Unnatural Axe at PINZ Photo: Blowfish

Monday at O’Brien’s seemed like all three groups would be doing the punk thing and that’s the way it was.

Blasé Blue Photo: Blowfish

Blasé Blue from Boston pegs their sound as “moody punk” and we caught that right away. We were in that state of mind anyway with the extended rainy/cloudy days we’ve been going through. We slotted right into the set and enjoyed it.

They slammed out every song. Songs were word heavy and that was the main thing that everything seemed to revolve around. Since the show we’ve listened to them on Bandcamp and found a lot to like there. You should check it out too!! Blasé Blue

Witches With Dicks Photo: Blowfish

We’ve seen the name Witches With Dicks (also from Boston). You don’t forget that name and frankly the name kinda kept us away. But finally, we did get to see them and they had their fans there at O’Brien’s. Many of the 40 plus people that were there seemed to be there for them.

They were out and out punk. A lot of the songs clocked in a minute and a half. They had two vocals going most of the time and we loved that. The bass playing was very pronounced and interesting. There was a lot of humor in the songs. It was hard to get it live sometimes but you can see it in their song titles on Bandcamp. Like “One Whopper for the Copper” which we think we heard in the set. "One Whopper for the Copper" on Bandcamp Their first CD came out in 2007.

Snuggle Photo: Blowfish

Snuggle from Seattle continued the punk rock night. The lead singer had a raspy voice and he used it effectively to shape the melodic punk material. They had some smooth chord progressions that they bore down on and added those nice melodic lines on top. The middle video above shows this. You really can’t go wrong doing that as long as you can come up with the goods as they did. In the videos you can hear the band putting in the energy to every second. It always felt you were getting the full potential of a group playing at 100%. We wouldn’t miss this group if they came around and how lucky is Seattle to have them!! Check out their Bandcamp page. And here is there FB page.

This was one of those nights where the whole was even better than the individual groups. To get three punk groups of note on a Monday on one bill, that’s hitting the lottery for us!

Actually Thursday was another night where three bands put on a show that added up to another showcase of interest. At The Jungle there was State of the Union, Kid Gulliver and The Chelsea Curve who all have a pop edge and are notable for their strong songs.

The Chelsea Curve Photo: Blowfish

The Chelsea Curve is the new band on the block, although the members have been in other bands. They got a lot of interest in that Sally O’Brien’s show last January . They have an appealing sound that seems to take from many sources. It brings to mind lots of melodic punk from days gone by. They did the Jam song “In the City” (video below) and that is an indication of their proclivities. The love of punk suffuses all the material.

They did “Beacon” which is about 30 seconds long. It’s about the signal on top of the John Handcock Tower. We have the video of that above. At this point some recorded material would be nice to have. We want to get into some of those songs.

Linda Bean Pardee coordinated her outfit (black and white) to match her black and white bass with a small b+w checkerboard pattern on it.

Hey, Are you looking for a new band to love, and who isn’t? THIS is the band The Chelsea Curve.

Kid Gulliver Photo: Blowfish

We’ve seen Kid Gulliver many times and love their smooth tuneful delivery. Like Chelsea Curve a lot of the music has early punk influences that seep through. Listen to the first video below to catch some of their charm. David on guitar knows how to add the tasteful fill. Listen to the short octave intro at the very beginning of the third video below. He does similar things all the time. The bass player was so good we thought he might even have been Berklee taught but not the case, he’s self-taught.

They started with “I Love Your Hair” one of their early catchy tunes. “I Want to Be a Pop Star” was another pop delight. They ended with “Suzie Survived Chemotherapy” where they channel the Ramones to get a wining song. They had some new material that was quality stuff. The next album should be a strong one. They'll be at the International Pop Overthrow coming up on Nov 14 at the Union Tavern (formally PA’s Lounge). Here's their FB page.

State of the Union Photo: Blowfish

State of the Union has strong songs but they also want to crank things out. They have a Clash/Neighborhoods energy on stage and that’s a thing of beauty. We like to just ride that energy then the songs come though. Like “Man Overboard” and “Local Hometown Hero” and “Panflex Blue”

They began the set with “Bloodstains” by Agent Orange sung by Joey Moir the bass player. They also did the amazing one two punch of the The Neighborhoods “No Place Like Home” right into their own “Ring Me Up”. That is just killer.

