Let's kick these columns off with a quick look at the last week.
Saturday's indie pop marathon, between the Front Room and The Union, was all that I hoped for. In viewing five bands at two venues, only Cleveland's Boatzz disappointed. Their overlong set fell prey to predictable hooks and a failure to make old tricks sound new. And it would be nice if they knew the names of the bands they were playing with.
But if you missed Joe Anderl's friendship folk or Woody Whatever's messy melodies - like a sunny Sunday drive in a convertible that might break down or veer into a ditch at any moment - you should fret, but not for too long. This week offers more shows worth your while - more than I have room to write about, in fact.
Untamed Pony, Rat Brains, Scott Free and the Getaways; 10 tonight; The Union, 18 W. Union St. - This might as well be called the Union Youth Showcase. Most of the guys playing in these three bands are seniors at OU, but that still makes them kiddies in Union years.
I'm still looking forward to my first full sets from punk combos Rat Brains and Scott Free and the Getaways, but Untamed Pony alone would deserve mention. The Pony is the brainchild of Jon Lyons and Mark Karges, who trade drums and guitar duties while spouting lyrics about ghosts, jihad and fetus fights over abrasive, noise-infused rock. It's perfectly offensive family entertainment.
Love and Squalor, Shotgun for Royalty, FxSxU, Homes, Von Cosel, Sparkle Motion, The Black Giraffe; 7 p.m. Saturday; The Wire, 21 Kern St. - Community free-space The Wire hosts this old-fashioned punk rock show. It starts early, it's cheap ($3), and you get enough bands to fill two bills at the Uptown bars.
Homes, Von Cosel and Sparkle Motion are on Marietta's Project Active Media, the label that released Love and Squalor's The Furiad EP last year. The hometown talent at this show ranges from Love and Squalor's off-the-rails assault to Shotgun for Royalty's raunchy, virtuosic stylings.
This Moment In Black History, Break of Day, Wheels on Fire, Black Ark Oakansas; 10 p.m. Saturday; The Union - Few bills are as eclectic as this one, matching four bands related only under the ever-flexible rock designation. Cleveland's This Moment In Black History is fierce and spastic, with one of the most engaging frontmen in the business.
Meanwhile, Wheels on Fire is a rootsy, British-invasion styled pop combo that sprang from the ashes of last year's hot new band The Usual, and emo standard-bearer Break of Day is perhaps the most popular band in town I have never seen. Black Ark Oakansas, which intends to confound me with its seemingly backwards name, features members of garage rawkers the Makebelieves and defunct metal group Island. The band's debut performance will kick off the night at 10 p.m. sharp.
- Chris DeVille is a Post contributing editor. Send him an e-mail at cd252802@ohiou.edu.
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Chris DeVille
