Live: Punch @ ABC No Rio 8.4.12 (early)

While they are no Trust, for the most part I've always enjoyed the lady-fronted hardcore stylings of Punch. Their most recent EP Nothing Lasts has found its way into pretty regular rotation here at JS-NYC HQ and the interview in the new Rumpshaker reminded me that they were pretty aces at the shows with Paint It Black last year so I ran down the block to ABC early to get stamped.

Ended up being for not so much of a need, as while the room filled up pretty well, it wasn't a sold out endeavor from our heroes. That eventuality did little to stop the room getting a hell of a lot smaller once Meghan grabbed the mic and Punch set to turning the room into a mini maelstrom of sweaty punks going bananas. It was, with all due respect to the ladies, hot as balls and, should you be wondering, no new climate control technology has been installed in America's Oldest DIY venuetm. Regardless, the Punch Crew brought it despite the usual bad vocal mix. One does hope a proper PA is in the offing for the new space when it jumps off. Things were gone in under a half-hour, allowing for welcome hydration and respite from the olfactory terrorism put forth by the hygenically challenged youth. Looking back, I'm kind of pissed that I didn't make it across the river the next night for the show Death By Audio.

Bask in the nostalgia and/or keep track of what goes on with the Punch crew (like the Euro dates with fucking Negative Approach!) here.

R

Live: Rorschach with Barbarian @ ABC No Rio 5.26.12

Among my laundry list of personal issues is the inability to not perseverate on who 'very special unannounced guests' are on punk bills. It's allowed me to spend untold awkward times standing around venues, official and not, to see bands I would never waste my time seeing in a million years previously but the fact that this one was down the street from JS-NYC HQ at ABC made it worth checking out.

As luck would have it, said unannounced band was Rorschach playing the first of three shows that day, saving me the chore of having to once again not get Converge when they played later on that night (or having to ride out to Acheron to see them after that). I showed up for the tail end of the Barbarian set (think: poor man's So Hideous My Love) and staked out some real estate while the gents sorted out borrowed gear. It had been forever since I had seen Rorschach, and safe money was on it having been at ABC. Maggio had mentioned they played five of their early shows at ABC, I believe 13 years ago. The crew is definitely older, but the vocals and B.C Rich guitars are still the same, making for a fun half hour of nostalgia. What kids were there got frisky enough, but not so much that old folks got annoyed, so I'll call that a fine way to spend one of the last afternoons at ABC for the foreseeable future.

Keep track of Rorschach here.

R

Live: Bridge & Tunnel @ ABC No Rio 4.21.12

While it was sad to see The Measure (SA) go the way of the buffalo, NYCers can take solace in the fact that we still have Bridge And Tunnel as our local No Idea franchise. This ABC show was the last local show before the foursome dashed off to Europe for a couple weeks and as it was a stone(r)'s throw from JS-NYC HQ, I figured I'd make the scene. In charming punk fashion, no one could offer any insights into when Bridge & Tunnel was going on, not had any band appeared to have played when I showed up an hour and a half past the start time listed on the flier to the left and in bouncing back and forth, I managed to miss all of the bands before I came back in the room a third time to finally see B&T setting up.

Microphones were not kind to our heroes from the get-go, as Jeff caught a million or so volts in the mouth right before things jumped off. Vocals continued to be an issue for the duration, continuing the time-honored tradition of compression-free underpowered vocals at America's oldest DIY musical venue, but the band was pretty damn tight in the absence of vocals and monitors, blazing through forty or so minutes of recent-era Bridge & Tunnel to a small, but enthusiastic crowd.  New music is rumored to be in the pipeline, but in the interim check out East/West and keep track of all of all other things Bridge and Tunnel here.

R

Live: Off With Their Heads with Rats In Rigor @ ABCnoRIO 3.13.11

Over the dozen or so Off With Their Heads shows I've seen, I've vacillated back and forth as to my enjoyment level. A lot of the shows on the unending tour behind From The Bottom got to be a little phoned in and I was less than enthused by the early shows behind In Desolation that had a five piece lineup with Ryan just singing. I heard about the ABC show at the last minute and figured as it was about three blocks from JS-NYC HQ, I'd try and make it. Fellow tourmates Against Me! were stinking up a matinee at Mercury Lounge at the same time, which worked out fine for attendance.

