fuck You
22 Reel Big Fish - Beer
23 Rezillos - Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight
24 Saints & Sinners - Raise Your Glass
25 Secretions - 3 Chords and a Fuck You
26 Specials - Tears in My Beer
27 Stars & Stripes - Shut the Fuck Up
28 Street Dogs - I Got Drunk
29 Street Dogs - Punk Rock and Roll
30 Surrounded by Thieves - Riot
31 TSOL - Fuck You, Tough Guy
32 Welch Boys - I Feel Like Drinkin'
33 Youth Brigade - Where Are All the Old Man Bars?

Click Here to Download

2013 Punk Rock Christmas




01 Angry Snowmans - Bright Lights
02 Bad Religion - American Jesus (Andy Wallace Mix)
03 Bad Religion - Angels We Have Heard on High
04 Lenny Lashley - Anti Christ Mass Song
05 Man Overboard - Father Christmas
06 Angry Snowmans - Festive
07 Bad Religion - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
08 Vacancies - Father Christmas
09 Bad Religion - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
10 Lion's Law - He Never Came Around
11 Druglors of the Avenues - Hooray for the Holidays
12 Bad Religion - Little Drummer Boy
13 On the Job - Merry Christmas and Short Cropped Hair
14 Angry Snowmans - North Pole
15 Bad Religion - O Come All Ye Faithful
16 Bad Religion - O Come, O Come Emmanuel
17 Masked Intruder - Silent Night
18 Evil Conduct - Silver Bells
19 Chem D - The 12 Steps of Christmas
20 Dropkick Murphys - The Season's Upon Us
21 Masked Intruder - Under the Mistletoe
22 Bad Religion - What Child Is This?
23 Bad Religion - White Christmas
24 Harrington Saints - Xmas
25 Angry Snowmans - Naughty Little Monster

Click Here To Download

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Welch Boys and Blue Bloods 2013-11-16 at the Great Scott in Boston, MA

Several years ago, I somehow found out about some Boston area street punk bands, The Welch Boys and the Blue Bloods.  For years, I thought it would be cool to see them play.  Unfortunately, both bands sort of disappeared for a few years.  Fortunately, they are both back at it again.

Last weekend, I hopped on a plane to Providence, RI where I was greeted by Earthdog and his two children who picked me up at the airport on Friday afternoon.  We spent the night catching up, having a few beers, and watching the Great Lebowski (first time for me).

Saturday, we hit the British Beer Company restaurant for lunch where I had a few beers, some mac n cheese with grilled onions and jalapenos, and a steak sandwich.  From there we hit the local Newbury Comics record store near East Walpole, MA where Earthdog lives.  I dropped a Franklin on some CDs as usual on record store visits.  After a nap (2 hours!), we watched a little bit of The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2, and then headed to the Great Scott.

The Great Scott was a nice small club that surprisingly had a great draft beer collection.  I tried a few of them before switching to Bud Light because I new it was going to be a long night.  Tonight was the first of two consecutive benefit shows being hosted by The Welch Boys.  We got there around 7pm for a show that started at 9pm and went until at least 1:30am.


Up first was Darkbuster frontman, Lenny Lashley, playing an electric acoustic set with his Gibson.  He started off with a cover of The Clash's "Spanish Bombs".  I remember a song called "Hooligans" that was pretty good too.  It is on his solo release, The Gang of One.  The set was calm, but it was nice to ease into the evening as I had not been to a show since Punk Rock Bowling in May.



