OC45 / On The Cinder / Fast Times / Back Door Key
Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, MA 2/4/17
Pop/punk is a music term with a meaning- but for me, it has no meaning, anymore.
Because just about all punk music has melody and traditional structures. It’s been that way since it’s inception- The Ramones, The Clash, The Pistols, The Buzzcocks- and it’s still that way now.
But pop music is often some of the worst music around, all that commercial crap and let’s make it clear- punk music has never been popular except for a few years in the seventies in England and a few years in the nineties in America. So therefore, let’s not call it popular.
Punk is not pop, it’s underground music. It’s too impolite, too “in your face”, too truthful, too rough around the edges, too fast, too exciting and too fucking good to be ever roped into “pop music.” Let’s enjoy this punk show.
Back Door Key is the first band tonight and they are new to me. They have punk melodies but I won’t use the bad words to describe them. But I will say they start the night off nice with a lot of energy and good tunes and the crowd seems to enjoy them and so do I.
Fast Times is next and though I always refer to them as one of my favorite hardcore bands, their songs have melody to go along with the hardcore rhythms. Fast Times is kind of where punk and hardcore meet- with them taking they best of both to complete their style.
They dedicate their wildest song “Butt Chug,” (about drinking alcohol through one’s anus) to my punk daughter, Lindsey, in the crowd. I try to get to the stage to throttle Nick the singer but can’t make my way through the moshers. He’s battling laryngitis tonight though, not from singing opera all day but from too much partying. But have no fear, Chester, his bandmate and vocalist from Crimespree hops on stage to sing “The Key Of Dynamite,” Cape Cod’s national holiday of partying.
They play, the seldom played, “Sideswiped,” a favorite of mine. And “You’re Gonna Fall” a new favorite of Blowfish from bostongroupie.com, who’s in attendance. Rachael and Lindsey are dancing on the side of the stage like deranged Raggedy Ann’s and Fast Times finish another fast, furious, fabulously, fun set.
On The Cinder is up next, a band from Buffalo, New York who are on their last night of a three week tour. This band is energetic, powerful and tight. Before one song the bassist says, “This is about our deceased friend. Dudes, don’t do heroin. Don’t do opiates,” and I fully agree. And I agree with the crowd response which is very positive for their set.
OC45 kick it off to end the night and celebrate their send off to another full USA tour; but this one will be followed by a two week European tour as well.
A few songs in they play my favorite by them, “Waiting For The Bullet,” but I hear so many great new songs tonight, I probably won’t be able to write that again. The new songs are from their just released new album “Happy Accidents” which our review of, is on-line as you read these words.
“Trainwreck” of the new songs stood out to me tonight but the obvious growth they’ve had in songwriting and performance stood out to me tonight, more importantly.
Towards the end of the night I notice there’s a banner for OC45 spread across the back of the stage. I didn’t notice before mainly, I think, because I was watching the crowd, but I fear I’m not that observant, or maybe I can blame it on the many drinks I’ve had. Eh, let’s just notch it up to the dementia creeping in.
But on the banner it says “2011” and I know that OC45 started a month after us so they’re a band we’ve watched from it’s inception.
And as I said to someone earlier tonight, “It’s not like I can claim that this is the best band we cover but I have no doubt in saying they’re the most dedicated in what they do.”
And that spells desire. It’s not just the talent that gets you to where you want to be, but how much you want to be there.
And that has all to do with drive and feelings, with emotions and guts, with believing in the type of music that you play- believing, your music is worth every ounce of your being, that your music and the music it represents, matter more than even yourself.
So fuck these terms like “pop/punk.” How about just calling this music what it is- punk!
Because this is music that is not notes and rhythm, chords and precision.
This is truth, this is passion, this is belief. This is love, this is aggression. This is the total sum of all your wildest dreams colliding with your long lost dashed dream of ever fitting into regular society.
This is pure, this is whole, this is art.
And this was a great, fun night.
(Slimedog)
