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Avail,
Ann Beretta, Strike Anywhere This was a Richmond, VA show only! No Yankees allowed! Well not really, but the southern punk-rock influence was in full gear as these three Richmond bands played the first date of a mini-tour of the Southeast. The crowd, which often makes the show, very much fit the sound, a cross between hessian and punkers. Imagine if you saw all these people at a convention, but didn't know what for, you might mistakenly think it was a truckers or wrestling convention of some sort. First up was Strike Anywhere (No Idea Records), who were pretty much awesome. Listening to them you were reminded of a number of different groups (i.e.- BoySetsFire or Lifetime), but they had a sound that was all their own. The crowd was into them and there were a lot of pointing fingers to the sky. The guitarists developed a very nice use of muting (the best in all punk rock sounds) and octaves. The singer had a number of techniques and consistently threw his dreads around; very much into the music. The only contention that I had with them is that they spewed some political stuff and often I am not convinced about how genuine they are or the level of understanding of the topic. (As a side note, I have to rescind my meta-review of Strike Anywhere with the HotWaterMusic show. Instead, I would have liked to say the things discussed above.) Quickly after Strike Anywhere was Ann Beretta (Lookout Records), the 3-member punk unit from Richmond. They have spent many months touring with Avail and that has definitely rubbed off on them. They sound like Avail's really cool sibling. After seeing them several times before, Ann Beretta have become much, much better. Most importantly, they are better at filling out their sound with only the three guys; thus, they are able to sound like a four- or five-piece. The crowd of hessians truly were jazzed on them. Finally, the all-mighty Avail (Fat Wreck Chords) took the stage in all their bad-assness. For me this was test of my concert-going stamina. If I had a bad time at this show, as some previous ones, then I knew that I was in trouble for good. However, I should have known that Avail would not let me down. They played songs from all five records and were able to satisfy any fan, including aging hipsters. Starting out with "On the Nod" from Dixie and ending with "Over of the James" from Over the James, they truly ran the gambit of songs. You could tell that they were having a good time and were hyped on playing in Dixieland with a group of punks and hessians. Stage-diving kids added that nice personal touch, giving you a more youthful angle to the show. Two of the best parts of the show was when Beau brought a giant (like 4' by 5') foam hand giving the metal sign/sign of the beast/UT football sign and when he wore a Jason-hockey mask during a song. Badassness all around; "let there be badassness…" chipped Avail. Highlights
of the show: Not being knocked unconscious by smoke from all the
hessians. Beau's bag of tricks. Realizing that this band of anywhere
striking truly rocked out hard. Wanting to kick the shit of this
"punk rock girls;" not the spike hair ones, but the
more stylish scenesters; and they were truly scenesters as they
had no interest in watching the show only talking loudly and being
stupid. (Word of advice to scenester punk-rock girls: Going to
shows is really about the music, particularly with Avail, so don't
just go to be seen, or the Skyler might hurt you.)
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