Since most of you probably have never seen me before and are wondering now who this new guy on the 99X.com blog page is, I will shortly introduce myself. My name is Martin Weber and I am currently an intern at 99X.com. I am from Heidelberg, Germany and will be spending the whole summer in Atlanta and doing an internship. During this time, I’m planning to see many shows and will be writing reviews for this blog.

(Click bold band names below for links)

This show was a part of the Atlantis Music Festival, which was going on from last Wednesday all through the weekend, with tons of shows and discussions. Opening up was Atlanta’s new hope for great Streetpunk! The band Courtesy Murder has been around for a while, but in the last couple months has really gotten around to being one of the best bands of the city. They played with such great acts like the Casualties and others and will be playing a show with the legendary Misfits in December. They also just released a new album called “Population Control.” They played a decent show and were a worthy opening act.

Next up was the celtic punk act Flatfoot 56 from Chicago. They have been around for quite a while and are a fantastic liveband. Even though I don’t really agree with some of their opinions, after all they are a “Christian Punk Band”, I still enjoy their music and value the fact that they are open for other ideas and opinions. I talked for about 30 minutes after the Time Again Set with them and had an interesting discussion with them. They are nice guys and a good band. For those who have never heard them, it’s a mix of Oi Punk, with bagpipes or Mandoline, and great melodies.

Next up was Time Again from LA. This hard working band has released their sophomore album “Darker Days” on Hellcat Records earlier this year and has been on tour ever since. They are often referred to a Rancid cover band, since their sound is close to that of Rancid, but I think they are, especially with their new album, a band of their own. Of course, they don’t reinvent the wheel, but they are still a good band, especially live. So if you have never heard of them either, check them out!

The last band of the evening was the Streetdogs from Boston. It was the third time they have been to Atlanta this year, after a tour supporting Anti-Flag and the Warped Tour, they finally got into town with their own headlining tour. Their sound is typical Boston melodious Punk, influenced by Hardcore, with some resemblances to the Dropkick Murphy’s, for whom singer Mike had been the singer for their first album. They presented their new album “State of Grace,” which was also released by Hellcat Records 3 months ago. It was a solid performance and the crowd loved them.

This will be my last blog about shows in Atlanta, because I have to go back to Germany next week. Maybe I will continue my blog from there and will give you some insights on the German Punk scene.

I want to thank Pat for making this possible and all of you for your interest and for taking the time to read my blog!

For everyone who has never heard of, or been to 141 Moreland Ave. here is a little introduction to the place. It is just a normal house on Moreland Ave, thus the name, that Jordan and his roommate live in. I didn’t get to meet the roommate, but Jordan is a really nice guy. He has played in various Punk bands and is nice enough to open up his house for old-school house punkrock shows. These shows take place in, what is probably the living room in normal houses, here it is just an empty room, where bands set up and about 30 people fit in to watch the show. I guess more can fit in, but that was about the crowd there last Friday. If you check out their myspace page, you can see all the bands they had playing in their home. It is all organized in a true DIY spirit, which means, bring your own beer, no charge at the door, but of course donations are welcome to support the bands! It is a really great place to meet tons of cool people, and the bands going through are really good! So were the bands this evening! I haven’t heard of any of them beforehand, but every single one blew me away.

It started with Annabel from somewhere Ohio, but I’m not sure about that. Unfortunately the band doesn’t have neither a myspace page, nor a homepage to contact them. But they were a good band. All of the members are in the beginning of their 20s or even younger and this was already their second tour. Their music was emotional guitar-driven Rock, somewhere between Thursday and maybe Jimmy Eat World. I hope that doesn’t offend the band ;)

Next up was Delays from Columbus, OH. Just like Annabel, this was a very very young band. But already they are incredible! They put out one CD by themselves, and have appeared on some DIY samplers. This band has incredible energy! The songs are just upspeed poppunk songs, simple but very good! This is what Against Me! must have sounded like when they have been playing house shows in the beginning of their career! Incredible! Make sure to check them out!

Next was Jonesin’ from Long Island, NY. They were a bit faster and played oldschool but melodic Punkrock, comparable to Off with their Heads or other bands on Noidea Records. This defines their style probably best, and I would be surprised if this band doesn’t play the Fest in Gainesville within the next few years, because they would be a perfect fit! They have put out a couple of split EP’s with various bands, such as Shang-a-lang, who was to be next.

This raw Punkrock band comes straight out of Las Cruces, NM. They were probably the most experienced band this evening, judging from their discography. They have been touring with Jonesin’ for a few weeks and have release quite a few EP’s with them. Great Band, great guys! Check them out!

