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Concert Review: Frank Turner – Outland On Liberty – Columbus, OH – 02/22/2012

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It’s a known fact:  If you speed, you risk a good chance of getting caught.  I can tell you this first hand seeing how I was speeding down I-71 Wednesday evening on my way to see Frank Turner in Columbus.  I was just outside of the state capitol cruising at about 80 m.p.h. not paying attention at all when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a state trooper shooting my car with his laser gun.  We made eye contact immediately after, and I knew I was screwed.

In a flash, the trooper was tailing my car down I-71 and the moment I switched lanes thinking that maybe, just maybe he would pull the guy over in front of me, he switched lanes again and turned his lights on.

Crap.

I knew I was speeding and was at fault, so I pulled over and waited for the trooper to approach my car and tell me what I already knew.  I tried to tell the state trooper that I was just cruising along and not paying attention to my speed because of how excited I was to be seeing Frank Turner at a venue in Columbus.  The trooper looked at me and asked who Frank Turner was.  I wanted to tell him all about one of my favorite musicians and persuade him to let me off the hook, but just told him that he was a punk rocker folk artist from England.  The trooper smiled at me and told me that he would be back in a moment with my ticket.

Shit.

So, my trip to Columbus from Akron cost me an extra $130 and I have no one to blame but myself.  Then again, if the trooper knew who Frank Turner was, maybe he would have shared his excitement with me and let me off.  After bidding the trooper a farewell, I jumped back on to the highway and made it to the Outland on Liberty.

Having never been to this venue before, I was not sure what to expect at all.  Hell, I had to ask a parking attendant where is was only to feel like a complete idiot when he pointed to the building directly across the street.  To be fair, it was my first time to the brewery district.

Outside, the Outland did not really resemble a venue at all.  Granted Turner’s tour bus was parked in front of it, I did not notice a sign for it nor did it look like your typical concert club.  There was also a Eiffel Tower metal-looking structure in a patio area that towered over everyone that stood out.  I was not sure what the significance was at all, perhaps a tribute.  Walking inside though, I had a completely different impression of the concert venue.  The place looked like what would happen if Austin Powers’ clubhouse turned into a goth club.  Crosses adored the walls and there was a giant tiered stage full of lights.  It was interesting and to be honest, I kind of dug it.

While asking myself if that stage was for real, I realized that there was in a completely different room that hosted the main stage.  Once I made my way to the stage area, I felt a little better about seeing Turner and crew play a normal stage and not a plexi-glass tiered stage, although that might have been awesome.

There were two opening acts and I will not lie,  I did not watch either of the openers as I was too preoccupied with catching up with some of my friends, new and old, who also were attending the show.  I will say though that I did hear one of the guys singing a song about Touchdown Jesus.  That is pretty bad ass if you ask me, but chances are if you are not from Ohio, you have no idea what that heck I am talking about.

Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls (his full band) took the stage around 10 p.m. to the adoring crowd.  Opening with “Eulogy” from the band’s latest release England Keep My Bones, Turner and crew put forth an amazing set.  Playing songs, old and new, the crowd sung along at the top of their lungs with each song.  It was not just a concert, it was a party, a gathering of friends all having a good time.  Following was “Try This At Home” and I could not help but get lost in the song.

Turner and crew continued on playing tracks such as “I Am Disappeared” as well as his tribute to home “Wessex Song”.  I liked how Turner told everyone that he could care less about songs about NYC and L.A. and wanted to pay tribute to where he grew up.  When he asked the crowd if anyone had ever been to England, a few hands rose, and when he asked if anyone was from England, a girl screamed in excitement that she was. I am sure she appreciated that song more than anyone else that night.

Not just keeping to material the fans knew, Turner played a couple brand new including “Cowboy Chords” and “Four Simple Words”.  The latter of the two was really fun to listen to.  Before he sung it, Turner told the crowd that he hoped one day that the crowd would break into a choreographed dance when he played it.  The crowd did their best to dance together, but it was no Broadway performance.

