Oh look, the year is about up already. Guess that means it is time to drop my fav releases of yet another messed up year.
The good news about 2021 is that I went to exactly one show, but it was a great show with amazing humans all around.
Anyways, I am busy as shit with the paying gig and that dad life, so I am going to try and keep things short and sweet this year. With any luck, I will add to this some content on why these hit me the most. To be continued I suppose.
Check out the albums in no particular order that caught my attention throughout the year:
BHP BEST OF 2021 LIST
Turnstyle – Glow On
Heart Attack Man – Thoughtz & Prayerz
Lars Fredericksen – To Victory
One Step Closer – This Place You know
Johnny Dynamite and the Bloodsuckers – Sleeveless
Kali Masi – [Laughs]
Haunt – Beautiful Distraction
Neighborhood Brats – Confines of Life
Shitty Neighbors – People I Know
Heart & Lung – Twistin’ The Knife Away
Joystick – I Can’t Take It Anymore
Descendents – 9th & Walnut
Jeff Rosenstock – SKA DREAM
Lucero – When You Found Me
Jonathan Richman – Want To Visit My Inner House?
Sincere Engineer – Bless My Psyche
Juice Newson – Suburban Soul
Needles//Pins – Self-Titled
Brain Cave – Log World
Section H8 – Welcome to the Nightmare
Fiddlehead – Between The Richness
Bands: Thanks for doing what you do.
Labels & Promoters: Thanks for helping out the bands to their thing and release their music be it physical or digital and for supporting them while trying to tour in these most uncertain times. Also, thanks for the consideration when pimping them out. I am a lucky guy for this opportunity.
Finally: Thanks to YOU (yes, you). If you are even looking at this. I struggle every year if I want to keep blogging, and honestly I figure if someone out there can take some time to log in and look, then I can at least try and do my thing.
For almost 20 minutes this evening I flashed back to one of my favorite concerts ever 12 years ago. I remember the line up vividly. It was The Gray Race Tour featuring Bad Religion with special guests Unwritten Law and Dance Hall Crashers at the infamous Cleveland Agora.
I was fresh out of high school, reckless, and an avid punk rocker. I went to the show with a big group of friends….we took our friend’s mom’s van that had the worst suspension ever. In fact we had to turn around on route 422 and swap the van out with another friend’s mom’s van.
One thing I recall about that show was there there were cameras all over the place, professional cameras. The cameras were on the balconies of the Agora as well as on the shoulders of cameramen. My friends and I got excited because we were going to be filmed during the performance. We hoped it would be released on VHS (that’s right kids, DVDs did not exist back then).
I owe that tour for introducing SoCal Surf/Skate punk rockers Unwritten Law to me. I am still a fan of them today. During their performance I noticed the cameras were not rolling so we all agreed that the camera were there only for Bad Religion.
When Bad Religion took stage we all went insane. I remember moshing and dancing and just acting like a complete fool. At times I was just falling on people and letting them push me around as I sang at the top of my lungs. I was being a carefree 19 year old and was loving every moment of it. For the record, I was sober too…I got carded when I tried to buy beers….haha.
As the years passed I slowly forgot about that show. Since none of us could ever hunt down that footage of the show we all figured it was lost. A few weeks ago one of my buddies who went to that show with me called me telling me he saw some footage of the show on YouTube. I was in disbelief yet thrilled that it surfaced. Well thanks to my busy like I completely forgot about that phone conversation until today when I logged onto YouTube and looked it up.
Sure enough, it’s Bad Religion at the Cleveland Agora 1996. It was a sold out show. My friends and I were front row slightly to the right of center stage. I laughed when I saw the pit because I know I was a part of it. I remember it so clearly and now you can see what I experienced…
It’s always a good feeling when you see someone you think you know from your past, walk up to them, introduce yourself, and immediately start reminiscing about something you did five years ago.
This happened to me the other night while I was outside a little café restaurant in Little Italy with my wife, her sister, and her sister’s boyfriend.I was sitting there chatting when I noticed the name of the café and immediately thought about the time I saw Bjork live with a group of newly found friends mainly because the one guy I went with to the show worked at the very restaurant I was sitting at called La Dolce Vita.
I thought for a second about the insane spur of the moment trip that four of us went on in 2003 to see Bjork play in Coney Island at KeySpan Park.I kept trying to think of the one guy’s name that worked at La Dolce Vita and finally figured it out…Gordo.A short while later I randomly glanced around the area just gathering in the beautiful scenery of Little Italy and a gentleman walked from the restaurant entryway and sat at the table next to us.