They did some new songs that show that the next CD will be right in line with their last, Panaflex Blue, that has proved to be one of the best CD’s of these last few years.

Sandy Summer on drums always gets your attention. The kicks and rolls, half the time with windmill arms, are one of the reasons we love this group. Here's their Bandcamp page - you really should give them a listen if you haven't already!! And their FB page.

There should have been more people there but it was a night full of memorable material. There was a good feeling in the air too, in this very comfy club. We feel bad that Union Square is such a hell hole of construction that people may not want to even make the attempt to get there these days.

Once has been getting some higher profile acts that can fill up their bigger space. (Upcoming is Robert Gordon 11/21 and Flaming Groovies 10/25) That’s what happened on Friday with Mike Watt. Watt has a sterling reputation. He’s fiercely independent and is a model for indie musicians.

Minibeast Photo: Blowfish

Minibeast did what they did when they opened for Gang of Four which is basically wow the crowd. The whole place was riveted on the stage as Peter Prescott morphed from one character to another. He goes from a preacher to a town crier to a mad scientist as he gives warnings, adumbrations or crackpot theories. It’s fantastically oddball and entertaining. He often triggers sound clips. He also creates soundbites on stage and loops them.

Meanwhile that tremendous rhythm section creates a deep pulsating beat that is so encompassing that when it stops you almost feel like your own heart stopped too.

Mike Watt Photo: Blowfish

Mike Watt + the missingmen are a trio that gives you a good opportunity to hear Mike’s bass clearly and that’s what you want to do because he’s so fluent and creative. So much of the songs' character were in those baselines. He does every trick in the book and makes it look easy.

The music overall was very jerky. There were all sorts of changes and reversals that the trio had down pat. They are very much a three-person-who-plays-like-one phenomenon. There were lots of elements in the style of the music: there was a big dose of southern rock in there. It often brought Captain Beefheart to mind. The guitarist, Tom Watson, especially had the Beefheart sound down. He's played with Mike for 20 years.

Mike’s voice seemed to have a strong southern drawl. He's from Virginia. He had a charisma about him. Everyone was hanging on every word he said. Sadly, his voice was giving out and he had Watson sing some of the songs. We loved that Watt could draw this large audience and they were not disappointed.

There was a lot going on in Boston on Saturday. In addition there was the Lyres north of the city in Portland, ME and Unnatural Axe south of the city in Kingston, MA. We picked the closer commute to Kingston.

We’ve been to the club PINZ a few times before. it's an entertainment complex has a bowling alley, restaurant, bar and video arcade in addition to the stage. The stage is in a big cavernous space so the sound suffers some but the stage has a nice set up with lights galore.

The Woods Photo: Blowfish

The first band The Woods is from the South Shore. We caught just one song last time we saw them, which was here at PINZ. They had a hard and loud attack as a group and that made all the material work. Their secret weapon was lead singer Kevin Keene’s voice. He's often in yelling mode but he has a raspy tone that has character even doing that.

His guitar strap broke at the beginning of a long song ... and then the microphone dropped off the stand ... and he lost his pick, but he soldiered on. His composure was admirable!! For the rest of the night everyone was making broken strap jokes. During all his problems the drums and bass had it completely together. He could have just sung and they would have taken up the slack anyway. They have a website The Woods

The Straight Eights Photo: Blowfish

We’ve seen The Straight Eights at PINZ before, and once at Pete’s Grill with the Nervous Eaters. They have a hardcore sound with some metal in there. They have two guitarists ... two lead guitarists actually ... that keep things cranking. The songs have some simple riffs at the core and those riffs are very catchy too. One song had a riff that sounded somewhat like an Unnatural Axe one. That’s in the first video below. They are a very easy group to like. The on stage patter by the bass player was hysterical.

Unnatural Axe Photo: Blowfish

Unnatural Axe are looking and playing in top form these days. The show in Cambridge in July was super fun and this gig was a lot like it. The sound was diluted in the big PINZ space but the Axe did their thing and those songs cut through no matter what. They opened with “Summertime” off their first EP that the Dogmatics cover on their latest release. That song is having a second life.