The Old Edison played next.  They had no drums, but had a violin, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar, bass, and singer.  I'm not sure there was room on the stage to put a drum kit.  They played some punked up folk songs.  Again, we were easing into the show so this was fine.  Earthdog and I could still talk and drink beers while crowd watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnayhfSaen4&noredirect=1

The McGunks from the Providence, RI area were up next.  Now these boys know how to rock.  Lots of beer drinking singalong songs including a Kenny Rogers cover.  I had been listening to them for the last week or so, and recognized a few tunes they played - "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Shut Up".  I would be happy to see them play again sometime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHQzEoeLdTY&noredirect=1

Mark Lind of the Ducky Boys played next with another band of his, Dirty Water (probably named after The Standells song about Boston).  This was the first set with some noise.  It was the right time for some.  I was glad I got to see them play.  There were a few songs that I recognized from listening to them for the last few weeks, and I am glad they played them - "It Starts with You" and "Are You Dying".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66f11EQ4Egc&noredirect=1

Finally, one of the bands that I was there to see - The Blue Bloods.  Now we finally moved closer to the stage and it was loud.  There were not too many songs that I recognized from the few releases that they have out.  I did speak with the lead singer after the set, and he did say they have a new release about ready to come out.  They did play a few songs from their last release, Death of a Salesman, that I was excited to hear - "Left Out in the Cold" and "Losing Streak" (sans the "Fuck you, Jobu I do it myself" excerpt from Major League that is on the CD).  I believe they ended the set with a cover by The Trouble (who I wish I could have seen during their reunion show this year at the TNT Fest in Hartford, CT), "This One's For You".

 
 
Burning Streets played next.  They have a few releases out on Sailor's Grave Records along with the Welch Boys and the Beantown Boozehounds.  I was not too excited to see these guys after listening to their songs the few weeks prior to the show.  However, they sounded better live and made for an enjoyable set including the three guitar attack.
 




Finally, it was time for the headliners, The Welch Boys.  Unfortunately, it seemed like half of the crowd had split already.  I felt bad for the band as they put this weekends benefit shows together, and didn't get to play to a full house.  Well, others loss was my gain as I got to get very close to the stage.  So close that I got to sing some backup vocals into the guitar players mic!  There are lots of videos from the evening that someone posted on youtube, but I couldn't find any of me singing "Les Paul" with the band (edit: my noise shows up at about the 36 minute mark of the video below).  You will see lots of pics below of others singing with the band too.  Just like the good old days before the barriers came into play.  The band did not disappoint.  I am very glad that I came out to Boston to see them play.  I grabbed the setlist from the stage which helped me get the list of songs they played.  It was pretty heavy with new material from their Bring Back the Fight CD that came out earlier this year on Sailor's Grave Records.  I wish they would have played longer.  I could have listened to them play at least a 90 minute set.  I don't think they played 45 minutes at most.  The singer looks like Jon Gruden to me, and you will see a Jim Carey lookalike in some pics too.

Bring Back the Fight
Flesheater
Where Have All the Boot Boys Gone?
Pervert
Head in the Sand
Johnnie Black
Belly of the Beast
I Feel Like Drinkin'
Drinkin' Angry
617
Someone's Gonna Die
Whiskey and Beer
Les Paul

 
 
I wore a Beantown Boozehounds t-shirt to the show.  Their lead singer, Chad Beantown, chatted me up and some girl offered me $20 for the shirt.  Apparently, you can only buy that shirt from Sailor's Grave.
 


Me and the Blue Bloods singer.
 
Me and some Welch Boys after I bought some raffle tix for the autographed guitar.  I guess I didn't win since I have not heard from them yet.
 
 
Another great weekend in Boston.  That town is quickly becoming my third hometown.
 
More pics can be found on my Flickr page under my name: lewdd.


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

2013-05-27 Punk Rock Bowling - Day Three

Not many bands to cover today as I took a nap this afternoon.  I missed the following opening bands - Catholic Spit, Molotov Compromise, Retox, Funeral Dress, and Lower Class Brats.

I made it there before 6pm and was able to grab a water and meet up with Ben in the crowd.  No sign of Aquaman today and still didn't get a chance to meet Wretch.

Casualties
I had seen these NYC punks a few times at Riot Fest and on the tour that Down by Law played last Summer.  The kids love these guys.  I think it must be the haircuts.  The sound was better than the club show I saw in Joliet, IL last Summer.  I didn't mind seeing them play.  They actually have a few songs that I enjoy hearing.  I recall them playing the following.

