We made many new friends at Fest this year, but it’s kinda hard not to. The week of Fest, we had some crew cancel and we were scrambling to find some replacements. I had just found this cool new video blog called Vinyl Vlog and contacted these guys Josh and Ken to see if they’d like to help us film. They absolutely saved our asses and we’ve inducted them into the NU Family. Just to get you caught up, here’s the first episode from our brothers in arms at Vinyl Vlog featuring a very nice interview from Chuck Ragan. All you fellow Record Nerds out there are gonna love this shit!
Brendan Kelly – Video Interview (The Fest 7)
http://www.divshare.com/flash/video2?myId=5802361-294
In preparation for Gainesville’s Favorite Holiday, we wanted to get our users more involved in what we love to do here at National Underground. It was decided a contest to vie for an opportunity to interview Brendan Kelly would only be appropriate, over beers of course. We asked users to come up with interesting questions, and the Bad Sandwich himself would pick the winner.
18-year-old Kyle Krische had the opportunity to ask Brendan about fatherhood, touring, the writing process, and the secret behind the liner notes of The Greatest Story Every Told. Enjoy!
Avail – Full Set (The Fest 6)
So after years of not really touring anymore, Avail will just show up and destroy the place. While not technically proficient at times, not many shows this big turn out to be this amazing. And if you’re wondering, yes, this is the set that Beau jumps off the Front of House cabinets (about 15 feet) out into the crowd.
Review: Off With Their Heads – From The Bottom
I’ll get to the point and talk about these Off With Their Heads songs I’ve been banging on about.
The first track, “I Am You,” charges out of the speakers in a steady barrage. The manifesto for the rest of the album is set out in the first lines, “If you really want to hear…” as if said as a warning, before it all comes pouring out. He’s not happy, not very happy at all. And neither are we apparently, we all loathe ourselves whether we know it or not, a sentiment I can partly agree with.
Forget the lyrics for a second though, and you’ve got the perfect song for dancing around with a big ugly grin on your face, your arm ’round your mate, singing along, spilling beer all over yourself, getting concerned looks from your girlfriend who’s now standing in the corner.
Next up, “Wrong,” with it’s Clash-like simple rocking chord progressions, chugs along, carrying with it a huge anthemic chorus. The downbeat, melancholy lyrics here, such as, “Sit back and let me tell you about the sadness … trying to destroy me,” couldn’t contrast the bounce and energy of the music more, yet it works surprisingly well.
“1612 Havenhurst” doesn’t fanny around, one short phrase and then it’s off at breakneck speed. The song is a beast, one of my favourites, and the last part is a real sing-along gem. Then again, most of the album is prime sing-along stuff.
“Go On Git Now” slows things down for that all important breather 1/3 of the way through an album. A real anthem, this would be perfect towards the end of a raucous set, where pace is no longer an issue, and the power and drive in the song controls everything. The closing part of this song I feel for the drum kit as it receives a really solid beating. The lyrics here hit a bit deeper however: “I don’t even feel like it’s worth it to start over again.” This declaration of resigned reflection is surprisingly poignant.
Track five, “Until The Day” is, again, a huge anthem of a song. (How many times can I say “anthem” in one review?) It’s a stand out track in an album of quality songs. The lead guitar in the opening makes me think of early Pulley (which it really sounds nothing like) and early Tony Hawk games. Perhaps here is an insight into my boringly mis-spent youth.
The fucking massive chorus is put off so that when it finally hits, it hits hard and direct. The vocal melody in this chorus has a simplistic quality that latches on to your brain like a leech in the jungle, dropping off after staying far too long, leaving a purple, bloody patch. But what sticks out here from the lyrics is the small element of positivity! “All of a sudden I can finally see, what’s been right in front of me, and I’m gonna do something about it!” Even if that something is to make someone else feel very miserable.
“Keep Falling Down” continues the lyrical themes of despair and frustration, but also brings in acceptance, and it makes me really want to give this guy a hug. Don’t despair mate! You write some cracking songs! The almost sombre vocals in the chorus reminds me of “To The Sea” by American Steel in its integration of wistful melancholy into pacey, aggressive music.
“Terrorist Attack” is the best song I’ve ever heard that only uses one chord. A bass and drums introduction builds the foundations for the big fuck-off steamroller that’s gathering steam and heading right for us. “Don’t fucking believe everything that you read, don’t trust everything that you see on TV. Subscriptions and ratings are all that they need.”
It’s a break from the misery and self-directed fury of the first half of the album, short and very sharp. I particularly like the guttural vocal harmonising of the low notes.
“Self Checkout” reminds me in many ways of Goddamnit-era Alkaline Trio. It’s the punk side of pop-punk, with the lyrical direction of the first half of the song dealing with themes of madness, self-loathing and generally being a bit fucked up. The tenderness of lines such as, “Did you get a chance to read the letter I sent to you? Or did you throw it away cause of everything I put you through,” jump out and are really quite affecting. This I actually find to be a really sad and stirring song. Into the second half of the song some purpose is found, and the repeated phrase of “It was all just a dream, and it’s time to come clean, and it’s time to move on, no matter how hard it seems” really hits home in a goosebumps and spine tingles way that brings to mind the power held in so many Bouncing Souls songs. A definite album highlight.
“Fuck This I’m Out” is another slightly slower-paced number that delivers a sentiment, which I’m sure will strike a chord with many, of being truly fed up with the place you’re in and desperate to leave it all behind and make a fresh start. This can be taken geographically and metaphorically, and again displays a dark shadow in Ryan’s life. “I might as well just kill myself tonight, I don’t want to, but I don’t see any other way” looks hollow on the page, but in song sounds far too believable. Someone give this guy a hug right now. There is also a nifty guitar solo, which is commendable for being totally suitable for the power and slow-burn of the song and doesn’t attempt to show off any fingertip-singeing styles.
Track 10, “For The Four,” while again dealing with frustration and despair, shows a positiveness that shines out above everything else on this album, offering up an alternative existence, a simpler life for a wife and kids in a safe neighbourhood. This song also contains my two favourite lines from the whole album: “I’m not tired, I’m exhausted,” and, “I’m not walking through hospital doors today!” And the last chorus is a clinic on how to make an absolutely fucking huge and completely uncompromising sound. This song is like a big bastard bus that is coming towards you as you’re crossing the road, and it has no intention of stopping, it will just plough you down, because it is going somewhere regardless.
All I can say about “Ten Years Trouble,” is that I think it is an awesome song, but dancing and singing along to it feels so very wrong. It is an intimate self-examination set to powerful effect against the vibrant energy of the song. The lyrics here drop any tough-guy pretensions that creep into the corners of this album and lay the issues out painfully bare for examination.
And then we come to “I Hope You Know.” At first I thought the military/marching band drum introduction was a little cliche, but once I understood the album that precedes it, I found it worked perfectly. The introduction builds steadily, with more self reflection and testament, when suddenly (and cleverly) with the line “I’m sorry I wasn’t there, from the bottom of my heart,” the song is launched into full throttle. Demons are confronted, the past is being sorted. It is a perfect finale to a near perfect punk album.
And then the album title makes sense. From The Bottom, from the bottom of my heart, and working through problems from the bottom up, a journey this album takes, starting off with themes of hopelessness and despair, gradually working towards acceptance and confrontation.
All in all, this is a painfully honest and open album, with, in fine punker fashion, a musical accompaniment fitting to charge around a room and drink lots of beer to.
– Ben Gosling –
The Lawrence Arms – Full Set (The Fest 6)
All-Stars of the Chicago punk scene, The Lawrence Arms have more than a decade of history touring and playing their signature blend of pop-drunk-punk. After many years of playing The FEST, at FEST 6 they graced the main stage with their presence and the set was what you’d come to expect from “da larin sharms”.
American Steel – Full Set (The Fest 6)
The Bay Area’s American Steel originally formed in 1995. After six years of touring and releases to what at the time they considered little fanfare, the band moved into a different sound and felt the band needed a different name. In 2002, with their new moniker, Communiqué, the band gave it another go with a decidedly different sound and feel. After four years, they gave this too a rest. In the meantime, American Steel had become legendary. In 2007, they reunited as American Steel, signed to Fat Wreck Chords and went back at it. They toured down with The Lawrence Arms to FEST 6 and played to one of the biggest crowds they had to date.
Off With Their Heads – Full Set (The Fest 5)
Hailing from Minneapolis, MN, Off With Their Heads made their mark early with their debut EP Hospitals in 2006. Playing their first time at The FEST, and playing mainly cuts from Hospitals, this set is about as indicative of OWTH as you can get and made them somewhat legendary in the FEST community.
Planes Mistaken For Stars – Full Set (The Fest 5)
Planes Mistaken For Stars had a successful decade as a band, but called it quits in early 2008. They played at FEST V on their first tour with their final lineup. This show stands out as one of the best PMFS shows of all time and is testament to their legacy as a band.
Smoke Or Fire – Full Set (The Fest 6)
Originally calling themselves Jericho back in 1998, and then Jericho RVA, Smoke or Fire has been releasing consistently good political punk for over a decade. Their FEST 6 show was the final tour for their bassist Ken Gurley before he went on to begin teaching. Gwomper from Avail has taken over bass duties and the band has taken some time off. Singer Joe McMahon has been touring solo and is not to be missed.
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