This guy looked very familiar to me but I started thinking that there was no way that this guy I went to the show with would still be working at this café 5 years later.I continued in our conversation and could see him looking at me with the same puzzled thought in his head telling him that he knew me from somewhere.
Finally I had enough and walked up to him, tapped him on the shoulder, and asked “Is your name Gordo?I think once upon a time ago you and I went on a crazy trip to see Bjork.” His response was a giant smile and he stood up and gave me a hug.We started talking about the crazy trip we took and how much fun it was.After our brief conversation we finished by saying we would meet up again sometime soon now that I knew were he worked still.
Driving home I started thinking about that trip we took.I never really reviewed shows back then and the more I got thinking about it I wanted to write a little something about my experience.Past entries here already subjected my love for the Icelandic wonder Bjork and I am happy to say that I saw her once live.
Bjork Live in Coney Island 08/23/2003
It was summer of 2003 and I was working for the coffee shop in a Borders Books & Music.During that summer I had made a new friend who also dug Bjork.One day I found out that Bjork and Sigur Ros were playing for two nights at Coney Island and that was about the closest she was coming to Cleveland.
Jokingly one day I told my new friend we should travel to Brooklyn, NY to see Bjork live since she was not coming to us and my friend agreed.I knew my friend was serious, so we discussed plans to make this really happen. Neither of just ever traveled afar to see a concert and the more we spoke about it, the more it became something we really wanted to do.
Bjork was playing two shows at KeySpan Park in Coney Island, one on Friday and one on Saturday.I was only able to make it to the Saturday show as I had tickets at the Radiohead show the Thursday before we were headed to Brooklyn.I also had to be back at Borders on Sunday night for inventory, no exceptions.This trip was going to be short lived and quick.We planned to leave Friday night and arriving to Coney Island sometime Saturday and opted to drive back home after the show.Based upon everything else that was going on, this was the only way it would work.
Within one week a car was rented, tickets were purchased, and myself, two girls, and the guy named Gordo packed into a Ford Taurus and drove though the night with just a printed out map to Coney Island.The drive was tedious through the late night, not to mention my first long road trip.We arrived luckily to Coney Island without getting lost but had a half of day to kill.Having never been to NYC we just stayed close to the venue, checked out the amusement park nearby, had lunch in the Brighton Beach area, and even took a nap in a nearby park.
With a couple more hours to kill we sat next to the rental car in the parking lot of the venue watching all of the people lining up to the sold out event.Some random guy asked us if he could pay to us to store his bag in our trunk as he had taken the subway to the venue and his hotel plans fell though.I told him as long as he met us immediately after the show I had no problem.My nice gesture paid off as he stated he was waiting in line right by the entrance way to the venue and took us there.We avoided the hour plus wait to get inside the baseball field turned concert venue.
Bjork Live in Coney Island 08/23/2003
Opening for Bjork and Sigur Ros was Bonnie Prince Billy.I had never heard of Bonnie Prince Billy and can not say after the performance I wanted to.It was a little too folksy for me and maybe it was I was just exhausted from the long day, but I just did not care for him.
Sigur Ros was amazing.Having heard some of their material before I was really psyched to see how they would pull off a live performance.Their music sounded on point and the band played on and the crowed listened in silence.Perhaps I was just to eager to see Bjork after waiting so long because s’ towards the end of Sigur Ros’ set I can remember me feeling like they would never leave the stage.
It was around 9:30pm when Bjork finally took stage.This long day finally paid off finally. The cute unique artist took stage wearing an interesting outfit as expected.
I was lucky enough to obtain floor tickets that were general admission so I was free to roam the grounds.I found a place that I could see the stage and hung out with Gordo as the girls squeezed their way up front.Gordo and I had the perfect view of the beautiful Bjork and had no reason to move.
Cheers erupted as Bjork and crew began their set with “Hunter”.Some people were singing along, some danced, and others like myself just stared with a happy smile on their face.Other tracks I enjoyed live was “Joga” and “All Is Full Of Love” and they seemed to sound even better live.I kept looking around telling myself that this was not a dream and that I actually drove all the way to NYC to see her. It was one heck of a feeling I had at that moment.
In between songs a soft spoken Bjork would give a simple “thank you” to the crowd. Many laughed at the cuteness of her voice. There were hardly any pauses in the set and when Bjork was not singing she was hopping around the stage dancing and having her own fun.
