Zakk Jones -
February 5, 2005The Pound, San Francisco -- It was easy understand why breathing room was so hard to come by at The PoundSF Saturday night. Headlined by two of the most popular bands on the East Bay’s local circuit, the evening packed the hidden-away venue the way many national acts should but often fail to.
3 Hrs. Old got the ball rolling, playing their radio-ready modern rock to an already large and willing crowd. The Antioch alt-rockers wandered through pretty much familiar territory, dropping hints of Staind and other hitmakers with slightly more tempered aggression. While their sound was a little too commercial and stale, their stage presence was never in much doubt. Quite clearly accustomed to live settings, the quartet maintained peak mobility onstage as singer Billy Wilkenson kept the crowd nice and warm between songs. 3 Hrs. Old did, however, perhaps dangerously push the cover quota a little too far. Their renditions of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” and the Neil Young barnstormer “Rockin’ in the Free World” were plenty well-executed, but for a 30-minute set, one tribute was more than enough.
5 Days Dirty |
Three-piece punk outfit 5 Days Dirty took the reins next, diving headlong into their set of cheerfully simple three-chord ditties. In true skater fashion, the songs were short, catchy and basic, drawing on the infectious formulas that to this day prompt kids to pick up guitars and start playing in bands with little regard for technical ability.
Punk might be somewhat obsolete in this reviewer’s opinion, but that needn’t make it irrelevant. The fact that 5DD were able to conjure up some of the biggest mosh pits and most life-endangering stage dives of the night is evidence enough of that. This sort of music is hard to screw up, but when a band gets it right, as 5 Days Dirty did, do they ever. Be that as it may, the band capped off its set with a nod to RU36, replete with tight double-bass, palm-muted riffs and the lyric “join them or die,” as if to prove a point.
If there’s one thing you can count on when attending a Savage Productions show, it’s a diverse lineup; diverse sometimes to a fault. Although this wasn’t the case Saturday night, compared to the other bands on the bill, The Kehoe Nation were in another genre entirely. Led by the bearded, pot-bellied, cowboy hatted, Fender Telecaster-slinging Bryan
Hillbilly man Bryan Kehoe and The Kehoe Nation |
Kehoe, The Nation play a country-inflected fusion of rockabilly, polka and heavy metal, which hardly works as a description but will have to do for now. Kehoe himself is almost a one-man show, dancing like a moonshine-addled mine worker while he deftly plays both rhythm and lead guitar with ample virtuosity, able to channel Stevie Ray Vaughn and Yngwie Malmsteen in the same breath.
The remainder of the lineup, consisting of upright bassist Amir Zitro and a drum section that includes a full set of orchestral percussion, combine to forge a sound that is bound to get these guys noticed, if not notorious. Catch them if you can.
Now, bands gather followings for a lot of reasons; some good, some not so much. In the case of the Porno Pandas, one of the biggest draws making the rounds these days, it seems as though the band’s popularity is mostly a side-effect of being friends with most of the people who come to their shows. Sorry, but I just don’t get it.
Maybe I’m spoiled, but after growing up with the likes of Dixie Dregs, Racer X, Black Light Syndrome and Liquid Tension Experiment (whom the Pandas cite as an influence, curiously enough), I tend to expect a certain amount of technical mastery from instrumental groups. That’s not exactly a fair comparison, though, because the Porno Pandas aren’t bad, just a little out of their depth. Very few mere mortals can stand toe-to-toe with the likes of John Petrucci, Steve Morse or Terry Bozzio, and judging by their style, the Pandas certainly don’t seem to have designs on aiming that high this soon.
Aside from that, however, the Porno Pandas struck me as decidedly average, something their rabid fan base would not entail. The musicianship is fine, but the songwriting could use a serious once-over, and the addition of a capable vocalist would greatly help matters as well. Despite all that’s been said before, these guys are young, and it’s way too early to count them out.
Men of the hour: RU36 |
RU36 shows, I had been told prior to Saturday’s gig at The Pound, are the stuff of legend – rambunctious mosh pits, multiple fights, spilling of bodily fluids, nudity, etc. While such tales may have been exaggerated, at least two of the aforementioned took place during the duo’s set, and a quick scan of the premises didn’t reveal anyone getting punched or puked on, so use your imagination.
These guys are not a “band” per se, as I’m relatively certain that a “band” is considered to be made up of three or more people. That doesn’t, however, detract from the effectiveness of RU36’s pseudo-industrial punk-metal attack. Guitarist Aaron Johnson and bassist Jason McFarland are more than capable of cooking up heavy, complex riffs despite their reputation as a “joke” act made up of two guys with a drum machine. They nevertheless capitalized on that legacy by having a person dressed up as a giant phallus work the electronics and samples during their set, which went for over an hour long. The lack of a live drummer amazingly doesn’t lessen the overall impact, and may in fact add to it, as RU36 cleverly work in smooth breakbeats to balance out the near-constant thrash metal rhythms.
If only through their lyrics alone, RU36 make it clear that they’re not in this to reap adulation from the masses. Riddled with profanities and scatological humor, RU36’s songs already have “banned in the UK” written all over them, but only the most prudish could ever take this stuff seriously, and I sure as hell don’t envy anyone who would.
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| TroyAxe - 2/12/2005 9:56:19 PM
The whole idea of a review is to get the author's opinion. That made no sense dude! | | porngoat - 2/10/2005 8:32:20 PM
ok!!! Obviously i have to show my ugly face again (and i'm waitin for that guy who threatened me) but i will contain myself and not be so brutally honest!! First off, 3HO, those guys had a great stage presence, yeah but it was more than that. they had a groove that got everyone in the mood for more. 5 days dirty, though i wasn't in to it, a lot of others were! People went nuts for them, Keep it up Guys! Kehoe Nation, finally a band u got! They were different but even with their strange sound, we all loved it and welcomed it. I would love to see them again! Porno Pandas... 200 friends... u know i wish every band was that way. spoiled? no, you just plain don't get it! These guys are thankful for every fan they have and they show it. They do a lot of promotion themselves so they meet a lot of the people, so they remember who they talked to! And since you feel like a spoiled brat!, i'll lay it out for, THEY ARE MAKING LYRICS FOR THE SONGS!!! they have lyrics for five songs and working on more. only two were ready for the show. RU36, I didn't see much of their set b/c of ride issues, sry guys but thanks for playin "Wreckin Crew" that brought back memories. The pit wasn't as crazy as i remember from years back but they still have die hard fans!
Now here is some advise for you. Get up on stage with the knowledge that this is the biggest show of your life and knowing you must deliver. these bands did something that most people will never do and that is impress a crowd of over 500 people and walked off the stage proud and full of adrenaline, an amazing feat.
hopefully i will not be doing this in the future and will be supporting u as a writer in the future. i'm not saying that every show is great, but the crowd was reacting in a positive way and here is a negative review, go by the crowd and the sound and not your personal opinion, because people look to this to see if they want to see the bands... maybe thats why powerslave was shut down for so long... | | ruthirtysix - 2/10/2005 1:06:35 AM
Thanks for thaking the time to come out and support our show. The review is straight forward and very well writen. No sugar coating or bull shit and free of political bias. We appretiate the work you guys put in to unify the scene and help it grow stronger, I hope more people can see and learn from your example that its about cooperation not competition. That we on the underground have to work to gether to help each other get heard so the whole scene grows and we all benefit. Thanks again. m/ |
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