Bare Jr.
Scout
Star City
@ Brownies
5/23/02
This show was kind of a bummer, as it marked the probable end of Star City. It’s an interesting transitional phase for the NYC alt-country scene. The Hangdogs have morphed into a great band with few of the original members that made it special and Star City has now gone "on hiatus". As a member of a band that enjoys that special brand of denial, I’ll believe Star City’s return when I see. Everyone except for frontman Jason Lewis plays in other bands. Hell, bassist Scott Yoder seems to play in every band. That doesn’t make Star City any less of a band, but it does dilute a band’s focus. Their farewell set had a melancholy feel to it, with Jason thanking the crowd and affirming that Star City was just taking a break between seemingly every song. Thank God we still have the Yayhoos. Here’s hoping they make it back.

I had Scout mixed up with Mascott and expected a totally different vibe when they set up, but their loud rock made a lot more sense opening for Bare Jr. They were ok and the singer was pretty engaging, but they didn’t really have anything that really reached out a grabbed me. Jawbreaker. They’ve done some recording with Kevin Salem and have been around for a couple records. People seemed to like them, I just wasn’t one of them, especially with Bare Jr. up next.

Bare Jr. are one of my favorite bands. They will rock you with a blend of old school rock and country that has a Pixies-esque crunch, but it’s their sense of humor that really makes them the great band they are. On stage, they are everything U2 wanted on their Zoo TV tour at a smidgen of the price and twice the impact. They are a motley crew, but the men of Bare Jr. will grab you by your shirt and swab the deck with you. Despite a dwindling room, they raged through most of the best songs of their first two records, tempering them with more acoustic tunes that will comprise Bobby Bare Jr.’s new Bloodshot record. Bobby Bare Jr. is definitely the Black Francis of this franchise. He’s got a gift for wordplay that’s going to leave a lot of today’s songwriters with sleepless nights. The addition of ex-Superdrag bassist Tom Pappas has made the band into even more of a rock juggernaut. Together with guitarist Mike Grimes, they are a force to be reckoned with. All they need is one of their songs to cross over and it’s the big time for Bare Jr.

Kevin Salem
Flashing Lights
@ Village Underground
5/25/02
Why Kevin Salem hasn’t been more successful, I’ll never know. