Adventures with Allen

The Conservatory 03/20/2009

On the ticket was: the Street Dogs, The Righs, and The Bashed. So first up was The Bashed, this was I think my second time seeing these guys and it sounded like they improved a lot since last time I saw them. I hope to check these guys out again sometime soon.

The Righs were up next another local band. This was the first time I have heard of them and they were pretty impressive. I guess they are a Celtic Punk band so if you like The Dropkick Murphys then you should like these guys. They have a pretty good sound, the Mandolin helps, and a good stage presence. I would like to see these guys again also I wouldn’t mind seeing them with the Dirty Mugs since I think they would complement each other pretty well.

Last up was the Street Dogs and they just keep on getting better. They played an energetic, thought provoking and emotional show. Mike McColgan’s stage presence continues to amaze me each time I see him, this is a guy that can take you though a range of emotions and still keep you excited and wanting more. They have a broad range of messages but they present them to you in such a way that you don’t tire of hearing them. These guys continue to be the best live act around; I don’t think I have yet seen another band that can keep a crowd so energized during a set as these guys. This will be a hard show to beat but it looks like there will be a lot of competition this year so we’ll see.

The Conservatory 03/21/2009

I mainly went to see Over Stars and Gutters and Teenage Bottlerocket but also playing was Needlepoint and Scouts Honor.

Over Stars and Gutters continues to put out a solid set. They keep expanding their play set so I hope they will try and put out an EP or something. Needlepoint is a local hardcoreish band I think. I couldn’t understand a word of their songs and musically it didn’t sound all that great either, this could have been because they didn’t play on the stage so the acoustics could have been all screwy so I wouldn’t rule them out yet.

Scouts Honor was up next, a punkish/jamish band from out of Chicago that. They were alright though not all that impressive. They didn’t really have a good stage presence and the consistency of their set wasn’t all that good, sometimes they could pull you in then slam on the breaks and made me lose interest in what was being played.

Finally Teenage Bottlerocket showed up and rocked the house. These guys are pretty straight punk band in the mould of The Queers and the Ramones, so musically it might not be all that impressive but they sure are a lot of fun to listen to. Pretty much from start to finish, with a little hiccup in the middle where the drummer’s snare broke, they were none stop high energy fun. This was impressive since they played a show earlier that day in Austin. I hope it doesn’t take another four years for them to come though OKC again.

So it’s been awhile since I last saw a show then starting Nov 23rd a truck load of great bands rocked out.

The Supersuckers have finally come to OKC since I’ve moved here, as far as I know of. These guys are the greatest Rock ‘N Roll band still touring, the only complaint I have for this is that they didn’t headline. So originally the lineup was some country band, Nashville Pussy, and Revered Horton Heat. I wasn’t going to go since I’m not a big fan of RHH and sort of like Nashville Pussy but two days before the show I found out that the Supersuckers got added to the bill so I had to go then.

First up was Kelly’s Outlaws, I think that was the name, some kind of county meets experimental rock fusion of not horrible music. These guys were ok but it’s not really my thing. Next was Nashville Pussy, I heard of these guys before and liked what I heard but never thought much of them before. These guys and gals were a lot of fun on stage so I’ll have to check them out again when they come through town again. So their studio stuff is ok but their live stuff is pretty damn good. Finally the Supersuckers came up and rocked the house; they played a good mix of classic and new martial. We didn’t get a fake encore, which I guess wouldn’t make sense for them to do since they didn’t headline. After that was RHH but I didn’t stick around for them, Diamond Ballroom allows smoking inside and by that time the place was wall to wall smoke.

The next show was Thanksgiving Day and this one I had been planning on going to for months. The lineup was Self Inflicted, Glister, Unidentifiable Meat, Maximum Homeless Guy and The Misfits. How cool is it that The Misfits played OKC.