Last band was Wrister from Atlanta and I must say that I was too drunk and just wanted to get some air, which is why I can’t really judge this band. But I will check them out in the next weeks! I talked to all of the bands afterwards and they were all very nice guys to hang out with and really cool dudes, as were all the people at this awesome house! So make sure to check both out, the bands and the myspace for 141 Moreland Ave. Tonight This Bike is a Pipebomb are playing!!!

Links:
www.Myspace.com/shangalangdude
www.Myspace.com/jonesinpunx
www.Myspace.com/wrister
www.Myspace.com/morelandave

When I got there at about ten after eight, the Fashion was already on stage! I think I never learn that shows over here really do start on time. So after I got myself a beer, it was time to give the opener a shot. I have never heard of them before and was curious what my fellow Europeans would sound like. To make it short, it was actually really cool. They play a blend of pop-punk, with some synthesizers and danceable beats. It sometimes reminded me of a up sped version of the Killers. All in all a band worthy to be checked out!

American Steel was next, and I was excited to see what they would be like live. A couple years back, I got my hands on their Rogue’s March LP and listened to that one over and over again. That was after they had broken up, so I was kind of pissed that I never got to see this band live. Until Fat Mike convinced them to get back together for another record on his world famous label Fat Wreck. They released “Destroy their Future” last year. I just really really enjoy that East Bay melodic but still raw punk sound with Rory’s distinctive voice. To be honest, on stage it was a bit disappointing. The songs were great and the set was good and tight, but the band could have moved more. They hardly managed to get the crowd to dance along, which may have been because they were unknown to most kids there. Nevertheless, it was still cool to see them and hopefully I will catch them again for a headlining show, where the people are coming out to see them.

After about 25 minutes Alkaline Trio got on stage and won the crowd over in a heartbeat. I somehow haven’t really followed the band’s releases since their 2005 album “Crimson,” even though I really liked that one. Somehow I was busy listening to other stuff, so I didn’t know most of the songs they played during the show. It’s kind of too bad, since the show was really good and I think I’ll have some catching up to do on this band. They played a solid performance and got about everyone in the room to sing along.

Good Show, B+!!! So check the bands out!
www.myspace.com/thefasiondk
www.myspace.com/amsteel
www.myspace.com/alkalinetrio

It was the first time that I ever got to go to one and I was both excited and a little worried about what it will be like. Excited, because there were a few good bands playing that I love, like the Briggs, Gaslight Anthem or Against Me. Worried, because I love Punk Rock with the ideals it stood and still stands for. I was afraid that the Warped Tour, with all its corporate sponsors and commercial appeal, will turn out to be the exact opposite of what bands like Minor Threat or Black Flag have laid the ground work for.

So after having been there, I want to share my observations, both the pros and the cons, with you. One thing that is really great about the event is that there are a lot of really cool people hanging out there; most of the bands are easily accessible at their merch tent and you can have a good time just walking around and talking to people. There are a lot of young kids there that might get hooked on some of the great bands playing there, who would have never been exposed to that kind of music otherwise. So if the Warped Tour helps getting kids into punk, I am totally down with that.

Another great thing is, of course, the huge amount of bands one could see for only $35. The styles range from Hardcore to Pop to even Hip Hop. So if you are open-minded, the Warped Tour is the place to be to check out new bands.

This of course brings along a large number of mediocre bands as well. While the Warped Tour started out as a Punk festival back in the day, it is now mostly emo/screamo/metalcore dominated, since that seems to be the most successful style with the kids nowadays. This is the biggest problem I have with the entity of the Warped Tour, it seems to be centered too much on commercial success.

Of course, I understand that it is expensive to drive that many bands from one city to the next for the whole summer, not to mention the roadies putting together the stages, staff and labels, merchandise people and caterers. I understand that in order to keep the ticket prices low, you need corporate sponsors and companies like Vans or AT&T, but what does that still have to do with Punk Rock?

The whole flair of the Warped Tour seemed to me more the one of an open-air mall. There were people walking around with 2, 3, or even 4 bags, filled with crap they bought at one of the many booths of bands, labels, clothing companies or mailorders. So, without wanting to wave the big sell-out flag or sound judgmental about the bands playing the tour, this touring circus has nothing left whatsoever with the DIY spirit punk once stood for and still does at places like 924 Gilman or many other self organized places putting on shows for the underground scene.

It probably is a great time for the bands participating in it, but it also seems to have become a necessity for many bands to be on the tour, because other than the Warped Tour it is hard to be touring the country in the summer. Another issue is that a lot of smaller bands won’t even get paid for playing; instead, they are making these huge drives hoping to sell enough shirts and CDs so they can survive and make it to the next city. Another thing I would like to mention shortly is the huge amount of pollution this tour brings along. Since I had to work, we stayed until everyone was packing up and it was incredible to see the amounts of trash laying around from just one day, and I am not even speaking of the huge amount of air pollution all the busses cause driving throughout North America.