In between the new songs, Turner played “Dan’s Song” but let the crowd know that no one would be invited on stage to play the harmonica solo as he was afraid that there might be a few people who might get pissed that they were not chosen and punch him in the balls after the show.  Instead, he invited the entire crown to play the “air harmonica”.  Basically, everyone cupped their hands into an O shape and screamed whatever noise they wanted to in their hands.  It was no harmonica solo, but it did the job.

Although one of his more popular songs, I was still psyched to hear the band break into “The Road” and later “I Still Believe”.  I could not help but laugh though when they played “Glory Hallelujah”,  knowing that it was Ash Wednesday.

To end the night, Turner set down his acoustic and took the mic belting out Queen’s “Somebody To Love” while the rest of the band rocked out.  This cover was the perfect way to end the show.

It was kind of suiting that the set ended with a Queen song seeing how in the very first song played that night, Turner sang “not everyone can be Freddie Mercury”.  Did anyone else catch that?

Throughout that impressive cover, everyone went insane and naturally wanted more, so it was no surprise to see Turner return to the stage moments after everyone exited.

To barter with the crowd, Turner promised two more songs during the encore and then added one more .  Turner, sans the Sleeping Souls, played an awesome cover of Tom Petty’s “American Girl” and a lot of people could not help but sing along.  Following was the always fun “Ballad Of Me And My Friends.”

During the last song of the night, “Photosynthesis”, the rest of the band joined Turner  on stage and played along.

Frank piped up just before the last chorus of the song and let the crowd know how he felt about rock n roll and said, “I’m always disappointed when rock n roll turns out to be a bunch of fucking dickheads with a tour bus and a raised piece of flooring who show up and make noise with a bunch of fucking hits and just turn around and go home. And no one talks to anyone anymore and no one fucking interacts and it’s boring and pointless and not the kind of shit we are supposed to be doing with our time.”

He continued with, “rock and roll is and always is, and punk rock especially, was about a run for the people who are equals and who are friends, who don’t have a fucking barrier who are doing something together and something communal, something transcending, something necessary…”

Needless to say, the entire venue went ballistic.  His words may very well single handedly changed they way people look at rock n roll in Columbus.

He was not joking about what he said either.  Once the band finished up, they all hung out with the crowd that stuck around.  Turner actually took time to talk to each and every fan that approached him, allowed photographs, and even signed records, fliers, and even a 20-year-old polo shirt (that was odd if you ask me, but who am I to judge?).  I think the greatest thing though, was that Turner was sincere with each interaction and wholeheartedly smiled and his fans, shook their hands, and even gave out hugs.

When I finally had a moment to chat with him, I thanked him for coming back to Ohio and could not help but tell him about my speeding ticket.  He laughed and grabbed my record  and signed it “Keep Speeding”.  He also was quick to give me a hug after we finished talking and I accidentally head butted him.  I was quick to apologize and he laughed and said “it’s ok, I feel as if we are now closer…”

Star struck?  Not one bit.  The guy is just like you and I.  He is real and does not play out for the paycheck.  He appreciates his fans as much as they appreciate him and that, to me, is beyond admirable.

Wednesday night was a good night in my book, well, not the speeding ticket part, but spending time with with some cool people and listening to one of my favorite acts out there definitely was.

Set List:
Eulogy
Try This At Home
If I Ever Stray
Prufrock
I Am Disappeared
Lore, Ire and Song
Wessex Boy
Fastest Way Back Home
Cowboy Chords
Dan’s Song
Four Simple Words
The Road
Peggy Sang The Blues
One Foot Before The Other
Glory Hallelujah
Long Live The Queen
I Still Believe
Somebody To Love (Queen Cover)

Encore:
American Girl (Tom Petty Cover)
Ballad Of Me And My Friends
Photosynthesis

Cleveland, Interview, Music, Music Video, Psychobilly, Punk, Rock, Rockabilly

Interview: Vic Victor of the Koffin Kats

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Punk / psychobilly rockers Koffin Kats currently are kicking ass overseas.  The band, who recently released an all new full length album called Our Way & The Highway on Sailor’s Grave Records, has been touring non-stop in support of the release.  With plans on touring the states in the Spring, Koffin Kats show no intentions of slowing down at all.

