The Pity Whores / BarRoom Heroes / Angry Bears / Red Line Rebels / Seven Year Plan
Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, MA 9/10
Welcome to BarRoom Heroes week at TNB. Today, Slimedog has an interview/EP review with the young lads and I’m adding a live show review from the beautiful Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain. In case you haven’t heard, the BarRoom Heroes are a punk rock band out of Boston that’s been takin’ the music world by storm. They’re made up of brothers Jake Bell (on vocals and guitar) and Nicky “The Knife” Bell (on vocals and bass) along with their good friend Sam Wells (on drums). You can check out their cool sounds on our profile page here. As you listen to their very cool and edgy garage punk rockin’ style you quickly forget that these guys never even finished high school. Oh, but not because they dropped out or anything, because they’re not old enough to attend yet. Jake is 13 years old and in the 8th grade, while Nick and Sam are 12 and in the 7th grade, which, arguably, makes them the youngest punk rockers in Boston (and, probably anywhere else). Way cool. You go kids (…er, yuh!!!).
It’s about 3:00PM and I’ve arrived at the Midway a half an hour before the first band is suppose to play. The menu for today consists of a heapin’ helpin’ of punk rock with five very awesome bands slated to go on (including, of course, the BarRoom’s). Carrie Bell, the BarRoom Heroes’ manager (and mom) set up the show (her first effort in this regard, and a very fine effort indeed). Anyway, back to the task at hand. I walked over to the front of the bar and exchanged pleasantries with the Midway’s awesome bartender, Dave (who was nice enough to pour me a beer). While I waited for Slimedog to arrive (Slimy was busy interviewing Led to the Grave), I also had a brief chat with Jenn (the Midway’s door lady/sound lady/everything lady), who is still vying for top honors as Pauly Shore’s assistant. I also chatted briefly with Carrie and her hubby, who, in turn, introduced me to Sam’s parents (the BarRoom’s drummer). By all accounts, everyone was in a very good spirits (or at least drinking them) and ready to rock out.
The first band of the afternoon is Seven Year Plan. A trio with an energetic vibe. Their sound resonates with me as being a bit familiar (like a throw back band), almost like, The Clash meets the Outlets (a very cool Boston band of the past). They’re doin’ a song by the Beatles (“hide your love away”, …. uh, the fast version of course). A few of their songs remind me of Stiff Little Fingers with their garage punk drivin’ sound. The drummer is very good. Now it’s time for “last call bathroom stall” which sounds a lot like the Outlets. In fact the drummer even plays a bit like Walter G. (the Outlets drummer). They also exhibit a slight bit of Irish in some of their songs. Their last song is called, “fuck you”. Oops, Midway Dave just walked in and is taken aback by the vulgarity. But it’s a fairly sedate song all in all (except for the chorus). You can check out a few songs by Seven Year Plan on their profile page here.
The second band up is the Red Line Rebels, who I’m pleasantly surprised to see (since I was erroneously told they were no more). They sport a very rockin’ hardcore sound. The lead singer, Jay, is very engaging and is encouraging the crowd to slam. He’s decided it’s more fun to sing off stage than on stage. Very cool start. It’s the 2nd song and the crowd is frantically slammin’. Oops, there goes the mike… I can’t describe how awesome this band sounds. It”s hard to keep track of Jay. First he’s talkin’ about pre-ejaculation then he’s on the island bar (by the side of the stage) singing to the masses. A very fun band. I’m really likin’ these guys with their vintage hardcore 80’s sound. Jay is having lots of aggressive fun with the crowd (I just said hi to the BarRooms dudes, who are sportin’ some very cool mohawks … OK, back to the action). Now the RLR’s are doin’ a song by minor threat and the crowd is goin’ crazy. Finally, it’s time for “Snot Rocket” and there goes the silly string (actually snot string …). The crowd hasn’t stopped slammin’ since the beginning of the set. Oops, Midway Dave just walked in again and is having a hissy fit over all the silly string strewn about. He yells, “Oh yah, it’s all fun and games until someone looses an eye.” Dave is definitely in rare form today. You can check out the Red Line Rebels on their profile page here.
Next up is a band from Connecticut called the Angry Bears. They’re a 3 piece band with a very interesting sound. Kinda funky, kinda jazzy, kinda punky. The drummer is a mad man for the cymbals. They have lots of energy. A bit reggae-ish at times. Oh, there goes the crowd slammin’ again. The drummer is kind of like the Kieth Moon of punk/funk. Their sound can get a bit cookoo with some screamin’ vocals accompanied by violent femmes-like bass and drums. I wanna say, even progressive at times. Lots of slammin’ by the folks in the mosh pit. The guitar and bass dudes just swapped instruments. The current song has a choppy melodic sound with some very interesting drums. They’re kinda like a power pop band with a lot of signature changes. The bass player has decided to join the mosh. Be sure to check out the Angry Bears’ profile page here.
OK, drum roll please….it’s time for the BarRoom Heroes to take the stage. Carrie says they’re gonna do 6 originals and 6 covers today. The lads start out with one of Iggy’s great tunes, “ No Fun” and the slammin’ commences. Even Midway Dave is slammin’. For youngsters, these dudes sure have cool raspy rock’n’roll singin’ voices. Their next tune is an original Irish punk song greeted by even more slammin’. They pick up the song changes like seasoned veterans. Next is “Outta Weymouth” which is an original and one of their signature songs. Jay from the Red Line Rebels has jumped on stage to sing a few bars. The lads forte leans a bit towards the Irish side of punk, but they also play a mean straight ahead garage rockin’ style. Someone just shouted “You kids rock!” The next song is “Kiss my ass 108” with an almost hardcore vibe. And then, it’s The Clash w/ a little more help from Jay. Uh oh, now even mom is moshin’. It’s definitely a family atmosphere down here at the Midway this afternoon. You can check out their profile and some of their cool tunes here.
The last, but not least, band of the afternoon is the Pity Whores, who provide their own brand of good time, beer drinkin’ music. They play high energy Ramones-esque yee ha kinda punk. And their goes Jay back on stage to join in on a cool straight ahead hard core number. After 3 hours in the mosh pit the crowd is still slammin’ (….the most enthusiastic small crowd I’ve ever seen). Lots of interesting facials on the drummer (…er, I mean expressions). His style reminds me of “Rotten Drunk”, the fine drummer from the Doll Eyes. What a great show. Looks like they’re gonna do an Irish drinking song, but wait … they decide against it in favor of a new song …. a really good new song …. kinda sorta like fast Dictators …. with a touch of 3 Doors Down meets a slammed door in the face. The bassist has the head sweep goin’. They’re a really fun band. Now it’s “one more for the road” and pandemonium has broken loose …. with many additional singers on stage. They end the set with another cool tune called “fuck you” (reminiscent of Seven Year Plan). Be sure to check out the Pity Whore’s profile right here.
Hopefully you were able to make show this afternoon and experience all of these awesome bands. But if not, do yourself a favor and check them out playing around town … I guarantee you’ll have a good time.
Later,
Andy Bang