I hope I don’t sound too pessimistic and hypocritical, because after all, I went there and had a good time! I would probably go again, if I would get the chance to, but I just wanted to give you my perspective on these issues.

So, in conclusion, it can be said that the Warped Tour has some great sides to it but also some down sides.

If you read this and want to share your thoughts about the Warped Tour with me, agree or just want to tell me to shove it, shoot me an email at martinzgerman@yahoo.com

I am looking forward to get some responses on my work!

I have heard a lot about King Khan and his great live shows, but always missed him play in Germany. I got close to seeing him a few months back, but he cancelled the day of the show, because he was sick. So I got to the packed Lenny’s at about 11, after having been to a Braves game including the fireworks and usual 4th of July beers. The place was totally packed, which surprised me, since I didn’t think that he was that big over here, but I guess I was wrong. Or maybe it was the holiday, but anyways, it was a crazy crowd. Punkrockers, disco lovers, people who seemed to have just gotten out of a time machine from the 70s, and just all kinds of other crazy folks hanging out, drunk, or at least working on getting drunk, myself included.

The first Band I saw was the Gaye Blades from Atlanta and they totally convinced me from their first song on. They played 70s garage rock and just have a natural talent for writing good pop melodies. The crowd liked them too and there was a lot of dancing going on in front of the stage. Overall a great performance by a good local band!

Next up was another band I missed, hanging out outside drinking beer and talking to the interesting people that were there. Then it was the Jacuzzi Boys from Florida. They were good, but in my opinion not as good as the Gaye Blades. Soundwise, it was garage rock as well, well played and you could tell that these guys have played a lot of shows together. Good band, check them out! They are coming to the drunken unicorn on July 23rd!

Then it was time for the master himself! King Khan entered the stage with a helmet on and a cape around his shoulders, which looked pretty funny. But what happened then was just incredible. It was an explosion of soul full, garage rock with great horns, trombones and trumpets. Maybe it was the beer, but that was one of the top 10 shows ever for me! He is a great entertainer and the music, mood and crowd was just perfect. Everybody was dancing and really enjoying themselves. It’s hard to explain to someone who wasn’t there, but it was just a great great great concert!

Afterwards I met cool people and followed them to an after-show party with all the bands. It was to be a very very long night!

Check out these links:
www.Myspace.com/kingkhantheshrines
www.myspace.com/jacuzziboys
www.myspace.com/thegayeblades

I have been told many stories about Lenny’s and that it is in a bad neighborhood but it actually is a nice bar, a little f@#$ed up, but the perfect setting for a punk rock show.

The Bitter End started at about 9.45 in front of maybe 20 people, which was kind of disappointing, but the band still gave their best. They are a really great band, playing a great mix of west coast up speed California punk with rough hardcore vocals. They are a band that plays a lot of shows, so check their myspace page for upcoming dates!

Next up was Down for the Count. I honestly can’t really recall what they were like, but you can still check them out. Then the Luchagors came on stage and even though they had sound problems put on a great show. The Luchagors are a female fronted punk rock band that reminds me a lot of the Destillers with a few Ramones-esque pop punk sing alongs thrown in there as well. Amy, the lead singer, is just a great entertainer and was running and jumping and just really rocking out, backed up by a tight band. It was a good performance and after the show I got their CD, which I strongly recommend to everyone. They are leaving town for a two month long tour throughout the US and some parts of Europe and will be back in August. So look out for their next show!

Then it was time for the Despised and they once again put on an awesome hardcore punk show. The energy and anger that this band got is just incredible. Songs like ”Blow up the courthouse” or “one punch” just follow traditional hardcore punk, how it was played in the early 80s, but not without adding their personal twisted to it.

I unfortunately had to leave early, because I had to get up early the next morning for work, but it still was a good night at Lenny’s with great bands.

Check out these links:

www.myspace.com/despisedatlanta
www.Myspace.com/theluchagors13
www.Myspace.com/downforthecountatl
www.Myspace.com/thebitterendmusic

That CD would not leave my stereo for about three weeks straight and I still love it and listen to it regularly. After that, I checked out all their other LPs and became a huge fan. Since their 2003 release of “Indestructable” the band has been busy with side projects like “Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards” or Tim Armstrong’s solo album “A Poet’s Life” and I almost lost hope that I would ever get to see them live. But in 2006 the band released a statement on their homepage that they are gonna be playing a world tour and are going to record another album. Me and my friends were stoked and were checking back for dates weekly, but somehow the whole world tour would end up to be a couple of dates in England, Japan, Canada and the US, and the album was postponed as well.

