Charlie Don’t Surf / The Damn Garrison / Lenny Lashley / Riki Rocksteady / Evan Weckbacher
Midway Cafe, Jamaica P1ain, MA 1/31/16
This is not just a punk matinee, this is a birthday party!
Ryan, a lad who works at the Midway as a soundman/doorman, is here with his dame, and his dame, Anna, is thirty years old today. And that’s cause to celebrate.
And they have tiny, chocolate and vanilla cupcakes to celebrate. And, I assume, to commemorate the song by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, “Ebony And Ivory,” and in deference to Anna’s birthday I consume thirty of the delightful cupcakes. In roughly, thirty minutes.
Just as the show begins.
You can tell when you’re listening to a punk/acoustic act because 1) there’s a fair amount of swearing and 2) the lyrics are very straightforward. And though Billy Joel said “it’s still rock’n’roll to me” while playing his pandering, oatmeal spewing, drivel of pop pabulum that he so excelled in, without an ounce of rock’n’roll in it, I may add. I say that Johnny Cash, in my opinion, was the best punk of all time. And acoustic/punk is “is still punk to me.” (No matter what Billy Joel might think.)
And who are we listening to? Why, it’s Evan Weckbacher.
One of his first songs, about a break-up, has the line, “I guess I was a fuckin’ nightmare.”
Irony abounds in this style of music, as well, unlike the regular folk music. One song of his goes, “I don’t care about how my music sounds/ I just care about the size of my bank account.” His songs are great, his performance is, too- and you can take that to the bank.
Riki Rocksteady is next and another solo performer with an acoustic guitar. If you’re unfamiliar with him, well, let me enlighten- he has, hands down, the best voice of any band or performer that TNB covers.
The songs and style are old-school Soul/R&B backed by a reggae beat that’s strum on the guitar.
Percy Sledge’s “On The Dark Side Of Town” stands out for me today but every song he sings is so melodious and pure that each song is a winner. It’s always a treat to hear Riki sing like a bird!
And the next act is a solo acoustic act as well. What! Did I take the wrong exit and end up at Passim’s in Cambridge?
Why, it’s Lenny Lashley’s Gang Of One, fresh from opening up for The Dictators at Great Scott’s last night. The Dictators were one of those bands Andy & I were listening to while we awaited the dawn of punk.
Lenny is working the bar today but gets a respite to do a couple of songs on request from Ryan and Anna. He does “Beat On The Brat” which isn’t actually The Ramones song but a song about listening to that song and “Live Like Lions” which, I think, is one of his best songs yet.
It’s a total surprise for me and a total delight and from watching the response of the crowd they seem to think so to, and rightly so.
And talk about delightful! Now it’s time for The Damn Garrison to play who happen to be my favorite Oi band from New England.
There’s something about Oi and how it relates to the original English punk that makes me smile and these blokes from New Hampshire play it very well.
They kick the energy up a few notches as I watch my punk daughter, Lindsey, dancing and jumping up and down with glee. I want to jump up and down, also, but the thirty cupcakes are going up and down my gullet and I’m feeling a bit queasy just at the thought of it.
They prove to me today why I call them the best Oi band and they end with my favorite song by them “The Real Ones.”
And then after a few solid acoustic/punk acts and a great Oi band what’s the natural conclusion to this afternoon?
Why, a Clash tribute band!
Charlie Don’t Surf is the band and the lead singer does look a bit like Joe Strummer while doing a great job of singing. The rhythm section is “spot on” as they say in Britain, the bassist being “absolutely brilliant.” (They talk like that there.)
They play “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” “Police And Thieves,” “Career Opportunities” “London Calling” very well, amongst others.
My only complaint is that their excellent guitarist is given free reign to solo over a good portion of the songs, as hot-shot guitarists are wont to do. I do like hot-shot guitarists in the right settings- in metal it can work, fantastically well. But I just don’t want to hear them jamming over Clash tunes. But besides this I do enjoy them, if not as much as the other performers today.
But as they say, all good things must come to an end. And as I look at this page I notice my words seem to be dwindling. They seem to be disappearing and fading away. Much like the previously eaten cupcakes.
(Slimedog)
