Adventures with Allen

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!

So last weekend was pretty great I went to two shows and got to see a lot of good bands, some old, some new and some local. Saturday we had No Man’s Slave, Maximum Homeless Guy and The Meatmen. Sundays show had Unnatural Helpers, Shellshag and The Slits. I’ve also been lazy and didn’t talk about the show I saw in February where I got to see Street of Thieves and Congress of a Crow.

So let’s talk about Street of Thieves show then. I saw them at The Deli, which I’ve been meaning to check out for a while and it’s a pretty nice venue for small shows. Again these guys just keep on impressing me they of course sounded great and seemed to be more comfortable playing at The Deli that night which added to energy of the show. I just keep hoping they put out some new EP, LP or demo. The bassist told me about this show and how I should check out Congress of a Crow, which turned out to be great advice. So Congress of a Crow is a pretty sweet band out of Tulsa, OK fronted by a pretty energetic front woman, who sings and plays trumpet. They put on a great show and had some great sounds. A mixture of Alt Rock and maybe some Reggaeish sounds and Pink Floyd, at least that’s what it sounded like to me. I really want to see them again and I think they are going to play The Deli again but I wouldn’t mind seeing these guys at The Conservatory.

Now on to Saturday and The Meatmen. I’ve heard of The Meatmen before and listen to some of their music before but have never really been a huge fan of their stuff. More of a Anti-Establishment hate punk rock is where I would put them. But hey when some old school punk band comes to town I’m going to try damn hard to see them because when is that chance going to come around again.

So first up was some new band I never heard of before, No Man’s Slave. I’ll have to say they didn’t really impress me, sort of a screaming hardcore thrash band I guess. They played a pretty short set and maybe over time I may come to like them but right now I wouldn’t go out of my way to check them out. Next was Maximum Homeless Guy and they still kick all kinds of ass and they keep sounding better every time I see them and we got treated to some new material so that was pretty sweet. Also I finally got a CD from them so that’s pretty sweet. Last up was The Meatmen and no doubt the band Tesco Vee put together are some very talented guys, their drummer was amazing. Vee himself would be enough to see this show, this guy has such a stage presents and creates a great connection with the audience that it makes up for a lot, I think, if you’re not totally into their music.

On Sunday was probably one of the most enjoyable shows I have seen this year, which so far hasn’t been many. I think I missed a few bands but I did end up seeing three. First was Unnatural Helpers, a 4 piece out of Seattle I think. They had an unusually set up were the signer was also the drummer and made it harder to understand what was being sung. I’m not sure if these guys have played many shows before they seemed to have a lot of missteps and restarts. I didn’t totally enjoy their show but they did have a cute woman on bass with an electric bass in the shape of a upright bass so that was pretty neat. Next was Shellshag and boy were they a pleasant surprise. This is two piece band with a guitarist and drummer. These two had great stage presence and tons of energy had they played a manic episodes on stage. Just for the spectacle of these two would be enough to enjoy their set but they also kicked out some damn good music to boot. Last but now least The Slits came up, I’ve listen to some of their music before but again I wasn’t very familiar but what I’ve heard before I’ve liked. They have two original members of the band still, the front woman and bassist, the rest I guess were new. These ladies put on a hell of a show I just wish it could have gone longer, they have a nice mix of rock, punk and reggae that just worked.Apparently most of the band was either sick or recovering from being sick. I hope I can get the chance to see them again when they are all 100% but it was still a great performance to see.

Street of Thieves/Congress of a Crow

The Meatmen/Maximum Homeless Guy

The Slits/Unnatural Helpers/The Slits

Saturday, the 29, I went once again to the Conservatory to see some local bands. The line up was Psychotic Reaction, Maximum Homeless Guy, The Costanzas, The Gunship, and The Oh Johnny! Girls. I went because I wanted to see Maximum Homeless Guy again and I have been wanting to check out The Oh Johnny Girls for awhile now.

First up was Psychotic Reaction a band from Norman. These guys didn’t put on that good of a set I think. While up on stage they just didn’t have any energy while playing. The singer didn’t have good crowed interaction and the rest of the band was just sort of static. This isn’t the first time I have seen a band not perform well and I hope this was just a fluke with them. I’ll give then another shot when it comes up.

Maximum Homeless Guy was better than last time, these guys played a tight, high energy set. I can’t wait to see them play again. I hope to catch a show with them and Drunk on Sunday.

Then The Costanzas came up, these guys played a fun set of Rock and Roll. They reminded me a little of the Supersuckers. They played a very tight and throughly enjoyable set. Their set consisted of a good mix of originals and covers and I hope to see this band again.

The Gunship played next and these guys were the surprise, for me, of the night. They are a very solid band and have a great sound. Sort of a Punk Rockabilly, and not pyscobilly, they kind of reminded me of the Stray Cats but with way more energy. Their set was enjoyable from start to finish and I really hope to see them again.

The main reason I went to this show was to see the The Oh Johnny! Girls and boy they didn’t disappoint. This band is a nice blend of old school Rock and Roll with a little county. The only thing I think that could make this band better is if they had a keyboard to accompany them. And just like The Gunship, this set was great from start to finish. They have an great stage presence they helps greatly in getting the crowd involved and just helps pump with the show that much more. Next time this band plays out near me I an there for sure.

So Saturaday night I went to the Punk rock show, the bands on tap were Drunk on Sunday, Maximum Homeless Guy and Time Again.

But first I went to the kick ass record store next door to the Conservatory. I picked up three badass CDs:
Toy Dolls – Idle Gossip
Citizen Fish – When are we on
Pietasters – Oolooloo
Finding this copy of Oolooloo was awsome, I use to own this album way back in the day but it was lost to time.

Now on to the show.

So first up was a local Hardcore band named Drunk on Sunday. I’m not usually a fan of Hard Core myself but I have to give it up to these guys. They had a lot of energy and sounded very tight, I would go see them again.

Next was another local Punk band that went by the handle Maximum Homeless Guy. These guys were another nice surprise, of all the shows I have been to locally I haven’t really cared for any of the local bands that played. These guys played a very tight set that had tons of energy and the crowd really seemed to turn it up when they got on. This is another local band I would go out and see again.

Now for Time Again, man these guys just rocked and they were the nicest of guys I have seen out in a long time. During the sets of the first two bands, members of time again were going out to listen and spent most of their time there interacting with the people at the show. After the show they stuck around to talk with the fans and sign stuff, I haven’t seen many bands come here do that.
Oklahoma yet. They had great sound, tons of energy and you could feel it in the crowd how amped up everyone was when they started playing. I really hope they come back thru here again.

Here’s a slideshow of all the photos I took during the show.