Hope & The Husbands / Adam PC / Death Waltz 76 / Jaymes Purtle
Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, MA 12/7/13
This is Hope & The Husbands record release party and lo and behold!- while this review is materializing in internet reality so is a review of their new CD. What a coincidence! What are the odds of that happening?- never matter.
The show starts with their drummer, Jaymes Purtle, playing ukulele and singing pop songs. His voice is low and deadpan, kind of like Iggy Pop with his most mellow voice.
What’s great about this is how it exposes the vapid-ness of pop song lyrics when it’s stripped down from all the big studio production. “Faith” by George Michael is a favorite and when he does a fairly recent disco-like pop tune the crowd is clapping along to simulate the electronic percussion and singing the background vocals. A great opening act; all he needs now is dancing dogs and he’ll be ready for Broadway.
Next is Death Waltz 76. They jokingly describe themselves as “mixing the haughty pretentiousness of indie pop with the technical incompetence of punk.” That’s okay but what we really have is indie pop with atmospheric echoey guitar and competent female vocals.
The good news is there’s no technical incompetence at all, they’re quite good at what they do. The bad news is it’s just not my bag, man- I gotta pass.
Now you would think that the next band Adam PC would not be my bag. When I see them setting up I realized I saw them once before.
As far as genre goes I’d classify them as “crazy party band.” They have two keyboards manned by two females who also often play guitars, bass or maracas and are relieved by an Asian fellow. This goes on while a young, Neil Young looking dude sings songs with funny, ironic lyrics. There are maybe 8 or 11 people in the band, two set of Siamese twins, a giraffe, an ostrich and they sound something like the Talking Heads transported to the twenty-second century.
My review of them may be nonsensical but truthfully, the band is more wonderfully nonsensical than anything I could write about them.
This band is too much fun to play in clubs and should be banned and only be allowed to play at wild parties. I don’t think they’re punk, I just think they’re fun.
Around this time I’m talking to Lyz, who is the drummer for Surf’s Up, Spicoli and the guitarist for metal band Rozamov. I get to talking about how not only is it good that women are included in playing music like punk or metal but how good they really are when they do it.
I mention how the Damn Broads, an all-girl hardcore band from Connecticut, is my favorite band on our site. I also mention the Runaways at one point and wonder if she might not know them because of her young age.
Of course, she knows them and I should’ve guessed that she did because I realize how important and influential Jett is to women musicians. Warning- A Joan Jett tribute is coming soon to this page and all you female musicians can and should contribute to it.
Now it’s time for Hope & The Husbands. I’ve seen them several times before and do know it’s Hope’s first band. What still totally shocks me is she admits to having stage fright while I see her as one of the best and most comfortable front persons we have on our site.
I already know that this band is not punk, metal or hardcore but then why are they covered by TNB?
Tonight they explain quite clearly to me why. They provide high energy rock with an individualistic lead singer and create their own style, own genre before my very eyes.
That, actually, could be the early definition of punk; bands that forged their own way, their own path where no other bands had traveled.
They all were aggressive, had honest, realistic lyrics and had a spark but were all different from each other, too. This is what this band does.
I get tears in my eyes when she sings the song about her brother’s suicide. She says, “That’s the first time I got through that one without crying.” They play an exciting set that gets the whole crowd jumping and finish with a Misfits cover.
This is one of the handful of bands on our site that I feel are truly punk. An amazing band, an amazing set on a really fun night.
Triforium Dawn is ready to bring the night out. They’re an “experimental metal band” meaning they’re probably over my head. But I’ve been here since the afternoon punk matinee so it’s time to take my leave though I will pass their cd onto metal man Andy Bang.
And check out Hope& The Husbands new CD…it is my bag.
(Slimedog)