I reviewed Our Way & The Highway last month and was beyond impressed with what I had heard.  I am really looking forward to seeing these guys live again sometime very soon.  Their mix of punk rock and psychobilly keeps things entertaining and fun.  They are a hard working group and skip all the bells and whistles and go straight for the kill when it comes to performing live.  They are a punk rock band.  This is what they do.

I had the chance to chat with Vic Victor, the band’s vocalist / stand up bassist this week.  While in Spain, Victor was more than happy to answer a few questions about the band and their recent release:

BHP: Our Way & The Highway rules. This might by my favorite release by you guys. How happy are you and the band with how it came out?

VV: Thanks! We are rather proud of this one… I’m very happy with the way the mix came out. Damn close to how I had originally heard the songs in my head while we were writing them. If not better.

What did you do differently this time around?

We sent the raw tracks out to be mixed by Rene De La Muerte from the Canadian Psychobilly band The Brains. In the past we have always just mixed in the studio with the engineer we were recording with.

Any reason for the delay in dropping a new album?  I thought hit was supposed to drop last year.

Originally we were going to put it out in November 2011, but we realised that it wasn’t enough time to properly promote it. Besides we were in no real hurry. This being the 7th release in 8 years of the band, I think we are putting albums out at a good pace.

So how’s Tommy Koffin doing these days? Do you still talk to him at all? It really does not seem like the band had any difficulties with getting Ian to speed. Am I correct in saying that?

He’s doing fine. We all still hang out whenever we are home. We were practicing the day Ian arrived from New Mexico. Really havent taken any breaks since his joining, so he’s going through the intensive training program. haha.

After initially listening to the new album, I realized you shared your vocal duties with Ian. Whose idea was that?

We have never done that prior and i thought it would be a good change up. Plus it makes the song “Choke” flow more natural between the verse and chorus by going back and forth with the vocals.

“For The Good Times” has what sounds like an empty bottle solo, did you guys dispose of those drinks properly?

Ah studio drinks. Yes those are necessary. Its good to keep the vibe a bit loose when recording.

I can not help but compare “The Devil Asked” to a Butthole Surfers song, maybe it was from the deep mono tone intro, but still, this song strayed away from the others. Was that the idea of this track?

Actually I had no idea how i was going to sing the verse part until the day I had to record the vocals. The night before, I was sitting at the bar and it came to me to do it almost Tom Waits style.

Do you have a favorite track off of Our Way & The Highway? I dig “Locket Of Sin” and “For The Good Times” the most on the album.

“The Bottle Called” has stuck with me as one I’m more proud of. It was the first track written for the album. It was actually released on split we did with 12 Step Rebels earlier in 2011. But that song right was the model for writing a lot of the tracks on Our Way & The Highway.

You guys tour a ton. When you have downtime, what do you do to make ends meet?

There are two reasons we tour so much. One being because we feel it’s necessary to get out there and push as hard as we can promoting the band with live shows. The other being that because we are gone so much, no job would have us back for only a few weeks at a time, so we have to stay on the road to pay the bills too.

Touring overseas has got to be amazing, but how does your upright bass take those trips? Have you had any casualties with your standup or any other equipment for that matter?

We have fried a few pedals and tuners with the power difference haha. I shipped my first upright over for the first Euro tour and it lived there until a few tours ago when I sold it to a band after it was just too beat up to play anymore. Then my current upright was one left over there by The Quakes. Two days after I got it the neck broke due to it falling over. Not an easy quick fix, but I seem to have developed a talent for rough road fixes on uprights. Its still holding strong on this current tour.

So if you had your choose, what bands would you want to tour with alive or dead?

Alice Cooper for sure. He’s not dead yet so maybe that can happen haha. I’d also like to do a tour with Bad Religion.

