mc chris live in Philly (11/24/09)

Last night, even though all cards were apparently pointed against me, I headed out to the First Unitarian Church to catch my favorite rapper, mc chris. I was running late, as I had a kickball game (a humiliating defeat by the way) and so I missed all the opening bands, and then when I got to the door, they didn't have my will call, so I had to go to a Fed Ex and print out my confirmation email (turns out ticketweb mailed it, but I never got it, those bastards).

But alas, I made it in, just as mc chris was about to take the stage. Being the 3rd time seeing mc chris, I was a bit surprised that the venue wasn't more packed, as his shows usually sell out completely. As usual, mc chris killed it, even though the crowd was incredibly dead (mc chris put it best: "you need to behave at an mc chris show, lot of nerds here, it's their first time being outside!") , so I eventually moved off to the side to dance.

Anyone's who's ever been to an mc chris show knows that half of it is the music, and the other half is stand up comedy. mc chris kept with this tradition, cracking the crowd up with his observations on "emo bitches who come to shows and don't sing along", "obama is a superhero", and many other rants.

Many of his songs that he played seemed to have been remixed to a different beat, and I was surprised he didn't play more songs off his Part 6 series. He also must have been in a good mood, as he didn't go all Ian Mackaye on anyone and kick them out of the show (only sent them to the back of the room).

If the crowds at mc chris shows danced, it could definitely be a high energy show, but it's hard enough to get them to put their hands in the air. Sadly, this takes away from the experience, and I feel like it's not the crazy party it should be, as the man deserves it (then again, I think he hates dancing as well).

Setlist: (Not in order, but pretty complete)
-White Kids Love Hip Hop
-006
-Pizza Butt
-Neville
-Tractorbeam
-Evergreen
-hoodie ninja
-Wiid
-geek
-The Tussin
-nrrrd grrrl
-mc chris is dead
-OMC
-Fett's Vett
-Hijack

Mp3:
MC Chris - The Tussin
mc chris - Neville

mc chris ownz, I wanna go to an mc chris show:
mc chris - Part Six Part Three
mc chris - Part Six Part Two
mc chris - Part Six Part One
mc chris is dead

Buy:
mc chris

NOFX - Cokie The Clown (For fans of Rancid, Pennywise, Lagwagon)

Cocaine addicted clowns and songs about a holiday to celebrate addiction... sounds like your typical NOFX release. When I heard that NOFX was going to release "Cokie The Clown EP", featuring 5 unreleased songs that was recorded during the "Coaster" sessions, I got to admit, I was pretty stoked. I actually liked "Coaster", and think it may have been the best NOFX release since "So Long And Thanks For All The Shoes".

From the moody title track (possibly a metaphor for any drug addicted entertainer?) that features Melvin singing a decent amount, to the high energy Fermented and Flailing, I was actually really surprised by how solid Cokie The Clown is, and am wondering why these songs didn't make the "Coaster" cut.

The only song on here I'm not a big fan of is the acoustic version of My Orphan Year. Anyone familiar with Coaster will remember one of the most heartfelt yet depressing songs that NOFX has ever written. The acoustic version lacks the same energy and thoughtfulness, as Fat Mike's voice is much more tailored for emotional yells as opposed to subdued singing, and the moodiness of the electric guitars surpass the almost upbeat acoustic.

So is Cokie The Clown Worth it for the other four tracks? Damn straight it is. One of my favorite EPs released this year.

MP3:
NOFX - Cokie The Clown

Possibly Some Effects:
Nofx - Coaster
NOFX - So Long And Thanks For All The Shoes
NOFX - War On Errorism

Buy:
Fat Wreck

Please Help Me Translate This Melt Banana Setlist!

click picture to enlarge

What we have so far:

Left column:
1. Phantasmagoria
2. fido? (what's that mean?)
3. T is for Tone
4. Slide Down
5. ?
6. ?
7. In Store
8. ?
9. Dog Song
10. Dig a Pit

Right Column
(Nothing yet!)

Two years ago, I asked trusty BOTMH readers to help translate a Melt Banana setlist, and you guys showed me why the Internet is so fucking awesome. Can you guys and gals help me again to translate the setlist for the Melt Banana show I went to last night? I will love you forever if you could post it in the comment section!

So last night I headed out to the First Unitarian Church to see one of my favorite bands around, Melt Banana. I wasn't really digging the opening bands much, so I'll just concentrate on MB's set.

Melt Banana shows always draw quite an interesting bunch. You've got a handful of punk rock fans such as myself, mixed in with prog rockers, noise fans, and those oh so enlightened avante garde Mike Patton fans. One thing I got to say about the band is that you never know what the hell to expect at their live show, regardless of how many times you've seen them.

Case in point: Melt Banana took the stage of the basement church, and had all the lights out so it was completely pitch black... except for some flashlights attached to their heads. For the next ten or fifteen minutes, we were given a light show while they played some of their more experimental songs, such as Phantasmagoria, T is for Tone, and Dog Song. A pit broke out and didn't let up for the rest of the night. This opening was all fine and dandy, but I was a bit worried I wouldn't hear the more punk influenced songs of Melt Banana.