The Axe have that thing that a lot of the original punk acts have ... the rush of recognition you get as they start a song with a riff that you heard a million times back in the day. Like the beginning of “Man I Don’t Want To Be”, you can’t buy that. It’s one of the perks ohavoing been there in the beginning.

They did two LePeste songs mid-set. It was one classic Boston punk band covering another classic Boston punk bank. That was cool. They ended up with “They Saved Hitler’s Brain” and finally “The Creeper”. Things work up to those songs ... and things went a bit crazy with Richie going bonkers. That’s the way it is at every Axe show.

We always marvel that in 2019 we can still see Lyres and Unnatural Axe and they give us that same kick we got in back in the day!! That's awesome...we are lucky here in Boston!!

And in other news.....

Mach Bell has released his new book Once a Rocker Always A Rocker, to the unsuspecting world this week. It’s a diary of this time with the Joe Perry Project, a time period from February 1982 to May of 1984. Even though it’s in diary form, most of the entries read like prose and tell full stories. Mach often relates things back to the Thundertrain days. So there are many references to the Rat and the 70s punk scene all the way through.

We found all the stories engaging and entertaining as he also dished out the details of the tours and rehearsals. One entry has Joe Perry rolling on the floor during a concert having a fit. The story of their Caracas, Venezuela concert is almost surrealistic. What Mach writes echoes what Joe Perry wrote about the same period in his auto bio called Rock: My Life Inside and Out of Aerosmith. All those guys in Aerosmith have nine lives each. Mach confirms that.

Mach's writing flows smoothly and makes for an easy read. He has scored with this one. Now we can add Mach to the list of Boston Rock based writers. That would make him number 20. How do we know that? Well, we made the list ourselves. Check it out our new Authors : Boston Rock page. We also include links to the books we have on our BGN Book Review

We got a cassette of the band Blasé Blue when we saw them at O’Brien’s this week on Monday. That was just 5 days ahead of Cassette Day Worldwide on Saturday Oct 12. It looks like this is just a small European thing with only a dozen stores involved.

But wait, there’s a cassette manufacturing slow down going on ... It’s always something!

The Damned have a four CD retrospective coming out: Black is the Night, The Definitive Anthology. “Black is the Night” is the only new song. You can read about the CD see the track listing and hear the song here on Brooklyn Vegan….

And 999, who are doing a US tour and playing everywhere but Boston this month GRRRRR, have a new anthology coming out as well on Gutterwail Records it's called The Sharpest Cuts. It will be available soon. It's an Amaerican release with "essentials tracks from 1993-2007 from albums only in Europe, plus two unreleased live recordings".

Los Angeles officially declared October 11, 2019 as X Day. There’s a city that knows how to celebrate their punk history. Read more here.

This follows up on part of our story of the movie Punk the Capitol – DC we saw at the Middle East. It turns out that the DC Library is celebrating 5 years of collecting music, posters and zines in their Punk Archive. OK, we’re going to leave it at that because when we get going on Boston not having an archive we’re hard to stop.

D.C.’s Punk Archive Celebrates 5 Years Of Collecting Music, Posters, And Zines Read it out here.

Mark you calendar for:

Thursday October 24 - Kenne Highland and Triple Thick do Roky Erikson tribute!!! At the Union Tavern.

Saturday Oct 26 - Fleshtones, Baabes, Muck & The Mires Glider at Once.

Tuesday Nov 5 - The Von Traps, Pretty Pleased (Chicago), Crunchtime at The Jungle- this is a FREE SHOW!!!

Friday November 15th - International Pop Overthrow Night 2 at Union Tavern....every performer this night is awesome - do not miss!!!!

Saturday November 23 - do you like The Monsieurs?? or Andy California?? are you titillated by Andy MacBain's antics on stage?? well check out Tunnel of Love cause that's where it all started my friends... Tunnel of Love etc at Hardcore Stadium Cambridge (more nelow in gig listings)

Here's some good shows coming up this week.....

October 16 (Wednesday) Louzy, Heavy Hands, Rusty Mullet, MELK at The Midway

October 16 (Wednesday) Randy Black & The Heathcroppers begin a Third Wednesday (of each month) residency at The Plough & Stars. 6-8PM

October 17 (Thursday) Robotic Hawks, Billy Connors Project, Spaces For Two at The Jungle

October 18 (Friday) Time and Place, The Knock Ups, Wolf Tape, Cook Bag at The Midway

October 18 (Friday) PowerSlut, Mint Green, The Only Humans, Baby Driver at The Worthen Attic Lowell.