That would be insane.  Who are some of your favorite bands you have toured with in the past?

We have been very lucky to hit the road with bands we have looked up to like Nekromantix, Long Tall Texans, The Meteors, & Mad Sin.

What is the response from folk who have never heard or seen you guys live before?

They are usually not sure what the hell just happened but they are usually happy hahah. The upright bass really grabs ones attention when they are not familiar with it and what can be done with it. Gained a good amount of following outside of the psychobilly world because we play all over the place for crowds who sometimes don’t know of anything related to psychobilly but dig that we are loud and fast.

How do you describe your sound to someone who has never heard of you?

Its easy. I always say punk rock with an upright bass. The hard part comes if you get asked what kind of punk rock? Then I say… you really should just listen to one of our records.

That’s the best way to check anyone out.  So, what made you all jump onto the Sailor Grave Records roster?

They have put out some great bands albums in the past and we were looking for a label that we thought could help promote us better. For the first time, we are very happy with the way a label has worked with us.

That’s great to hear.  Seeing that 2012 has just started, what plans do the Koffin Kats have before the world ends…?

If the world does end at any point this year… we will be on tour when it happens. We are pushing to hit the 250+ show mark this year. Last year was around 230.

That is impressive!  Anything you would like to say?

Just want to thank everyone who has been spreading the word of this new record and we will continue to tour and hope to see ya out at a show.

One last thing, when are you guys coming to Cleveland?

Well see ya in the spring and in the fall.

The Koffin Kats are currently on tour and will be hitting up the states in the Spring. Visit the Koffin Kats’ website for more tour information.

Music, Music News, Punk, Rock, The Awesome

Good Riddance To Play Again!

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5 years ago, a punk band I had grown up with played their final show.  They called it quits to do their own thing, raise their families, and just live lives with the intention of being done forever (hence the final show). 

 As bummed as I was then, I respected Good Riddance‘s decision. Their final show was recorded  in 2007 and the band released it.  To this day, Remain In Memory – The Final Show is an album I still listen to on a regular basis.  It is just that good.

Today, I was on their website GRpunk.com killing some time and saw this:

After nearly five years, Good Riddance has decided to perform as a band again. The number of shows, when and where and all the other specifics have yet to be determined but for those of us who really missed the songs and those of you who maybe never got to see the band play, there will be Good Riddance shows in 2012 and perhaps beyond.

This is awesome. 

Music, Music News, Pop, Punk, Rock

Ex-Suicide Machines Frontman Jay Navarro Continues With Break Anchor

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I used to love the Suicide Machines and I am sure a lot of you out there did too.  I was stoked to learn today that Jay Navarro has decided to try his luck at a new band called Break Anchor.  Sure, the Suicide Machines have played a couple of shows here and there since their 2006 break-up, but nothing has been released and there really have not been any talks about new material.

Break Anchor is straight up blue collar punk rock out of Detroit.  I’ve only heard one song so far and am really looking forward to their debut.

Streaming on AOL Spinner is the song I speak of, “A Failure of Epic Proportions.” The song will be featured on Break Anchor’s first release, a three-track, 7” vinyl EP called Blackhearts and Blackouts.  I need me a copy of this in my collection.  The artwork alone is killer!

Navarro had this to say about why he started a new band as well as what happened with the Suicide Machines.

“People don’t really know the whole story of the end of the Suicide Machines…in short, I had decided to either to call it quits or just play shows once and awhile. I wanted to get a job and raise my children.”

