OC45 / The Pity Whores / The Old Edison / Bad Movies
Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, MA 2/26/13
I walk in late. I got my Italian shoes on, they have real comfortable heels. I’m wearing my black dress pants, my long black winter coat, a royal blue dress shirt. It’s not like I dress up for the Midway, or anyplace else for that matter, but I’m coming straight from a job training and I happen upon Bad Movies.
The girl singer has a brass mohawk, black-heeled sandals and red toes. One of the guys looks like he’s from Adam and The Ants. They’re playing straight ahead punk, traditional punk, punk’n’roll- and this is not cookie cutter perfect but I enjoy them cause I can tell that this is a band that believes in the promise of fun, punk and wildness. And unlike the flu I hope I catch them again real soon.
Old favorites Old Edison is next. It’s the bass player’s birthday so I guess his birthday wish is to not play bass (as a former bass player I can understand this). The performance, as I’ve said before, is the usual bellowing drunk in someone’s kitchen at a party after 3 am. But what differs with them is the excellent lyrics and passionate performance. Also, these cats are from South Boston so though the instrumentation- fiddle, banjo- might make you think of Irish music or even country- they don’t sound like that at all. But the pessimistic, dour Irish vibe seeps into the rowdy presentation, portraying pain amongst the pleasure, and as always, it’s great to witness.
Now, The Pity Whores are next, TNB’s finest straight edge band, and though I’ve been reporting that they’re from Mongolia- I was mistaken. It turns out, in fact, that they are mongoloids and I originally thought that was the term for someone from Mongolia. But I stand corrected and it makes so much more sense to me now.
It may be the Jamison talking but tonight is one of the finest, fun-est times I’ve seen them. They’ve got the crowd going, riled up, bouncing around; the drummer’s eyes are rolling up into the back of his skull while laying down a jungle Bo Didley beat, the dreadlocked bassist is punching low sonic punches into the open spaces leaving just enough room for the snare drum to slice through a moment later, while the guitarist, offering snide remarks in-between songs, is clobbering the earlobes of all during them. Vocals are hanging ear candy like ornaments on a Christmas tree; the songs are where pop, punk and passion meet in a place where all equally thrive, and I know things are clicking when I got a smile on my face the whole set.
OC45 are up to take it out, one of the best pop/punk bands on our site- pop/punk but with enough grit and passion in their delivery to make things interesting. They continue the party on deftly from where The Pity Whores handed them the reins. They surprise me, and I guess actually their drummer, when they do a favorite song of mine, “Two Minute Hate,” towards the end of the set. The song has about four words of lyrics and four hundred drum rolls. And I think there was a cover of The Clash’s “Career Opportunities” in there as well- apt for me. These guys are going on a big tour soon and are always a blast to see.
It was a good turn-out for a Tuesday night and great music to be had. Sure glad I could make it and glad I got dressed up for this elegant and formal affair indeed.
(Slimedog)
