|
High Energy at the Brighton
The Brighton Bar provided another great lineup for the working class in a November show that saw punk rock alongside rockabilly and oi! music, with Speed Cazy, Niblick Henbane, The
Wretched Ones and Void Control.
In an especially crowded Brighton Bar, Long Branch was also filled with a night of great performances. First was Void Control, who offered up its brand of
punk rock -- the traditional kind, getting in your face and on your mind, with Void Control's melodies and message.
The evening's bands stayed true to their genres' tradition, as was the
case with Speed Crazy. Bassist Erica keeps rockabilly real with an upright bass. And, the growls and hollers that are part of a rockabilly crooner's repertoire, but are certainly hard to manage, were
easily triumphed by Speed Crazy, who share vocals between its three members. This was a further showcase of the band's presence.
In my mind, the highlights of Speed Crazy's set was
"Porque te vas," and a song that had its Brighton Bar debut, "Chicken-fried Valentine." The valentine gave a prime example of Speed Crazy's essence: clever lyrics, rockabilly
stock and twinges of punk and psychobilly. Plus, the song has drummer Auggie for its vocalist.
The vocals of Niblick Henbane, a band rooted in oi! and punk music, were anthematic. The
band's strengths don't stop there: its music is guitar-driven, and the chords made for an energetic set.
At this point, the Brighton Bar had a deep audience for headliner The Wretched
Ones. The band's set was absent of my favorite of the band's rallying calls, a song with this for a chorus: "Growing older, growing wiser, Budweiser."
Yet The Wretched Ones' devotion to fermented brew remained in other great songs. The band's performance was tight, but also high energy, and both these elements led to a visibly happy audience.
Scenesters should be happy to (continued on page 5)
|
