Hobo Chili / Jerry’s Got Jokes / Blame It On Whitman / The Runouts / Whoopi Sticks
Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, MA 6/6/18
Whoopi Sticks is the first band to grace the stage at the Midway Exxon Oil Music Auditorium. People are still filing in, finding their seats when they begin.
Me, I’m finding the path to the nearest Jameson dispenser- just in case of thirst emergencies.
This is my first time seeing this band…that is, with their new bass player, Rachel, who seems to be doing a wonderful job. But what I first notice is, she’s even tinier than Lindsey, who plays the drums, and Kyle, the six feet two guitarist playing with them- well, he looks like a giant, stalking the stage. Like Bigfoot. Like Godzilla. Like the Abominable Snowman.
But size discrepancies aside, this is a band that equally mixes garage with punk with surf along with abrupt, Devo-like rhythmic changes to create punk for the 21st Century.
Naw, strike that- that sounds too corny! How about punk for the now? Eh, that still sounds corny, as my daughter would say.
All the songs seem faster and more flowing to me since I last saw them. I’m glad to see “I Don’t Wanna Be A Person No More,” my favorite tune, still in their set list.
Me, I’ve kinda settled on being a plant, or at least, a non-sentient being.
The best part of the set, for me, is when this song leads into their song “Fuck You” and then ends with the ominous, doom-surf of “Jaws.”
Great opening set and the people continue to file in.
The Runouts are next and this is a band that I don’t get to see often, but I always look forward to seeing them when I do.
I believe I’ve compared them to a few, early British Isle punk bands before, but the one that really sticks out to me today, is The Jam.
I remember that set I saw in the seventies where The Jam played with this funk band called The Jelly and that soft-rock band Bread, played before and after them.
The Runouts play loud, energetic, exuberant music with melodic vocals and harmonies and strident, pushing, march-like rhythms that define the early British Isle sound.
Their set is relentless in passion and force, exuding much more energy and excitement than a typical hardcore outfit.
They play an awesome, invigorating set.
(And I buy a t-shirt from them- Hey! It goes to the charity this show is for!).
The next band to play is Jumper!
Naw, strike that! It’s Blame It On Whitman, just like I’m known as “Blame It On The Jameson’s.”
I was almost correct as two-thirds of this band was in Jumper!
This band uses tags like emo and indie along with pop/punk on their bandcamp and, though I agree with their definition, it’s not exactly the style we dance to at the Thrash N Bang offices.
But they have an excellent rhythm section, I compliment the drummer after the set, and they play their style quite well.
Next up is Jerry’s Got Jokes and this is a band I have no reservations about. In fact, I wanted to check out of the hotel even before I saw them.
(Ba-doomp) That was a joke.
But I’m not joking when I say they’re a terrific new ska/punk band, a style I’m not a big fan of, but if every ska/punk was like them, then ska/punk would be one my favorite styles.
I love The Midway Bank Of America Music Pavilion, but this band seems too fun and wild to play ordinary clubs. I always feel like I’m at some college keg party when they play, and that’s a great thing.
I say to Derek, the soundman- “This may not be one of my favorite bands but they are surely, one of the most fun bands I see live.”
Then I kicked him straight in the balls. (It’s a felony now, because of my age, to retaliate!)
Starting out with their song “Asshole” which might be about telling car drivers to turn on their lights after dark, “Put the lights on!” They barrel through a rollicking, roller coaster of a set full of hardcore, punk and ska.
All with Dennis, the remaining one-third of Jumper!, decked out in a vintage black and white checkerboard shirt, honking and blaring away on his trusty trombone.
One of the guitarists, who introduces most of the songs, has that low, deadpan voice of a comedienne- But I’m not joking when I tell you, that when this band comes to play, they come to party and play a wonderfully, fun set.
Hobo Chili is up last to take it out. And though their style is far away from what we dance to, I still enjoy them a lot when I’ve seen them.
But then, it could just be, they usually play later in the show, just when the Jameson’s are kicking in.
Or it could just be they just play some great, jazzy horn driven music and that they’re really good!
They have seven musicians, led by Josh on bass, of the now defunct great, skate punk band Red Line Rebels, who still delivers his thundering bass lines with the power of Mike Watt.
They also have a more than solid drummer, a guitarist who understands his role and executes it perfectly, and an awesome horn section consisting of two saxophones, a trumpet and a trombone.
One song I would describe as a Latin jazz samba, another one wouldn’t be out of place in a modern swing band like Big Bad Voodoo.
They end a great afternoon, (they’re now traveling up to play tonight in Lowell), to finish an awesome, diverse show.
Thanks to Lindsey of Whoopi Sticks who organized this, thanks to the bands who played and the fans who showed up. This was a benefit for Rosie’s Place, Boston’s number one shelter for homeless and abused women. Such a worthy cause.
And thanks to Slimedog (Me!) for being his ferociously, fearsome, fabulous self!
(And thanks to Kendra for listening to me.)
(Slimedog)