But, this Sunday was gonna be my big day!

… and it started in the worst possible way, with a huge hangover. I was at a house party of my friends from the band Damage Report, who you definitely should check out, amazing band! So, it wasn’t a great start in the day, but my mood lightened up when Italy lost their quarterfinal against Spain in the Euro Cup, and after that I was ready for a good show!

I got to the Masquerade early, since I still needed to get a ticket and was surprised how many people were already waiting in line. It was the usual mixed crowd of punks, skins, and normal people, old and young, drunk and about to get drunk.

After a quite unusual intro, sung by a girl, who I think belonged to the Deadtowners, they were entering the stage and everybody was excited for the show to start! The Deadtowners out of Atlanta were a good band, not great, but good. But I was tired and didn’t catch all of their set. They were still a good band, so check them out!

Next was the Legendary Shack Shakers from Nashville, TN, and they put on a great live show. Their singer is just full of energy and a great entertainer. The sound was a crazy mix of Punk, Rock’n’Roll, Country and just plain rocking! I have seen many bands in my life, but that was the first time that I have seen a band to have a harmonica in a sort of punk band, and it was amazing! I have never heard of them before, but they blew me away. A really great band! During their set a punker couple walked on stage and he proposed to her. So this evening already had it all, before Rancid even got on stage. Great music, beer and lots of love.

Then it was time for the main act, the band I was waiting for so many years to finally see live. They entered the stage, accompanied by the loudest cheering I think I have ever heard at a show. Even though I was still hungover and tired, all of that was forgotten the minute they walked on stage and started to play “Fall back down” of their record “Indestructible.” It was huge! Everybody singing along and that was just the beginning of an awesome set. This band has probably written more hits than most bands ever will write in their entire life. So it was just a good mix of all their albums, most songs from “Let’s go” and “And out come the wolves” but also a song of their new “B-sides and C-sides” compilation they recently put out. The hits included Tenderloin, Radio, Ruby Soho, Tatoo, Nihilism, Salvation, Old Friend, It’s quite alright, Olympia WA, and many others. The band also brought along videos that were projected on a big screen behind the band. They were a bunch of clips that I guess were done by Tim, judging from his video work he has done in the past.

Of course the best part was the whole experience to see these legends of punk on stage that have been in legendary bands like Operation Ivy (Tim) and UK Subs (Lars). Just seeing Matt Freeman playing bass lines was a treat by itself, but together with the rest of the band, it was just amazing!

The show was overall incredible! They were definitely on my bands-I-have-to-see-before-I-die list, and it was worth the long wait. Unfortunately, they weren’t playing a song from their upcoming album, which Lars promised to be out in September.

For Pictures, check back on the Masquerade’s myspace page in a few days. www.myspace.com/masqueradeatlanta
www.myspace.com/rancid
www.myspace.com/legendaryshackshakers
www.myspace.com/thedeadtowners

 So it was a quite busy month for the band. They brought their label mates and friends from No Fuego along, with whom they recorded the Split-CD “Dropping Expectations” for Unable Records.

I missed the first band again but got in right on time to see the second band. I don’t remember their name, but that doesn’t bother me at all, because they sucked! They are friends of the Bastard Suns, but play horribly boring 90’s alternative rock. It was actually painful. Sorry guys, but there would have been many other punk bands to fill in that slot that would have been excited to play the Masquerade and fit much better.

After that No Fuego from Baton Rouge, LA saved the evening! They do a mix of punk rock a la Hot Water Music mixed with Bagpipes and a bit of Dropkick Murphys in there. They played a few songs from their Split with the Suns and also from their full length they put out by themselves. It was a good show and you definitely need to check them out!

Then it was the Bastard Suns and they have apparently become a pretty popular band in Atlanta, since there were about 100 to 150 people there to see them, which is not bad at all for a local band. They played a solid show, doing their usual reggae and ska influenced drinking punk rock and the crowd loved it. I think we will hear lots more of this band in the future, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they become a big band someday.

But in my opinion the Bastard Suns are not a headlining band, yet. They were much more fun when they only got 30 minutes and played song after song, without trying stupid stuff like a drum solo and so on. But even that couldn’t ruin their good and powerful performance.

If you want to check them out, I’d advice you to buy the Split CD, cause you get the best of both bands and that’s a very good deal. It really is a very good CD!

So check both of them out and check at the Masquerade’s myspace page in a few days for pictures: www.myspace.com/thebastardsuns
www.myspace.com/nofuego

 That really surprised me, since even I have heard of the great Boss Martians in Germany before, so I thought they would be big over here.