Finally, the lights went back on and Melt Banana busted into their more accessible (I use that term loosely) songs. The entire front of the audience was pretty much a frenzied pit, and I was going to attempt to stage dive, but the band had way too many pedals/drum machines up there and I didn't feel like being that asshole who breaks something (guess I'll just keep that for the hardcore shows). After blasting through favorites such as Spider Snipe, the band left, only to be called back on stage to play the best encore I've ever seen (two of my favorite Melt Banana songs): Monkey Man and Lost Parts Stinging Me So Cold.

While I'm counting on you guys to translate the setlist, here are some songs I remember:

-Phantasmagoria
-T is For Tone
-Dog Song
-Spider Snipe
-Blank Page of the Blind
-Heiwaboke Crisis
-A Dreamer Who Is Too Weak To Face Up To
- A Hunter In The Rain To Cut The Neck Up In The Present Stage

Encore:
Monkey Man (Toots and the Maytals Cover)
Lost Parts Stinging Me So Cold

Again, if you could help with the setlist, you would pretty much make my life.

MP3:
Melt Banana - Lost Parts Stinging Me So Cold
Melt Banana - Blank Page of the Blind

Melt Banana Will Melt Your Face:
Bambi's Dilemma (Best album of 2007)
Melt Banana Live 11/13/07

Buy:
Official Site

Bomb The Music Industry (Live In Philly 11/18/09)

On Wed night, I headed down to South Philly's Ava House to see Bomb The Music Industry on their "Bring Your Own Band" tour. On this tour, Jeff reverted back to BTMI olden days, where he would go on tour with just an MP3 player, and anybody who wanted to play along could bring their instruments. Unfortunately I did not have a kazoo or a triangle to play along.

Curtis Irie

When I walked in, Curtis Irie had already taken the floor, and was playing their slightly psychedelic reggae/dub. The band consisted of only a guitarist and a drummer, but somehow, they made their sound bigger than they actually were. Having a sound and voice that reminded me of Slightly Stoopid or Pepper, they actually played pretty tight, even though the smoke detector was going off for the majority of their set.

Greek Favourites

Punk hardcore in the veins of Outclassed, The Greek Favourites put on a hell of a show. Poppy punk guitar undertones with heavy screaming over it all, The Greek Favourites definitely had a bit of a following, which broke out into a pit throughout their set (hell, I joined). Definitely catch them if they come around your area.

1994

Now I know I've said some mean things about Lancaster in the past, but finally, something decent coming out of that god foresaken town. The band 1994 plays (for lack of a better term) post-punk, sounding a bit like bands such as Transit. Having a very midwestern punk influence to them, 1994 played a solid set with a few dedicated followers. They had to keep taking a break after each song, and at one point, I was semi-worried their drummer was actually going to die (I don't know if he was playing really intensely or just simply out of shape).

Definitely interesting, and not usually my style of music, I actually dug 1994, and plan on checking out some of their recorded work.

Bomb The Music Industry

The reaon I came out in the first place. I wasn't sure how the show was going to pan out with just Jeff, an ipod, and random people who brought their instruments, as I've seen them before with this setup, and while fun, it was a total shitfest. This time however, the one bassist and Jeff played a surprisingly tight set, full with constant pile ons and pits.

Jeff opened the show tuning his guitar to some rap song since he forgot an actual tuner on the tour ("Tuners are for wimps. Actually, Agnostic Front probably uses tuners. If anyone here is in Agnostic Front, I don't mean you, you could probably kick my ass"). Playing a collection of songs from all of his albums, I seriously thought Jeff was going to knock a tooth out with the way the crowd was rushing him and the mic (I am also guilty of this).

I heard a lot of songs that I don't usually hear them do live, including "Syke! Like Is Awesome", and "I'm a Panic Bomb, Baby". It was a fun show, even with me landing head first during crowd surfing (oh the dangers of shows).

Setlist (not complete or in order):
-493 Ruth
-Blow Your Brains Out On Live TV!!!
-It Shits
-Fresh Attitude, Young Body
-Can I Pay My Rent In Fun
-Showerbeers
-25!
-I'm a Panic Bomb, Baby
-Syke! Life Is Awesome!

Mp3:
Bomb The Music Industry- I'm a Panic Bomb, Baby!

Wed. Night Drinkball:
Bomb the Music Industry - Scrambles
Mustard Plug - In Black and White
Mustard Plug Interview

Buy:
Quote Unquote Records

A "Why The Hell Not" Mix

Taken By Dimitri Torterat from this site

Here's a random collection of songs for you to jam out to today, because why not?

Mp3:
Bouncing Souls – Sing Along Forever
Blanks 77 - Long Paper
Bedouin Soundclash - Gunships
Embrace - Money
Anti-Pasti - Six Guns
The Faction - Lets Go Get Cokes
Teenage Bottlerocket – Bottlerocket

More Mixes For The Hell Of It:
Songs to Piss Off The Personal Fitness Trainer Below Me Mix
Drunken Yuppies Breaking Into My House Mix

Buy:
Interpunk