Rockaway Beach (Ramones cover)
Resistance
We Are All We Have
Modern Day Slaves
Life on the Line
Ugly Bastard
Criminal Class
Punk Rock Love
Unknown Soldier
Tomorrow Belongs to Us


 

Subhumans UK
These old time punks were a hit with the crowd too.  Fat Mike stood at the side of the stage with his girlfriend and sang along and played air bass to the whole set.  I had not spent much time listening to this band before this show.  I was pleased with their performance, and would go see them again.  Unfortunately, they did not play "Can't Hear the Words", and waited until I went for something to eat to play my other favorite tune of theirs "Religious Wars".  I recall them playing the following.

Religious Wars
No
Susan (with piano)
Forget
Fade Away
Businessman
Society
Peroxide





D.R.I.
I listened through the catalog of these guys a few weeks ago, and just couldn't get into their thrash sound.  After watching them live, I can still say I can't get into these guys.  They had a great time and so did most of the crowd so they are doing something right for some people.  I guess that is all that matters.  I recognized them playing the following tunes.

I Don't Need Society
Who Am I
Violent Pacification
Manifest Destiny

Flag
Finally, the festival draws to a close with the headliner, FLAG.  They killed it right from the start.  I loved the two guitar attack.  The crowd was nuts.  I was about 50 yards back from the stage, but dead center.  The sound was great.  Chuck was jumping around with his bass like he was in his early 20's again.  Keith was nailing the vocals.  Bill was incredible on drums as usual.  I guess the 8 or so hours of practice that they had this weekend prior to the show paid off for them.  Their work ethic is incredible and it comes through in the live performance.  Dez sang vocals on about 5-6 songs.  I am now a fan of the song "My War".  Keith was awesome on those vox.  They were definitely the best set of the festival for me.  I would love to see these guys play again.  The only disappointment was that the only t-shirt they sold just had the first names of each member in the band on it.  I was hoping to get a FLAG shirt.  They were selling a Black Flag t-shirt.  I wonder if Greg Ginn is getting paid for those sales :).  Here is the setlist.

Revenge
Fix Me 

Police Story
I Don' Care

Depression
I've Had It
No Values
My War
No More
Gimme Gimme Gimme
White Minority
Jealous Again
Wasted
Clocked In
Nervous Breakdown
American Waste (Dez vox)
Thirsty and Miserable (Dez vox)
Padded Cell (Dez vox)
Spray Paint (Dez vox)
Six Pack (Dez vox)
Rise Above
Louie Louie

Encore:
I Love You
Damaged (Dez vox)








Merch:
Surrounded by Thieves - Prophecies of Greed CD
Surrounded by Thieves - Punk Rock Fight Songs CD
SquidheadRecords.com CD Sampler Vol 2 (free)
Rancid - B Sides and C Sides CD (free)
Rancid pins and stickers (free)

Band Rankings for the Day:
FLAG
Subhumans
Casualties
D.R.I.

Festival Band Rankings (those bands I watched):
01 FLAG
02 The Damned
03 TSOL
04 CH3
05 Bad Religion
06 Shattered Faith
07 The Gears
08 The Crowd
09 Bouncing Souls
10 Angry Samoans
11 The Briggs
12 Turbonegro
13 The Weirdos
14 Subhumans
15 Devo
16 Casualties
17 Revilers
18 Love Canal
19 DRI
20 Lagwagon

 

Monday, May 27, 2013

2013-05-26 Punk Rock Bowling - Day Two

I found out on Day Two of Punk Rock Bowling that arriving in the late afternoon / early evening (approx. 6pm) gets you a 15 minute or so wait in the security line.  As such, I did not get to see the following bands by plan - Surrounded by Thieves, Piss and Blood, Sean and Zander, and Pour Habit.  It is a damn shame that Surrounded by Thieves played so early.  I love their song "Riot", and I am sure there was a goddamn riot at PRB when they hit the stage yesterday.

When I arrived, the US Bombs were hitting the stage.  I took the time to get 2 bottles of water and some chicken tenders so I missed their set.  They were part of the festival background noise for me.

