The Fifth Annual Grommets Porchfest
The Manglers / The Grommets / Kermit’s Finger / The New Frustrations / Grimsley Pleased / The Instamatics
Jamaica Plain, MA 7/7/18
I show up at this Porchfest and I’m greatly disappointed.
I’m expecting some kind of Hootenanny Jamboree! You know, with banjos and acoustic guitars and fiddles playin’ on a porch, jes’ a pickin’ and a grinnin’, you see?
Instead, I’m affronted with a barrage of garage music emanating from an actual garage!
It causes me to become greatly agitated.
But after a few nasty, unfortunate, physical altercations- and I do want to humbly apologize for knocking over the old man in a wheelchair- all semblance of calm is restored. As I realize- this is the Fifth Annual Grommet Porchfest! The third one in a row I’ve been privileged to attend. A show I look forward to all year long!
The Instamatics start playing, they’re a mostly, all instrumental surf trio, with some original sounding originals and some surprising covers. They kick off with “Monkey Beat”, my favorite original by them and, I know this is gonna be a great day, regardless of the few people I assaulted who are now being attended to by the EMT’s.
They cover alternative/goth band The Cure and German/electronic band Kraftwerk and then “Comanche” by Link Wray. The later, “The best song ever written,” according to Eric The Fruitbat, bassist for this band and also, The Grommets. And husband of Kris, from The Grommets, the one who controls the purse strings as she is, obviously, the brains of the operation.
Not a bad choice of best song, but I gotta go with “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy (I Got Love In My Tummy),” by The 1910 Fruitgum Company. A choice echoed by many musical scholars.
They have a great drummer, Jarred, filling in today, who actually makes less mistakes than the other players. Make no mistake about that!
This is a fun, punkin’, surfin’ band and they play a very enjoyable set.
After assisting a grandmother, that I pushed into the potato salad earlier, Grimsly Pleased is pleased to play.
I’m told they’re two members from a notorious band called The Medveds and they sound much like famous pop duos such as Seals & Croft, Hall & Oates. That is, as if those mentioned bands had ingested horse tranquilizer before they played.
They’re much like a musical comedy duo. I’d mention The Smothers Brothers but I’m sure, no one would know who the hell I’m talking about.
Seriously, very funny and they’re winning the crowd over who are laughing and smiling during their entire set.
Me, I’m just trying to placate the mother of the overturned baby carriage that happened during my previous outburst.
At this point Eric & Kris Grommet are informed by the police, that because of a noise complaint, all music must cease and desist at 3:30 pm.
They prepare by making Molotov cocktails to hurl at the police when they arrive, but I simply alter the number of their street address on the front of their house- that successfully, throws those coppers off the scent!
Just then The New Frustrations grace the garage. You could call them a power pop trio but I’m going with- a melodic punk band with a strong, eighties influence.
They start off with “Do The Bob” by The Real Kids and end with “Bastards Of The Young” by The Replacements.
During this I’m talking with Jarred, the drummer, and he mentions how much this band reminds him of The Replacements, and this is during their playing of my favorite original by them, “Right As Rain.”
I feel they are worthy to be named in the same sentence as that legendary band and they turn in an exciting, exhilarating set.
Kermit’s Finger is next to play and they’re a band that’s been around for a while and have a style that seems to be where punk and hardcore meet and then take you to a destination that is more than excellent. If I called them hardcore, you’d probably say “Not really,” like wise if I called them punk, you’d probably say the same.
But if you called them wonderful then that would be a good start. Scaled down to play half acoustically today, you get a toned down representation of their fiery, live sets but you still get the great songs and performances and what you end up with is one great set.
The Grommets play next and they, too, have a fill in drummer- Abby Normal, from the late, great Killer Abs!
In fact, there’s so many fill in drummers today, I notice a glass case on the side of the garage that says, “In case of emergency, break this glass.” And there’s a drummer inside it! (Though I do notice he’s not looking so well, as their appears to be no air vents for him!)
Abby does a great job filling in for the deceptively, simple punk songs The Grommets play.
A song popped into my head, like it happens often, while I was getting ready for work this week. It happened to be “If You’re Phone Doesn’t Ring It’ll Be Me,” a song that happens to be my favorite by them, one they do play today.
They also play “I Don’t Wanna Be Old” which I sing backup on, as is required, as I’m always the oldest person at their shows.
Great set by the great people who put on this great event.
The Manglers are set to take us out. A straight-edged, cover band that focuses on early punk, playing the songs that made me what I am today, which they should be ashamed of!
They play three Iggy & The Stooges tunes today! “I Got A Right” and “Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell,” the later came out in 1972, and was originally called “Hard To Beat” but with the newer title- for me, signaled the true start of punk!
Before their set, Brian, the singer is asking for a guitar tuner and I’m harassing him with, “Why do you need one? Do you think that will matter? Do you think that will make your band play their instruments correctly?”
But they show me, playing an absolute killer set, one of the best of the many sets I’ve seen by them.
I’m boppin’ in front of the stage, I mean garage, with the fantabulous Kimi Hendrix, from the Killer Abs and they just keep getting crazier and wilder.
At the end of “Search & Destroy” the last Iggy song they do, one of their guitar players, Owen, rips the strings from the neck of his guitar.
Unfortunately, for him, they surge into “Sonic Reducer” by The Dead Boys, leaving that song without a guitar solo.
But it doesn’t really matter as the raw fun and explosive power of punk has been ignited today, with all the sounds and emotions and hot dogs flying about.
And I’m damn happy to be here. And I’m damn happy to be apart of this all.
And I’m damn happy to experience a show like this.
(Slimedog)