October 18 (Friday) Marianne Toilet & The Runs, Corner Soul, Smitty E Smitty and the Feztones, The Melatonins are at Koto Salem.

October 19 (Saturday) A Crash Course for the Ravers has Richard Mirsky - 1-4PM WMFO 91.5 FM

October 19 (Saturday) Watts, Kid Gulliver, State of the Union at The Square Root

October 19 (Saturday) Avenir (French punk rock) at the News Cafe in Provi RI - check out their bandcamp page ..and here's the FB page for the show & tix etc!!!

October 19 (Saturday) Cactus Attack, Black Leather Lagoon, Tarantula Bros, Nick the Barbarian at Opus in salem

October 20 (Sunday) Stiff Little Fingers, The Avengers at Brighton Music Hall doors 7PM

October 20 (Sunday) The Vivian Girls are at Once

And further out there is.....

October 21 (Monday) Cherry Brat, Street Milk, The Wild Allegations at The Jungle

October 23 (Wednesday) Flipper with David Yow (Jesus Lizard) "40th Anniversary Show" at The MIddle East Down

October 23 (Wednesday) 999, The Clap, Vixen 77 at The Fire Philly PA FB Page

October 25 (Friday) Road Soldier, The Manglers, New American Good Time Boys at The Midway (night show)

October 25 (Friday) The "Scare" Root Halloween Show! with Justine's Black Threads, The Chelsea Curve, Little Billy Lost at the Square Root

October 25 (Friday) Flamin' Groovies, Richard Lloyd Group, Tiger Bomb at ONCE

October 25 (Friday) Nat Freedberg & No Brainer, Modern Day Idol, Oberon Rose at The Jungle

October 25 (Friday) 999, The Clap, the Parasitix, The Transmission Now at the Catasauqua American Legion 215 PA FB page

October 26 (Saturday) The Fleshtones, GLiDER, Muck & the Mires, Baabes at Once Ballroom

October 26 (Saturday) Pale Lips (MTL) with The Gala, Loretta, & Kathy Snax at O'Brien's

October 26 (Saturday) Stop Calling Me Frank, Dogmatics, New Frustrations, The Grommets at the New World TAvern Plymouth MA - FB page for info

October 26 (Saturday) 999, The Clap, The Bobby Lees, Blank Spots at Coney Island Baby in NYC FB page

October 28 (Monday) Cycling w/ The Melted Chapstixs at The Jungle 5-8PM

October 29 (Tuesday)999 & The Clap at Randy Now's Man Cave 134 Farnsworth Ave, Bordentown, New Jersey 08505 FB page

October 30 (Wednesday) Devil's NIght at O'Brien's with Babes of Mutilation (as the Pixies), Fury Things (Dinosaur Jr. tribute), The Knock Ups as Hole, Queers of the Stoned Age, Corner Soul as The Stooges

November 1 (Friday) Change Today (Joe Wood era TSOL), Covered In Bees & Tiger Bomb at Gino's in Portland ME FB Page

November 2 (Saturday) Shut Up (NJ), HIXX, The Guilloteenagers, A Bunch of Jerks at the Midway for a matinee show 3-7PM

November 2 (Saturday) Gene Dante & The Future Starlets, Cold Expectations (record release) and The Chelsea Curve! at Sally O'Brien's

November 2 (Saturday) Relapse, blindspot, Motel Black at the Middle east Up - 6PM show - all ages.

November 5 (Tuesday) The Von Traps, Pretty Pleased (Chicago), Crunchtime at The Jungle- this is a FREE SHOW!!!

November 5 (Saturday) Rock n Roll Trivia with Erin and Bret at the Citty Winery. FB page.

November 8 (Friday) Wolftape, Doug McDonald Band, Crunchtime, Thigh Scrapers at Pete's Grill Quincy FB page

November 8 (Friday) Muck & The Mires, The Gotham Rockets, Tiger Bomb, Gene Dante at Alchemy in Providence RI FB page.