Anyways, first band up was Derek Lyn Plastic from Atlanta. Another great band out of this great town! Their style was Ramones-influenced-3-chords-garage-punk’n’roll. They played like 500 songs in 30 minutes, it seemed. I enjoyed it! They will play the Star Bar again in two weeks, so you should check them out then!

The Boss Martians got on stage and started out their set with “I Wanna be Your Addiction,” from their album The Set-up, and rocked out for an hour long set. They played songs from their new album “Pressure in the S.O.D.O,” like “Mars is for Martians,” which features Iggy Pop on the CD. The live performance was good, especially the bass player was jumping off-stage and tried to animate the people to dance, making sure for whom he was really playing, falling on his knees in front of every girl in the room, while rocking along to the songs. Pretty bad-ass performance!

So check them out and fall in love with a great Rock’n’Roll band, and maybe next time more people will show up to their shows!

www.myspace.com/thebossmartians
www.myspace.com/dereklynplastic

They were coming to town to present their new Album “The Process of Believe,” which they released earlier this year via Myspace Records, even giving it away as a free download for the first two weeks. The band was fully aware that this was a high risk, but the success of this special offer showed that the band still is one of the most important punk bands around. It was downloaded over 700.000 times in the two weeks the offer was going on, being the biggest success of the band in a long time. The band brought along another fan favorite and one of the most successful bands of the mid 90s Skate Punk boom Strung Out, as well as Authority Zero.

Opening act was the Bastard Suns from Atlanta and apparently they are well known in the city, because a lot of people showed up early to not miss this band and it was definitely worth it! They are just a great live band. Their mix of Punk, Ska, Reggae and drinking songs is just a perfect mix to party to and the band has the stage present, as if they had been doing this for 30 years. They will be playing a show Saturday June 7th again at the Masquerade together with the Band No Fuego, with whom they share their first Split LP.

Next up was Authority Zero from Mesa, CA and they were putting on a great show. Soundwise, they fit perfectly with The Bastard Suns, since they play the same great mix of Punk, Hardcore and some slower Ska Reggae songs. But live they were much more aggressive then I would have thought from listening to their records. They played mostly songs from their 2007 release 12.34 and their hit record Andiamo, which was released 2004. But they didn’t play Revolution, my favorite song by them. But it was still a great performance by a very sympathetic band.

Then it was time for Strung Out and for most of the people it was the first highlight of the evening. The band’s unique style of combining poppy Punk sounds with dark metal guitars and lyrics has made them fans all over the world and they are definitely one of the biggest bands in the underground punk scene. They put on a good show, playing a good mix of old and new songs and just dominated the stage. The crowd loved it and the Masquerade turned into one steaming hot pit of sweat.

Then it was time for the band everybody came out to see. I have seen Pennywise a couple times before, but I still love them every time. They are just such a great live band and still seemingly enjoy to play live. In between the songs they made sure that the band stands for more then just the music, talking about important political issues, always trying to encourage the people to think for themselves and become more aware of the problems society is facing. But over all the politics and serious talk, they certainly didn’t forget what they came for and rocked through an awesome set, playing songs from nearly all albums, and even a Minor Threat cover. Broken, My own country, Perfect People, F%$# Authority, The western World and Bro Hymn Tribute are just few of the many hits they played during their one hour long performance.

After they got literally everybody in the room to sing along to their smash hit Bro Hymn, people left sweating heavily but with a big smile on their faces. Another great package of bands made up one hell of a fun evening!

Check out those links for the bands and pictures of the gig:
www.myspace.com/pennywise
www.myspace.com/strungout
www.myspace.com/authorityzero
www.myspace.com/thebastardsuns
www.myspace.com/masqueradeatlanta

05/14/08 The Bitter End, The Loose Skrews at the Masquerade

After almost 4 weeks and having been to a few punk shows of national acts, it was now time to dive into the local Atlanta underground scene and see what it has to offer. The first opportunity was another punk show featured at the Masquerade. The Bands were Atlanta’s very own The Bitter End and The Loose Skrews, Last Hope Down and No Second Chance. I got there just in time to see Last Hope Down perform their last song, so I can’t really judge this band, nor can I say anything about No Second Chance.

It was a Wednesday night and with only local acts playing, there were only about 30-50 people coming out to see them. Nevertheless, the mood was great and the few people there were supporting the Bands as best as they could. The Loose Skrews straight out of Marietta were playing cool Punk’n’Roll heavily influenced by their favorite alcoholic beverage and as a result, most of their songs had something to do with beer or getting wasted. They were a fun band to watch, which was mostly due to their crazy tattooed front man that knew how to entertain the people.

The last band of this night were The Bitter End from Atlanta, who played a good mix of Punk and Hardcore and had the crowd on their side with their catchy, yet at the same time hard punk tunes. Several people that night told me they considered them to be one of the best bands in Atlanta at the moment, which was to be proven the next day, when the Despised were playing at the Vinyl. There are really worse ways to spend a Wednesday evening than going to shows like these and support the local scene.