“Things just ended up badly between Dan and myself. Six years have passed since then. A job with medical insurance and a 401k, not a ton of money but steady scraping by. The American Dream, right? It’s a brutal job working in a 10 below freezer, lifting heavy ass cases 60 hours a week. I come home tired and sore as fuck like most blue collar people. My high school education doesn’t qualify me for much. But then again I work with plenty of guys with college degrees and amazing credentials who can’t score a job. Now they can’t pay back their student loans and many of my friends and their families have lost their homes to banks. Some are just squatting till the police kick them and their children out. Michigan is at its worst. Like many, i’m so tired when I come home from work I want nothing to do with my wife or kids. Which was the whole reason I quit touring in the first place. I’m so sore I can’t sleep, so I drink and pop pills. I wake up in pain. I’ve watched, as i’m sure many of you have, the corporations rule and control the world…our system has completely failed us. I feel I have failed my kids, my wife, and myself. I have failed all those who have believed in me. American Dream? This isn’t living. So one drunken, frustrating night I wrote this song. It’s not a song about feeling sorry for myself or anyone, and it’s not an apology. It’s just me saying, ‘You know what world?….with my last dying breath, I will spit Hell at thee.'”

Look for the 7″ release by Break Anchor to drop March 20th on Paper + Plastick Records.

00's, Cleveland, Emo, Indie, Music, Music Video, New Release, Punk, Review, Rock

Album Review: The Jealous Sound – A Gentle Reminder

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About three years ago, LA’s The Jealous Sound posted “there is hope for us….” on their MySpace page.  It was a subtle hint to their fans that they would be still working as a band after constant rumors of  the band breaking up and with no real material being released in years.  Later that summer, The Jealous Sound kept their word  to the fans and announced that the indie rock band would be touring with Sunny Day Real Estate on their reunion tour.  A couple more years would pass before anyone heard if The Jealous Sound would be dropping new material and finally in October of 2011, the band announced an all new album would be dropping in 2012.  A Gentle Reminder would be the bands first full length release in almost 9 years.

The album was well overdue, but is absolutely incredible to listen to and was made possible by the band being refueled after touring with Sunny Day Real Estate back in 2009.  Once that tour wrapped up, The Jealous Sound kept putting ideas together that would mold into A Gentle Reminder.   With the addition of a new bassist, the band still grasped onto their 90s post-rock sound influences that really helped define their sound.

What’s more impressive about this release is that it does not sound much askew from their 2003 release Kill Them With Kindness.  The emo-y pop rock sounds that this band put out turned heads back then and easily will now.

“Beautiful Morning” opened the album off with no hints of a 9 year break between albums.  Blair Shehan’s vocals are the same emo-y / indie sound I was expecting and it was more than welcome to my years.  This was a strong opening track with choice vocals that almost seem as Shahen was hiding personal thoughts in them “We all get by when we have to.  We all can change when it’s time to change and I think I know what they’re after” clearly was directed to the fans.

The following track, “Change You”, just continued to impress.  This chill yet slightly haunting track sounded almost as if it were too good to be a Jealous Sound song, but then again the band did have a few years worth of time on their hands to write it.  “Your Eyes Were Shining” easily was my favorite cut off the album with catchy guitar playing behind Shehan flowing smoothly.

“Here Comes The Ride” was a slow, emo-y track that seemed to put the breaks on things until “Equilibrium” rejuvenated things instantly.  The energy in this track was worth the earlier lull.  I love how the band just seems to completely let loose on this track.  It was a fun surprise to listen to.  “Perfect Timing” really needs some radio play.  I have the feeling people will really get a kick out of that song.  The title track “A Gentle Reminder” took a couple steps back for a moment but soon Shehan was quick to jump back towards the microphone and belt out some great singing.

I will admit, I thought that The Jealous Sound was done for years back and I was ok with it.  I will say though that I am beyond stoked that they decided to give it a shot again as a band and dropped A Gentle Reminder. Not trying to compare them to a Neutral Milk Hotel thinking style, but I am kind of glad this band took its time releasing an album and more so am thrilled they recorded it because they wanted to and not because they had to.  The hiatus may have not been what many fans were hoping for, but the return should be all that more rewarding for anyone who calls themselves a band and the payout, this album, was something far worth waiting for.

The Jealous Sound is currently touring in support of A Gentle Reminder and will be making a stop in Cleveland on February 17th.  You would have to be a damned fool to miss out on this show.  It is going to be that show that everyone talks about for the rest of this year.