November 9 (Saturday) Muck And The Mires, The Downbeat 5, and Gotham Rockets at Sally O'Brien's

November 9 (Saturday) Black Helicopter, Baabes, blindspot, Jakals at Opus in Salem

November 9 (Saturday) Change Today: Joe Wood era TSOL at Ralph's Rock Diner Worcester.

November 11 (Monday) Samiam, Moving Targets, F.U.s, Rocking Bob, and Far Above the Ground at Once - All ages - starts at 6PM- 10:30PM!! FB page for tix etc.

November 14 (Thursday) Halshug (from Denmark), Corrode, Skinned Alive, Skrawl at the Dorchester Art Project

November 14 (Thursday) International Pop Overthrow Night 1- Union Tavern- with Dave Rave, The Eric Barao Band, Trick Wallace Trio, Glowbox, V As In Victor, Stuck Stars

November 15 (Friday) International Pop Overthrow Night 2- Union Tavern- with Corin Ashley, Richie Parsons, Hummingbird Syndicate, Kid Gulliver, Kris Rodgers & The Dirty Gems, CrunchTime, 1.4.5.

November 16 (Saturday) Brian Young's a Crash Course for the Ravers is featuring Greg Allen's Fringe Religion. 1-4PM WMFO 91.5 FM at http://www.wmfo.org/popout_player.php?bitrate=256

November 16 (Saturday) International Pop Overthrow Night 3 at Union Tavern...with Arthur Nasson, Dave Charles, The Shellye Valauskas Experience, Michael Oliver & The Sacred Band, Tiger Bomb, The Amplifier Heads, The Brigands

November 16 (Saturday) DJ Easy Ed presents: The Hi-Risers, Goons (mems of Rocky Velvet), The Bop Thrills, + Easy Ed’s Record Hop! at The Midway (8PM)

November 21 (Thursday) Robert Gordon with special guest Chris Spedding and Diablogato at Once

November 23 (Saturday) A Crash Course For The Ravers featuring A Bunch Of Jerks 1-4PM WMFO 91.5

November 23 (Saturday) Tunnel of Love, Nice Guys, Feminine Aggression, Song Birds, Swettes at Hardcore Stadium Bishop Allenm Dr Central Sq Cambridge FB page

November 23 (Saturday) The Knock Ups, blindspot, Lonely Leesa & The Lost Cowboys at Sally O'Brien's

November 23 (Saturday) "Love The Bands" @ ONCE Featuring: Smitty E. Smitty & The Feztones, PowerSlut, Corner Soul, The Rupert Selection - Doors: 8:30PM, Music 9PM

November 24 (Sunday) Johnny Cab, Kermit's Finger, The Negans, Baabes, Bernie's Garage at The Midway 3-7 matinee

December 7 (Saturday) Triple B Records presents: American Hardcore Fest 2019 with Magnitude, Wild Side, One Step Closer, Restraining Order, Method of Doubt, Anxious, Big Mack, Field Agent- All Ages, $25Advance / $30Day of Show, *NOTE* 12:00PM Doors- this is an early show!! FB page.

December 14 (Saturday) Baabes, The Von Traps, The Hi-End, The Stigmatics at the Midway Matinee Show 3-7Pm

December 15 (Sunday) Thrash N Bang's 8th Annual Punk Pizza Party! with The Neighborhood Shit, Fast Times, The Ratz, The Hangovers at The Midway 3PM matinee - ony $5!!! and free pizza.

December 21 (Saturday) MOTO, The Thigh Scrapers, The Thirsty Pirates (NYC) , The Montgomerys at The Midway for a Matinee Show 3-7:30PM

December 21 (Saturday) Mother Iron Horse, Tied to a Bear, Von Traps, Skytigers at Opus in Sale

January 10 (Friday) The Mercy Case, Bystander, blindspot, Foxes at Koto Salem

January 18 (Saturday) Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, Muck and the Mires at The Middle East FB page and tickets

March 28 (Saturday) The Zulus at The Paradise

CONTACT US AT....misslynbgn@yahoo.com Send us your gig listings, your news and anything else ya got!! You want your CD reviewed?? Contact us for that too.

Witches With Dicks Photo: Blowfish

The Chelsea Curve Photo: Blowfish

Kid Gulliver Photo: Blowfish

State of the Union Photo: Blowfish

Unnatural Axe Photo: Blowfish

The Axe Photo: Blowfish

The Straight Eights Photo: Blowfish