Observations, Musings, and Lessons Learned mostly in the world of Punk, Ska, Alternative, Metal, and just plain Rock and Roll. Music with guitars…mostly
This week, a couple more of my top 5 must sees for Riot Fest. And my #1 must see (there are a couple #1s) at Riot Fest. Getting back to our wheelhouse after the oddities of Die Antwoord and The HU. The man that fronted one of the most influential punk/post-punk band to a couple that are going now.
Bob Mould is a bucketlist see for me. Husker Du was one of my favorites. And their album Flip Your Wig is one of my top 20 albums of all time. Bob Mould fronted them and with their drummer, Grant Hart, dying a few years ago this is the closest I can ever get to seeing Husker Du. But Bob Mould did a lot more. His solo stuff and his band Sugar were all over ‘HFS in the 90s, and it’s good. The setlist he’s played recently includes all of it. And the band he’s put together is a three piece a la Husker Du. They rock like any punk three piece needs to. And his current drummer? From Superchunk (“Slack Motherf….er” and “Skip Steps 1 and 3”); another fave that I saw at Coachella most recently (a banner day also included Frank Turner, Toy Dolls, and Motorhead). Bob Mould has a new album out and is doing a solo tour but I hope he brings his band and plays some Husker Du.
They scared me the first time I heard them. And was
more scared after seeing the videos. The
HU are from Mongolia, ride Harleys, play traditional Mongolian
instruments that have been plugged in, and sing about Ghengis Khan.
Whaaaat? They only have a couple of songs available and have their debut
album scheduled to drop just before Riot Fest. So the sample size is
small. But, like above, just watch and figure it out. And try to
tell me they would be boring.
I don’t know how to describe Die
Antwoord. Maybe just go straight to the videos and see
yourself. Are they hip hop? rap? EMD? Punk? I don’t
think any label works. They’re a duo from South Africa. That
already is different. One’s a model and one goes by the name
“Ninja”. There are conflicting accounts of whether they are a couple, but
the do have a kid together. This could be a Ministry-like set of WTF is
that let’s get out of here. Or if could be a Slaves-like wtf. Just
watch them and try to tell me they wouldn’t be interesting.
Going forward, rather than one long post on Wednesdays I wll try to post smaller previews each day Tues, Weds, and Thurs. Same stuff, just hopefully easier to digest.
This week we’ve got an eclectic mix for Riot Fest. Some Riot Grrrl punks and a couple of international acts that defy any categorization (but I will try). But these are all acts that could scare you, but are so different that they have to be seen. Certainly a couple of my top 5 must sees.
Bikini Kill are groundbreakers. They carried along the Joan Jett attitude that girls could rock. Certaily soon to be a favorite of KJ. They’re kinda the poster child of the Riot Grrrl movement of women fronted punk bands. But don’t compare Potty Mouth to them (link; at 17:10). Bikini Kill are from Olympia, WA and formed in the early 90s. Ian Mackaye of Fugazi and Minor Threat fame produced their first album, which alone legitimized them. But they rocked regardless. They broke up just years later but their legend continued. They recently reformed with a new guitarist as an all female foursome. As usual, Riot Fest hosts a big reunion (Jawbreaker, Replacements, Misfits) and they are as big as any just by who they influenced.
We’ve got about 13 weeks until Riot Fest, and there’s a lot of music to catch up on. We’re kicking it off with our bread and butter, punk. Here’re three punk bands, one old school, one not quite as old but super influential, and one carrying the banner now.
The Descendents deserve to be in the shotgun spot for the countdown. They perfectly segue from Surf City Blitz to Riot Fest (and would be a shoe-in for the next SCB). We saw them at Coachella 2013 and they were excellent. They’re from SoCal and formed in the late 70s/early 80s akin to Bad Religion and Social D and The Offspring. And they have a freaking genius with a PHD for a lead singer…like The Offspring and Bad Relgion. The Descendents have followed an interesting path going on hiatus numerous times, usually because Milo, their singer, wants to be a scientist (he even worked for DuPont at one point). Their drummer even played with Henry Rollins in Black Flag for a while. And the band absent Milo formed the band “All”. These guys are called out as one of the firsts that brought melody to punk. As usual with Riot Fest, there are a number of bands that influenced the rest of the lineup. You’d be hard pressed to find a band that influenced more of the rest of the lineup than the Decendents (Patti Smith indirectly as an exception). Gotta be super stoked to see them. One of my top 5 must sees at Riot Fest. If you can, check out the documentary “Filmage” about them (streaming free on Tubitv.com). Good stuff.
Cock Sparrer are old school punk. They’ve been around since the seventies. And most of their lineup are originals, which is super impressive considering their age. Widely considered “Oi Punk” (with chants of “Oi, Oi, Oi!!) along with our friends from UK Subs. I’m really looking forward to seeing one of the acts that helped kick start a lot of music we’ll see at Riot Fest. One of my top 5 must sees at Riot Fest. Hoping for an aftershow.
While they’ve been around for 20+ years, it seems like Anti-Flag is carrying the mantle for the politically charged hardcore punk acts of today. Kinda like Bad Religion with an even harder edge. I’m a little embarrassed to say that I am late to the Anti-Flag party. They are the next generation’s Dead Kennedys (without the shock factor). From Pittsburgh and they definitely feel like an East Coast hardcore band contrasting the West Coast punk of our Surf City Blitz friends. One of my top 5 must see acts at Riot Fest.