Bouncing Souls
I met up with Ben again in between sets, and we headed up toward the stage for the Bouncing Souls.  It has been a few years since I have seen them play at Riot Fest.  They played a great set and I am glad they were on the bill.  The crowd was soaking them up, and the band was having fun.  During one song, the lead singer did a stage dive into the crowd with a piƱata.  Fun was had by all.  Aquaman ended up standing next to me during the set, and we caught up with each other prior to Lagwagon with discussions about his breakfast that was followed shortly their after with lunch with Flag's drummer, Bill Stevenson.  What is spoken in Vegas stays in Vegas :).  Here is what I remember the Bouncing Souls playing.

Comet
True Believers
The Gold Song
Lean on Sheena
Sing Along Forever
Hopeless Romantic
East Coast Fuck You
Here We Go



Lagwagon
I had never seen this band before, and have only briefly took a listening spin through their discography.  The singer also sings for Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.  Fat Mike and his girlfriend could be seen stage left during this set.  One of the bands guitar players must be about 7ft tall.  I enjoyed the music, but the vocals did not work for me with the sound of the band.  Thus, I couldn't tell you what songs they played.  They did close the set with a cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" fitting for Las Vegas which I did quite enjoy.

Turbonegro
I was not quite sure what to make of these guys, and was quite surprised that there were not more of their loving fans walking around in their Turbojugend denim jackets and sailor caps.  Hailing from Norway, these guys are the modern day equivalent of the Village People in their sailor, policeman, etc. costumes playing their version of glam, metal, street punk, and rock and roll - or deathrock as the band self-describes it.  All I know is that by the end of the set they had me rocking along with them.  Here is a list of some of the songs they played.

All My Friend Are Dead
Wasted Again
Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed
Fuck the World
Prince of the Rodeo
I Got Erection
Dude without a Face



Bad Religion
This was the first time that I have seen Bad Religion without Greg Hetson on 2nd guitar.  Apparently, he is dealing with some personal issues, and was being replaced by John Dimkich of the Cult (and he looks remarkably similar to Hetson).  With Brian Baker on guitar, it is hard for this band not to deliver the goods.  They were deservedly the headlining band today and played like it.  The band was having fun and the crowd loved them.  Fat Mike bum rushed the stage during "21st Century Digital Boy" to grab bass player Jay Bentley's mike to sing, and apparently ended up chipping his tooth on the microphone.  Fun was had by all.  I left near the end of the set to get a head start on my walk to the club show.  Daghouse Ben got on the VIP list from Brian Baker and spent some time backstage watching Brian give Bad Religion guitar lessons to Dimkich.  Here is what I remember the band playing.

Sinister Rouge
21st Century Digital Boy
New Maps of Hell
Fuck Armageddon
True North
Fuck You
Darma and the Bomb
Recipe for Hate
Nothing to Dismay
You
Do What You Want
No Direction
Let Them Eat War
Robin Hood in Reverse
American Jesus
Sorrow
Infected





I made it to the Las Vegas Country Saloon for the after festival club show.  I was at this place last year.  It is a nice small club that I believe raised their stage up a bit since last year which was nice.  You could now see the band playing from further back in the room.  All bands had merch, but TSOL and 7 Seconds did not have XXL t-shirts so I was out of luck as the Pointed Sticks would say.

Angry Samoans
Metal Mike Saunders was fronting this version of the band, and also played drums on a few songs.  I had never seen these guys before, but Inside My Brain and Back from Samoa were the soundtrack to my high school years.  I loved those records.  I enjoyed the set, but wish I could have seen them earlier in their career as opposed to playing with the hired guns in the band now.  Anyway, one more band from California off of my bucket list.  Here is what I recall them playing.