05/15/08 The Meatmen vs. The Despised, The Schizzos at the Vinyl

The next day the infamous Meatmen came into town and on the flyers for the show it was proclaimed to be a fight or battle type of thing. I got to the Vinyl after getting lost several times in Atlanta’s horribly confusing traffic system and after paying 10 $ for parking (What the F#%@, but I was later told that that seems to be normal for Atlanta) in time for The Despised to get on the stage. So I once again missed the first band. What is it with Atlanta shows starting at 8.00? Why is that? It still doesn’t make any sense to me. What good is it if the show is over at 12? So people can make it to other shows or what? I am still used to European schedules, where it says 8.30 on the bill and doesn’t usually start till 9.30.

Oh well, Back to the Despised. Their singer was dressed as a priest but his bald head was painted glowing red and he had devil horns sticking out of it. A quite intimidating view. They started, and oh my word, that was great pissed old school Hardcore/Punkrock as it was meant to be! They played for about 45 minutes songs from their new 7” “One Punch” and from their Album “Punk, it’s not for rich kids anymore.” Both of which, you, as an interested reader of this blog, should definitely own. The band has been around from 1995 on and has even toured Europe and Japan. They organized that all by themselves and hold the oldschool DIY spirit up high, plus they are all really nice guys! So if you are into Atlanta Punk and don’t know them already, give this band a listen.

Then it was time for the mighty mighty The Meatmen. This Band around mastermind Tesco Vee has been around for over 20 years and the only constant member has been Tesco, but he has had legends of punk plazing for him, like Brian Baker (Ex-Minor Threat, Bad Religion) and others. It was a hell of a show. It actually was more of a masquerade/Halloween thing. The Stage was decorated with inflatable penises and he was dressed up as a nun, Uncle Sam, and other characters. Every once in a while he held up large patches with offensive slogans and other funny stuff. One showed a picture of the Beatles in the sixties with Lennon’s and Harrison’s eyes as X’s and it said “two dead two to go” and after wiping his butt with that, he threw it into the crowd to start of the song with that name. It was AWESOME!!! They played old school Hardcore from the 80s with the most hilarious lyrics I have heard in a long long time! Every once in a while they played a cover, like FEAR’s “I love living in the city” or an early Skrewdriver song, which I did not approve of because of the band’s white power history and racist followers. But anyways, it was truly one of the most politically incorrect, but at the same time best shows I have seen in a long time, if not one of the best shows I have ever seen.

PS: One more thing about the Despised’s album title, the next day, I had to work at the Paramore show and there was a girl/guy, I couldn’t really tell, was dropped off by his/her parents in a f$#%ing Jaguar. That’s what Punk has become today hahaha!!!

5/17/08 SoCo Music Experience with Against Me!, The Bastard Suns, Ghostland Observatory, The Supersuckers, Ryan Shaw, Bang Camaro and others

On Saturday I went to the FREE! SoCo Music Experience, a festival organized by Southern Comfort with a whole truckload of bands and other stuff. It was a 21+ show and people were ready to get hammered on this beautiful sunny day at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta Downtown. When I got there around 4.30 the band Bang Camaro was playing and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were 7! Vocalists on stage, pretty much a whole choir, doing cool metal. That was really something I have never seen before. It sounded awesome though, and they even got some more guest vocalists on stage so that it was at one point 12 singers on stage. Great show! Check them out!

The crowd was pretty diverse, as was the music. Next was Ryan Shaw, who did a bit of Soul/Rock/Blues/Gospel music, with a killer bass player. That guy was amazing. The music was alright to lay in the park and watch beautiful girls walking by. Sometimes life is good!

Then it was time for the Supersuckers, the self proclaimed greatest Rock’n’Roll band of all times. This band has been around forever and has played soo many shows, it’s incredible. I have heard a lot about them and, of course, of them, but it was the first time for me to see them live. It was a really good show! Check out one of their million records, they are a very good Rockband. Ghostland Observatory were doing electronic stuff, which I wasn’t interested in, but people seemed to dig it.

On the Creative Loafing stage there were Atlanta bands playing when the main stage was busy to prepare for the next band. There were a few good ones ranging from Hip Hop to alternative Rock, to Punkrock. The last Band on that stage was Atlanta’s very own The Bastard Suns. WOW! What a great band. They mixed Ska, Ragga, Dub and Punkrock to a mixture that you just couldn’t stand still. People were dancing and moshing. It was a great great show! Please check them out this Thursday, when they open up for Pennywise at the Masquerade. So go there on time to see this local band!