First up was Self Inflicted a Metal band I think or Death Metal or whatever it’s called now a day by the cool kids. I’m not a fan of this genre of music and these guys didn’t change my attitude on it. Next was Glister and I’m still a fan of these guys, I’m glad they got to play such a big show. After that was Unidentifiable Meat, I never heard of these guys before but they sounded familiar and some of them look familiar. Well these guys were pretty good; their singer was crazy on stage: jumping around crawling on the floors and banging into his band mates. I wouldn’t mind checking them out again to get a better feel for them. MHG came up next and they put on their best show to date I think. Everything they played was spot on and their whole set was a lot of fun. After about a 30 minute wait The Misfits started, or should they be called the Black Misfits? Two thirds of the lineup is ex Black Flag members. Anyways this was my first time actually getting to see The Misfits live and it was great, though they didn’t play everything I hoped they would it was still a lot of fun.

Saturday had me going to VZD’s to see 13 Stars, Romantic Disaster and Glister. I wasn’t planning on going then I went fun was had and the bands all sound great. People should go out to see these local bands more and help support the good ones more often.

Now the finish line is in sight and at the end was BurnItDown, the Dirty Mugs, Flatfoot 56 and the legendary Toasters. This was also a show I have been anticipating for a while since the Toasters were playing and I also got the chance to check out the Dirty Mugs again.

First up was BurnItDown and I’m not totally sure about them. I guess they are a band from the city, at least that’s what he kept on saying. They were sort of a Punk band, a Ska band and a Hardcore band but not really mixing the styles in any usual way. Most of their songs went from one style to another, it was interesting at least but I will save judgment on them as a whole after I get the chance to see them again. Next was the Dirty Mugs and they kicked it up a notch since the last time I saw them. Their set was full of energy and fun and they are starting to become one of my favorite local bands. Third up was Flatfoot 56, they are sort of the Christian version of the Dropkick Murphy’s. So substitute any drinking songs with God and there you go. The kids seemed to like them and they did sound good and had a pretty good stage presence. Finally the Toasters, the band with more lineup changes than any other I know of but still kick all kinds of ass. Their set felt better than last time I saw them, they seemed more energetic than before. They also put on a hell of an encore closing the night with Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down. All in all it was a great night.

Side note about the Diamond Ballroom, I dislike this place a lot. They are like the Blue Note but bigger. They allow smoking inside and yet the ventilation is crap inside. I don’t care if people smoke but if you are going to have a venue that allows smoking then put in some real ventilation so everyone can enjoy the show, also a $4 can of crap beer doesn’t help.

Elvis Presley seduces Buck-O-Nine and they had a love child, that kid is then raised on a steady diet of The Misfits and that’s pretty much what The Independents are, a pretty crazy great Horror Ska Punk band. Also playing was Death Wish and Maximum Homeless Guy.

Maximum Homeless Guy was great as usual, though the new line up was new for me. They got a new guitarist and Joe went to vocals and crazy antics only now. It was a little different that before but I liked it.

Death Wish was next up, I never heard of these guys before and they were alright. They were a little to METALish for me but they did have a pretty tight set. Also the lead singer ate Mothra while on stage.

Now for the bastard offspring of Elvis and Buck-O-Nine, The Independents for those with ADD. These guys were super fun to watch though the fog machine was a little annoying. They had everything that you would expect from a Ska band minus the horns but they were very different from any skaish band I have listen to before. Thoroughly enjoyable and I will defiantly be on the lookout for them again.

Why is it that the kids in Oklahoma have no clue how to skank it up for the various Ska bands that come through town, hell I don’t remember one kid doing it during the Toasters show last year. People might need to listen to Mustard Plugs Skank By Numbers to figure this out. Damn kids today!

How many times will he rip off Dorothy?  As many times as I want.

I was suppose to go see Romantic Disasters and Streets of Thieves on Sunday but they started way earlier than previously posted so I missed both band.