Slave to My Dick (Subhumans cover)
Hot Cars
You Stupid Asshole
Todd Killings
Steak Knife
Lights Out
You Stupid Jerk
Homosexual
Haizman's Brain
Ballad of Jerry Curlan
They Saved Hitler's Cock
Not of This Earth
Get Off the Air
Wasted (Black Flag cover)
Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag cover)
My Old Man's a Fatso
I'm in Love with Your Mom
BBC (Austin Powers cover)
I Like to Drink and Fight

TSOL
Up next were Jack Grisham's True Sounds of Liberty, and were the next SoCal band to cross off my bucket list this weekend.  Jack stated he was recently married last week, and was now sporting a blonde hairdue which had him looking like WCW wrestling's Barry Windham.  I rank this set as the best of the day, and I was as happy seeing these guys as Jack looked on stage singing for everyone.  Here is what I recall them playing.

World War 3
In My Head
Dance with Me
Terrible People
Superficial Love
Property Is Theft
Sounds of Laughter
The Triangle
Fuck You, Tough Guy
Die for Me
I'm Tired of Life
Abolish Government / Silent Majority
Code Blue





Unfortunately, my feet could not take it any longer so I headed back to the hotel prior to 7 Seconds hitting the stage.

Merch:
Channel 3 logo t-shirt

Daily Band Rankings:
TSOL
Bad Religion
Bouncing Souls
Angry Samoans
Turbonegro
Lagwagon

Sunday, May 26, 2013

2013-05-25 Punk Rock Bowling - Day One

I arrived at the venue today close to 5pm.  I missed The Dirty Panties and Tartar Control play as planned.  I wanted to get their prior to Boston's Revilers starting, but I was running a little late betting on the horse races at Arlington Race track in IL from the Sports Book at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.  I should have gone to the festival.

Revilers
As I was walking around the security gates, I heard the Revilers playing my favorite tune of theirs "No Bullshit Reactor" which sucks because I wanted to record video of them playing that tune.  I did manage to catch their last 3-4 songs and they ripped it up pretty good.  I compare them to a cross between a current street punk band sound and Motorhead.  Anyway, I am glad a got to see a few songs.



CH3
These guys were on my bucket list to see.  I missed them 3 times or so when they rolled through Chicago on very infrequent tours outside of CA.  They did not disappoint during their 30+ minute set.  Now I would love to see them in a small venue / club setting.  I remember the following songs being played.

You Lie
Out of Control
Indian Summer
I Didn't Know
Last Time I Drank
Mannequin
Manzanar
I've Got a Gun
You Make Me Feel Cheap (complete with female vox)




The Briggs
I have seen these guys very early on in their career at a small club in Burbank, IL that has since been renovated into Chuck's Southern BBQ restaurant (which is a great place to eat by the way) with Time Again.  I also saw them open for Bad Religion at the House of Blues in Chicago once too.  The band lineup looked like it changed a bit since then.  As previous times I have seen them, they put on a great show playing their poppy street punk.  I am glad they were on the card at the festival.  I remember the following songs being played.

One Shot Down
Wasting Time
This Is L.A.



Swingin' Utters
Unfair to these guys, I spent their set eating a buffalo burger and resting my legs by sitting on a bench in the shade.  I couldn't tell you how they sounded or what songs they played.  I never really listened to their catalog before so I decided this was a good place in the day to refresh.

The Weirdos
I got a chance to catch another SoCal punk band who I never had a chance to see before.  I enjoyed the set and was glad that they played today.  The vocals were a little strange to me as at times it almost seemed like they were being lip synched.  During this set, I was met by Aquaman from Daghouse and spent some time chatting with him after the set.  Once again, the Daghouse does not disappoint with another class guy.  I am glad we got to meet and chat and hope to get to see him throughout the weekend.  Here are the songs I remember them playing.

We Got the Neutron Bomb
Solitary Confinement
Destroy All Music
Happy People
Message from the Underworld





The Damned
I was really looking forward to seeing these guys play even though I had seen them about 4-5 times already.  As always, they did not disappoint.  The setlist was a greatest hits up thru the Strawberries era and had some songs I had never heard them play live before.  They were the highlight of the day for me, and I suspect will be tough to knock off the #1 ranking for the festival over the next few days.