Then it was time for the Headliner of this one day festival. It was no other then Against Me! from Gainesville, FL. They have been one of my favourite bands for years now and, in my opinion, put out the best album of the last year. They played mostly songs from their new Album “New Wave” but also a few from the other albums as well. This band has only hits and are definitely one of the best live bands on this planet. They finished an hour long set with their hit “Sink Florida Sink.”

When I left the Park heading to my car, there was a man with a big sign and megaphone trying to save all those lost/drunk souls leaving the SoCo Area. I will leave that uncommented

5/17/08 Buc-O-Five, Spectremen at Star Bar

After the SoCo Music Experience, I went to the Star Bar to see what’s up in Little Five Points and there was a show of another Atlanta Band. The Spectremen did their CD-Release Party that night and supported Buck-O-Five. They did a crazy mix of slow Metal, fast Punk and Horrorshow. It was a fun show and after a short break they returned as nuns, playing some cover songs. What is it with Atlanta’s bands playing FEAR’s “I love living in the city”? I mean that song is a hit, but I have never heard it live before, and now in only 1 week twice, by two different bands.

Buck-O-Five played some Country and Folk songs, that were perfect to end this day full of good music and great bands.

Check out all these Bands, they all deserve it!

www.myspace.com/thebitterendmusic
www.myspace.com/thelooseskrews
www.myspace.com/themeatmenrule
www.myspace.com/despisedatlanta
www.myspace.com/againstme
www.myspace.com/thebastardsuns
www.myspace.com/supersuckers
www.myspace.com/bangcamaro
www.myspace.com/spectremen
www.myspace.com/buckofiverocks

This was obviously shared by the people that came out to see his show. The road along the venue was packed with old school Cadillacs, Fords, and other cars from the first half of the past century and the people who came out to see the show were a cool mix of Punks hoping to see some Social D songs being played, tattooed Rockabillies, some lovers of original Country and all sorts of other open minded people.

We missed the opening band, if there was one, and got in just in time to get a beer and see the Man himself come on stage. A visibly good-humored Mike Ness came out with a cowboy hat and other Country assecoirs and started his set accompanied by his band. Since I am not so familiar with his solo stuff, I can’t name here most of the songs played, but let me tell you, it was a great mix of covers and original songs. The instrumentation was great, stand-up bass and pedal steel, acoustic guitars and of course the old-fashioned Fender Telecaster that belongs to Country like beer to Punkrock.

Even though the sound was oldschool Country, or a bit more upbeat Rock’n’Roll, it still had a certain edge to it that only Mike Ness can add to it. I mean this guy could play polka, and you could still hear that it is Mike Ness and it would still have a punk feeling to it.

After half of his set, we unfortunately had to leave early, since we had to catch the rest of Apocalyptica at the Masquerade. By the way, that was an amazing metal show, played on four cellos. So we missed the rest and probably good old Social D songs as well, but it was an amazing show and a great evening.

Please check out Mike Ness’ Solo stuff
www.myspace.com/mikeness

I can’t remember the name of the first band, but it was some local punk band that did good job, and even though they weren’t as tight, they had the spirit and attitude. With a little more practice, this could be good underground band for the Atlanta Punx to look out.

Then it was the local heroes of Courtesy Murders, who brought along their own fanbase and with that the crowd was getting this party started. The band played a mix of Punk, Ska. They brought along their new CD called “Life in a Red State,” so check them out!

Then the stage was set for a band called Krum Bums straight from Austin, Texas. I assume it must be pretty hard to be a Punk rocker in the conservative Bush-country of Texas, but somehow there have always been great bands coming straight out of the heart of the beast, like the amazing D.R.I. But enough talking, back to the Krum Bums energetic liveshow. This band went straight at it, no sh$% talking or Rockstar poses, but plain simple Punkrock from the heart straight into your face type of thing. Soundwise, they have influences of bands like GBH or Discharge, the Exploited and definitely the Casualties, which made them a perfect match for that show. The kids and older ones ;) in the audience loved them. I haven’t heard of them before, neither could I find more info on the web, since nowadays bands only have stupid myspace pages up, which give no information on the band at all (whatever happened to bands actually caring enough to put up a creative and artistically and visually awesome homepage?) So, all I can tell you is that they put out at least one record on TKO Records, I think its their third record, and they even got some pretty fancy colored vinyl of it. So, same as for the other bands, give this one a listen, I think you’ll like them.

Then The Casualties took over! F@#$ yeah they did. Playing some old, some new and something in between. Hits like Riot, Under Attack or The System failed us again were sung along enthusiastically by the crowd. The old everyone-can-get-on-the-stage ethic was held up high when people from the audience were asked to come up and play one song, while the crowd would sing along, and singer Jorge announced thatThe Casualties are more then just the 4 people on stage, but actually everyone can be a Casualty.