Bjork Live in Coney Island 08/23/2003
I experienced one of the greatest shows I have ever seen in my life.Adding to the perfect weathered outdoor feel were mild pyrotechnics during a couple of the tracks.At one time fireworks were being set off on the beach behind the field.It was just perfect.I loved every minute of it especially the part where I experienced Bjork live.As much as I wanted to attend both shows I feel grateful I was able to witness one of them.It was an experience I knew I would never forget.
Before I knew it she was exiting the stage after her encore closer of “Human Behaviour” and we filed out of the venue to our car.The guy who helped us cut in line was waiting at the car.We all spoke of the show and the girls ran up to us with tears of joy in their eyes.It was a great feeling we all had at that moment.We said goodbye to the man with the bag and hopped in the car.
Everyone was exhausted including me who already had driven all the way to Brooklyn earlier that day.I felt awake enough to drive the first leg of the trip.At first we all joyfully spoke of Bjork and the girls stated they made it to the front row.The excitement simmered down quick though and before I knew it everyone was asleep.Still feeling the show, I popped in a Bjork CD and continued to drive home.The two of us drove though the long night and finally we returned back to Ohio.It might have been the longest day of my life but I enjoyed every second of it.
Bjork’s Set:
01. Hunter
02. Unravel
03. I’ve Seen It All
04. Jóga
05. Aurora
06. Cocoon
07. All is full of love
08. Desired constellation
09. Generous Palm-Stroke
10. An Echo, A Stain
11. 5 Years
12. Pagan poetry
13. Bachelorette
14. Hyper-ballad
15. It’s In Our Hands
16. Pluto
Encore:
17. Flirting
18. Isobel
19. Human Behaviour
Recently I discovered some of the concert footage I attended was included in a DVD called Screaming Masterpiece. The following was found on YouTube and will give you just a little taste of that show I attended…
I researched the set for Sigur Ros just in case anyone was interested:
Sigur Ros’ Set:
01. New Intro/ Milano
02. Gong
03. Olsen Olsen
04. Viðrar Vel til Loftárása
05. Hafssól
06. Popplagið
07. Smáskífa
UK pop punkers Beat Union previously released Disconnected at the beginning of the summer, unknown to me. The band first grabbed my attention when I caught their live set at the Vans Warped Tour 2008 and much to my surprise, they are a first-class act. Their take on punk rock mixed with elements of new wave really was fun to listen to, not to mention their stage presence was outstanding. Disconnected is the band’s debut CD and was released under Science Records.
CD opener “Disconnected” started with a very catchy style that easily could be the next hit song to hit the airwaves. The song reminded me of what the Proclaimers or XTC might sound like if they were punkers. “Pressure Zone” followed with typical lyrics, a great bass line, and added horns making for a great listen.The very Elvis Costello like “My Heart Starts Beating” was likable and seemed to focus on the pop and strayed from the punk. “Dancing In Our Sleep” seemed to follow the same trend but suddenly erupted with a nice little “whoa” sing-a-long ending.
“Stay On The Line” has lyrics along with great guitar sounds that potentially may get stuck in your head as it stands out as the most likable track on the CD for me. It’s just one of those songs you start thinking about later after listening to it and suddenly the chorus is repeating in your mind. “She Is The Bullet” followed and with a monotonous beginning to the song thankfully erupted with energy.
“Can’t Stop The Radio” was my personal favorite track on the album. It was very suggestive of UK punk and new wave artists from the past and just sounded excellent all the way though. “Don’t Have Love” was another track I got a kick out of. There is even a secret dub-style remix of “Can’t Stop The Radio” that in my opinion blew away all of the other tracks. I almost wish the entire CD was dub inspired, regardless though, it was a good listen from beginning to end.
For a debut release, it sounds like these guys have been recording albums for years. Perhaps the solid sounds were tweaked out by producer/front man of Goldfinger, John Feldmann. Regardless, Beat Union has won me over as a fan seeing them live and also thanks to Disconnected.
I am really happy the band decided to travel overseas and introduce themselves to the US by playing here over the summer or I might have overlooked them. I am even more excited to hear they are going to be touring with Flogging Molly later this year which means a longer live set.This band has plenty of potential and seems to have ignored those who think they are just a fashioned mainstream band that will soon disappear. Even if they do replicate the English Beat or the Clash in a sense, the band has a great upbeat sound and I am really looking seeing more of them very soon.
. The following was found on 
is the band’s debut CD and was released under Science Records.