Friday March 29th 2024

The Manglers / The Grommets / Charlie Don’t Surf / The Instamatics

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The Manglers / The Grommets / Charlie Don’t Surf / The Instamatics
Stony Brook Park, Boston          5/13/17

 

“Hippies are a bummer. They’re a bad trip. They bum me out.”- Slimedog.

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery- I don’t know if that’s true. I just know that cover bands, in our modern age, are not looked upon too kindly. While, if you look back, fifty years or so, even bands known for playing originals like The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Stones – played a ton of covers. All bands did before the rock age. They didn’t show up and play a thirty minute set. Mainly, because they were the band for the night and played six, seven or eight hours of music.

The rock generation made that separation from covers or originals, one I think, was not for the best.

But I bring this up because of the four bands today- only one is not a cover band and even they played three cover songs during their set.

But songs and styles of music existed in mankind for ages. It was during the rock age where change was made explicit. And it was more as a marketing tool than a natural, musical progression.

Music is deeply connected with ritual, community and celebration. Not so much with innovation, newness and individualistic expression, but for a retelling of accepted, common, beliefs and truths.

And that brings us to the 2017 Jamaica Plain Earth Fest at Stony Brook Park. Though ecology is something I can, unequivocally, get behind. Please do not ask me to get behind the smelly hippies at this Festival, or ask my eardrums to be infested with their jam band styles of music which, to my ears, smell much worse than their body odors.

Or as my mother, of eighty-six, pointed out- “So the music they play is actually older than your music?” Why, yes indeed.

I get there and The Instamatics are doing what I believe is a sound check. They’re playing “Jumping Someone Else’s Train,” by The Cure with just guitar and bass. I know that they’re a surf trio that specializes in instrumental versions of eighties new wave songs. Turns out their drummer called in sick.

But soon enough, they are joined by Owen, one of the guitarists for The Manglers and he takes over on drums and does an excellent job. (At this time I’d like to mention that Eric, the bassist for The Grommets also plays bass for this band, and does almost as poor of job as he does for The Grommets.)

But, no, I kid, I kid. They all play an excellent set, I especially like the version of “The Model” by one of my favorite bands, Kraftwerk. Somehow surf versions of German synthesizer krautrock just seems so right. They end with a great version of “Rawhide” by the great, Link Wray.

Charlie Don’t Surf take the stage next. I mean, they take the ground under the tree.

They are a Clash tribute band who I’ve seen once before and today they sound tons better, not having the annoying lead guitarist who insisted on playing avant-garde jazz solos in every song.

Today they just plow through a lot of great classics like “Clash City Rockers,” “London’s Burning,” “London’s Calling,” and “Career Opportunities.” Everyone plays their part well (especially the bassist) and really rock out.

After their set the crowd calls for one more and while the band confers on what to play, I yell out, “Play something by The Clash!”

Eric and Kris Grommets young daughter, who has been singing along with every word of the set, replies to me, “Every song they did was by The Clash!”

“No way,” I say.

“Yes, it’s true,” She says.

“How dumb am I?” I reply, and truer words have never been spoken.

But I’m pretty smart in saying this was a great set by a great band playing songs by one of the greatest bands of all time.

Now, it’s time for some punk rockin’ excitement served up family style by The Grommets, with a savory, homestyle meal of music guaranteed to make you salivate for more.

Well, not sure if that last line made any sense, or why Eric is now dressed in a bright, yellow Devo body suit, or that Mayoral candidate Tito Jackson strolls on through to say hello (and no, he’s not one of the original Jackson 5, I asked to be sure.)

While these questions may never be fully answered, what is true is The Grommets, who consist of a couple named Eric & Kris, who play bass and guitar and share vocals backed by a female drummer named Ida, play a traditional punk inspired set of originals with some robotic, Devo rhythms mixed in with straight ahead Ramones beats, too.

This is punk that is positive, powerful and potent and stays true to the original ideas of punk and not so much to the rock star debauchery it rebelled against.

They end with a cover of The Queers, “Granola Head,” dedicated to everyone at the festival but us and “Blitzkrieg Bop” ending a great, fun set. I especially like their song, “If The Phone Doesn’t Ring, It’ll Be Me.”

The Manglers are up next, a cover band that focuses on late seventies, early eighties punk classics. They do songs by The Dictators, Johnny Thunders, The Dead Boys- but I can only stay for half their set, though I’ve enjoyed them play many times before.

Before I leave I notice that a cart to move musical equipment, has now been taken over by children, who an adult drags the cart with them on, back and forth on a pathway behind where the band is playing. An older Russian or Slavic couple dance on the lawn with gleeful smiles- the lady is stout and wears a square fur hat, the gentlemen is slight and, most likely, older than me but wildly leaps into the air with great agility. Someone is blowing bubbles towards the stage and I wonder how neat it would be if the band started playing “Tiny Bubbles,” the Hawaiian classic tune by Don Ho.

And me? I’ve got to leave early. To play a bowling banquet with a band that play fifties doo-wop. How about that? After an afternoon of hearing covers, I’m leaving to go play some.

But you know how I make things up, right?

(Slimedog)

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