Thursday, October 27, 2005

I'm too cool to like the headliner

Spent a chunk of last Saturday night at T.T. and the Bear’s. T’was an evening celebrating a decade of Ducky. That is to say, cornerstones of Boston punk, the Ducky Boys, were celebrating their 10 year anniversary. I personally have never cared much about or for The Ducky Boys, but I ended up at this show anyway. Boy howdy, was I glad I stopped by. A bunch of other bands played. I shall quickly review them in chronological order.

Light of Day – I uh…didn’t show up in time for their set. Some people said they were good. Some didn’t. I’m sure they did their best, and that’s all that counts.

Morgan Knockers – Sounded great. Solid songs. Lots of energy. Reminded me of Rancid. They have that whole “I’m from Boston and I really like the Clash,” feel to them, but that only bothers me when I’m told a band is really amazing, only to find out they’re just doing the “I’m from Boston and I like the Clash,” thing. Like the first time I saw the Ducky Boys. There’s nothing wrong with that sound, especially if it’s done well, but I mean….a lot of people from Boston like the Clash. So what?

Having never heard of Morgan Knockers before, I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular. I was quite content to hear something that didn’t suck. At all. I also like that all their songs are about drinking.

Shanghai Valentine – These guys I had heard of before. I think they’re getting big, or
something. Intense is, indeed, the word. They’re not shy about tipping their hats to the Misfits, but they’re too melodically complex to be written off as one of “those” bands. The guitar rift in “Last Train to Gibson,” evokes At the Drive In for this reason. Crash and Burn were the last resident hardcore band that impressed me this much. I also like that all their songs are about graveyards and other spooky things. I would’ve bought a T-shirt if I had the money.

Ducky Boys – By the time The Duckys went on I was zoning out, trying to determine how I was going to get home in the rain. The band sounded far better than I remembered them being (of course, the show(s) I’m referring to weren’t at venues designed to hold concerts. Better acoustics and functioning P.A.s never hurt anyone). I still think songs like “Boston U.S.A.” are cheesy as hell, but some people sure do enjoy thrashing around to them, and that’s fun to watch. Despite my reservations, I suppose there is something to be said for that.

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