Later on, it was time to pay tribute to the bands without whom Punk wouldn’t be what it is today. So "Blitzkrieg Bop" by The Ramones was covered in the Casualties way, and the old song "Punx & Skins" was going out to all the skinheads and Ois that were there doing their part.

Once again, it was a great evening with lots of good bands at the Masquerade! So if you missed that show and want to get a feel for what it was like, or you were there and want to recapitulate it, check out these links:

www.myspace.com/thecasualties
www.myspace.com/krumbums
www.myspace.com/courtesymurder

I must honestly say that I’m not so much into the whole metalcore thing, but Converge is a band that I always liked, since they never lost touch to their punk hardcore roots and by that always stood out to the masses of meaningless metalbands in that genre. The great Roger Miret from one of the most important hardcore bands Agnostic Front once said “Never trust a hardcore kid that has not listened to punk” and that is true for the most part of those generic metal-hardcore bands, but certainly not for Converge!

First on the menu this evening was the band Coliseum from Louisville, KY. They were playing a furious mix of hardcore with rock elements a la Motorhead and of course metal. They were doing a good job as an opener, but I wasn’t too impressed.

That definitely was the case with the next band Genghis Tron from Philadelphia. They put on a great show with their own light show, synthesizers and a whole shitload of rock’n’roll. Their style was a wild mix of hardcore, deathmetal with awesome electro-synthie sounds and breakbeats out of a drumcomputer a drumcomputer. They were doing their own thing and it was good that way. The then- packed Masquerade was rocking and the first moshpits were going on. You should definitely check this band out!

Next was the Red Chord from Boston, who were celebrated by the crowd and did a great job. The first crowd surfers jumped on stage and surfed up there and in the middle of the Masquerade was a huge circle where a few idiots were doing their little idiot windmill-arms dance. That is one thing I really hate about Hardcore shows. I’m totally fine with moshing and circle pits, but these morons showing off how tough they are is in my opinion just stupid. And I always feel sorry for their girls that have to stand on the side holding their sweaters and watch their boyfriends turn into complete fools. But that’s, of course, just my opinion!

Then the time was right for Converge, who started their set with songs from their latest release No Heroes, which was released in 2006 via Epitaph Records and is a must have. But overall they played a good selection of old and new songs. The singer Jacob Bannen was always thanking the people for showing up on a Tuesday night and sharing their time with his and the other bands. The whole band was always emphasizing how important it is to them that everybody has a positive experience and even stopped one song in the middle to take a stand, when a kid tried to enter the stage and was held back very roughly by the bouncers. The whole set was a blasting hardcore fury and they played pretty much all of their hits.

In conclusion, it can be said that it was a great evening at the Masquerade with bands you should definitely check out.

Anti-Flag was one of the bands that really got me hooked on the whole punk thing. They were one of the first bands I’ve seen live that blew me away. After that show I went and bought their first records and loved them immediately. Since then, I’ve seen them over 15 times, but still every concert is a unique experience and I was looking forward to that show days before.

They also have a new record, which they are promoting right now, called The Bright Lights of America, which I strongly recommend to anybody who has never heard of them before. But the whole package at the Masquerade promised a lot. First band on the bill were Fake Problems from Naples, Florida. They did a great job, even though the place wasn’t crowded yet. They gave everything they had and were really enjoying themselves on stage. Their sound was somewhere between old Against Me’s Reinventing Axl Rose time, when they were still punkrock (but of course they are still awesome today!) and Two Gallants. So if you want to help support an awesome smaller band, buy their new record How Far Our Bodies Go.

Next was The Briggs from LA. They put out one of the best records of 2006 with their sophomore release Back to Higher Ground, in my opinion at least. They were rocking out all their hits like “Song of Babylon” or “Wasting Time.” They also played some new songs from their album, which is due june 17th and will be called Come All You Madman, so watch out for that one.

The Streetdogs came after them and the crowd loved them. They were blasting out mostly songs from their last album Fading American Dream and were really taking over. They also tributed to their hardcore roots by playing a few oldschool hardcore tracks. Overall an awesome band that all of you should definitely check out.

Then it was time for the headliner of this evening. Anti-Flag topped it all with their highly energetic performance. There was moshing and circle pits, beer and politics, sweat and bruises. Everything that makes punk shows so amazing and memerable. Playing hit after hit from their old records and also from their newest one, they tore the place apart, ending with the awesome, awesome “Die for the Government.”

So after about 3 ½ hours of awesome bands people went home exhausted but happy, and for the most part with a big smile on their faces. It really was one of the best packages I have seen in a long time on one evening.