Love Song
Second Time Around
Neat Neat Neat
Plan 9 Channel 7
Help (Beatles cover)
Fan Club
Born to Kill
New Rose
Anti-Pope
Stretcher Case Baby
Ignite
Smash It Up Pts 1&2






Devo
Up next were the evenings headlining band.  For $35, you could buy a red or light blue flower pot to wear on your head.  I saw at least 100 people wearing one throughout the day.

Prior to the Damned, I met up with Ben from Daghouse whom I had spent time with last year at PRB.  During the break, we went to get some tacos and rest the legs sitting on a bench. 

Devo started up with a big video screen behind them playing videos to accompany their music.  The crowd was going pretty nuts for them.  After about 15-20 minutes, we moved from the benches to get up closer to watch them.  The band performed well but I just wasn't into their sound after listening to the other bands earlier today.  If the B-52's, the Go-Go's, and other 80's new wave bands were on the bill throughout the day, I think I would have been in a different mood to enjoy them more.  Here is what I remember hearing prior to us leaving to head to the club show.

Whip It
Girl U Want
Are We Not Men?
Peekaboo!
Mongoloid
Satisfaction
Uncontrollable Urge




It seemed like it took forever, but we finally made it to the Bunk House.  This was one of the few shows that did not sell out in advance for some strange reason.  When we arrived there were only about 20 people there when Love Canal hit the stage.  I couldn't tell you any of the songs that they played as I never really listened to this 80's SoCal punk band before.  I can tell you that I enjoyed the set much more than I had expected too.  And, they did play a cover of M.I.A.'s "Tell Me Why" because they were in Vegas after all.

Shattered Faith
I had seen them before at Reggie's in Chicago with about 10 other people that night.  Tonight they had their drummer from 30 years ago, Chris Moon, playing with them.  The crowd had increase to probably over 100 by the time they started playing.  There were even a few new songs sprinkled in the set list.  I really wish the band would have had more time to play.  They were so tight and were having so much fun playing.  This was one of the top performances of the day.  Here is the song list direct from the setlist.

The Verdict
Victims of Society
Final Conflict
I Love America
Suburban Boredom
Mirrors Reflection
Discontent
USA
Right Is Right
Reagan in 81
Trilogy
Born to You
Power to the Kids





The Gears
Up next were the early L.A. punk band, The Gears.  I had only listened to this band a few weeks ago for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised by their sound - a beach, surfy, punk sound.  I was blown away by the energy of the band, and I am pleasantly looking forward to the new CD that they say they are working on.  Here is what I remember them playing from what seemed like over an hour long set.

Baby Runaround
Lets Go To the Beach
Don't Be Afraid to Pogo
Elks Lodge Blues
Darlin Baby
Trudie Trudie
High School Girls
The Last Chord
I Smoke Dope

The Crowd
Another band that I got to check off my bucket list this weekend.  I remember first hearing these guys on some of the early Posh Boy Records compilations and on their LP on Flipside Records.  I recently bought their latest single that came with a download card of 10+ songs and have been buying their singles, compilation tracks, and CDs throughout the years.  Once again, the band did not disappoint even though it was almost 2am before they hit the stage.  The band and the crowd were having a great time throughout the set.  I would go see this bill again anytime.  Here is what I remember hearing the band play.

Living in Madrid
Modern Machine
Right Is Right
Suzy is a Surf Rocker
Trix Are for Kids
I'm Not Happy Here
Max Got Hit by a Car
Masquerade

Day #1 Band Rankings:
The Damned
CH3
Shattered Faith
The Gears
The Crowd
The Briggs
The Weirdos
Devo
Revilers
Love Canal
Swingin' Utters (by default because I did not watch them)


Merch:
The Damned "Machine Gun Etiquette" LP cover t-shirt
Shattered Faith logo t-shirt
Shattered Faith Live CD (an official Shattered Faith product - i.e. self released CD version of the original LP recording)

I was beat by the end of the nite (early morning) when I hit the pillow after 3am.  Great event.  It is going to be hard to beat the rest of the weekend.