Monday though there was another show at the well frequented Conservatory and the lineup was: Jack Germany, Thirteen Stars and the Gazelles. This isn’t what I would normally go out to see but I went anyways for various reasons and, huzza, I wasn’t disappointed.

First up was Jack Germany, a solo act accompanied by some MP3 players. Usually I’m not that impressed with solo acts but this guy did a pretty good job. He had a good sound and his set was short but good. I really don’t know what category to put him into other than pretty good.

Next up was the reason why I came out and that was Thirteen Stars, they are a local band and again a little out of my normal range of music but not so far out that I can’t appreciated it. I got the impression of a mix between Pink Floyd, Matthew Sweet and maybe a little Ok Go and the signer just kept reminding me of Axel Rose, in sound not in look. They had a pretty high energy set that was a lot of fun. I enjoyed them a lot and will defiantly try to make it another one of their shows.

Last were the Gazelles, an Alt Rock, and Pop sounding band out of TX. These guys also had an enjoyable set though a little harder for me to categorize. Not so much with the energy on stage and it was pretty short, I wouldn’t avoid them if they came through town again but it would depend on the accompanying bands on if I would go.

A high energy rocking good time was had Saturday at the Conservatory with the Dirty Devil Race to Hell Tour. The lineup was The Dirty Mugs, Viva Hate, Static Thought, Roger Miret and the Disasters, Lower Class Brats and Throw Rag.

First up was the local band The Dirty Mugs, they were a lot of fun but I missed most of their set. I hope to be able to check them out again so I can get a better feel for their music, it mainly seemed to be infulenced by  early Dropkick Murrpys and Oi. Oh and they had an accordion, so freaking cool.

Next was Viva Hate, a four piece band out of L.A. These guys put on an OK show. They had a really nice Rock ‘N Roll sound mixed with some Rockabilly; their singer was pretty much a scremo vocalist, which I’m not a big fan of most of the time, and he was like out of breath after every song.  They did have some pretty good interaction with the crowd and got them going for the most part. I probably would have had a better impression of them if they didn’t take a break after each song so the singer could catch his breath, which just kills the momentum. I would go out to see them again though.

Static Thought was up third and I’ve been meaning to check these guys out for awhile, I’ve just been lazy. These guys were a lot of fun and put on a really good tight set, which makes me wish I could go back and hit up those previous shows since it’s usually the second time around that I really appreciate a band.  These guys had a more of modern punk sound than the other bands on the line but, I thought I heard that the Heart Attacks were suppose to be in the lineup at one time insead of Static Thought and that would have made more sense overall. Either way these guys rocked the house and I’m definitely going to check them out again.

Now the one band I actually knew about, Roger Miret and the Disasters. This was the first time I’ve been able to check them out and they didn’t disappoint. These guys put on a hell of a show and damn if the floor didn’t get packed when they took the stage.  They have a solid Rock ‘N Roll sound to them with plenty of hooks to get you going also a good amount of sing along choruses. I hope to get see these guys again and again but they might be going on hiatus soon since Miret said he was getting back together with Agnostic Front to do a tour, this should be pretty bad ass and I hope they come though the OKC area.

Lower Class Brats was next up and these guys were a lot of fun. Mix in some old school ‘77 era punk, A Clockwork Orange and some Oi and you get one hell of a band. These guys were on fire during their set, I didn’t think there could be more people on the floor but they packed themselves in for these guys. I hope to check them out again, maybe I’ll try and make it to Austin for that.

Finally Throw Rag hopped on stage and blew everything out, this was probably the best show to date at the Conservatory. They are a little bit Rock ‘N Roll and a little bit Country, but are not Mormons nor have perfect teeth (I can’t validate the teeth comment they very well could have perfect teeth). They rememinded me a little be of the Supersuckers with a lot more cazy. I hope they roll though town again so I can check them out; I think they are touring with the Queers and Horrorpops next, man that would would be a fun show.

The shows pictures can be found here.