Rats In Rigor were on when I rolled in. By all outward appearances, these gents are no stranger to Leftover Crack shows. In fact, I'm still unsure as to whether I'm not aware of some crust punk pseudonym thing going on, as the singer guy looked way too much like Stza, but either way, they were your average crusty mid-card ABC band, playing an ok set and covering The Mob. All in all: meh.

Punk rock being punk rock, until I see band members on site, I'm always pretty much always thinking the band I want to see either has cancelled or the lineup has changed. I'm pleased to have been wrong. We're back to the four-piece Off With Their Heads, which is a very good thing. The kids only cared because it meant there was more room for shenanigans and crowding Ryan for singalongs. Ryan had the quote of the afternoon after the second or third song when he stopped and asked why no one was shouting 'Lets Go Murphys'. I love the Murphys, but they are second only to Slayer when it comes to fans that don't give a fuck about anything that isn't their boys. Ryan was openly (and vocally) pleased to be playing a smaller Alamo-esque show away from the big rooms Dropkick Murphys/AM! tour. It made for a much better show for all parties. OWTH are a small room band, props are due to them for remembering that and playing ABC for one of the last shows before they demo the building.

R

Live: Bridge & Tunnel with Get Bent, Antillectual, One Win Choice & Little Lungs 11.8.8

After the previous night, it was hard to come down to Earth, but it was a crappy day and Get Bent were playing the lead off slot on a matinee a block away, so I figured I'd make the trip.

If I may digress into a bit of a tired old man rant. I don't think that it's too much to ask for the actual venue to know when a show will start or the order of the bands, in at least a relative sense. This is sadly not possible for the collective, but its location allows me to not have to hang around like an idiot because I only showed up 45 minutes after the show was supposed to start. Silly me. Another 45 got me a copy of the new DonDiva and an arrival halfway through a band that was not Get Bent, the purported opener. 

The band proved to be Little Lungs. They are pretty decent, but young, so I see leaps and bounds being made in the next year or so. The rocking is in the trio format, with two ladies up front on strings and microphones and a lone gentleman pounding the skins. Think Sleater-Kinney with a dose of The Measure and you've got a good start. The things was, they were not Get Bent, begging the question: where exactly does a project band with only five (non-Pelican length) songs appear in a set in this day and age? No one really seemed to know.

Soon enough One Win Choice set up, although I didn't know at the time.  Evidently hail from NJ and have been around for a while. They seem very earnest, so it'd be wrong to clown them too hard, but I am kind of a dick, so: they were kinda silly. Strike Anywhere tattoos, bad logo that one guy (assumably the designer of said logo) had spray painted on his cab and tattooed on his calf and frontman moves cribbed Tim from Rise Against are not a recipe for good times for this guy, so I went home to realign my perspective. A couple of kids really seemed to dig them and their hearts do seem to be on the right place, so make your own call. Maybe you can throw it on when your Mom won't let you go to the Gaslight Anthem show cause it's a school night.

I got back to see a pretty good bit of Antillectual's set. They had been touring with One Win Choice (in the same van, even) for a couple weeks and ABC was the last stop on the tour before they went back to the Netherlands. Good, sort of of a better version of OWC, although the foreign factor does tend to skew bands towards to better end of things. They've been around for eight years and tour hard in their homeland. They definitely seem to have earned their following, although it was a fairly meagre turnout here in NYC. They are no Manifesto Jukebox, but if you'd like a crustier version of Strike Anywhere in a three-piece format, check them out.

Get Bent finally materialized next and judging by how the room filled up, they seem to be getting quite a name for themselves. Dave Bierling had told me about the demo and I enjoyed it a bunch, but always seemed to miss them when they played. I'm glad I finally caught them. Despite nearly inaudible vocals, they got the best response of the day playing the songs off their demo and maybe a new song. Good times from a band that really deserves to go places. Pick up their demo here and see them next week at Death By Audio with Lemuria.

This was Bridge and Tunnel's homecoming show. They had been out on the road for two months previous behind their No Idea debut and really tightened their shit up. I'm a little too negative for their relentless positivity, but they played a great set. Lots of delay and interplay with single note lines and dual vocals that almost approach a Jawbox vibe, or Rainer Maria on a really good night. I liked their record a bunch before and am definitely going to spin it a lot more after this set. They may be fresh off tour, but they aren't letting any rust settle as they too, are playing with Lemuria on 11/14, making this a show you should probably make it out to. The Steinways/Unlovables show is on Sunday, too, so get your rest. See you there.

R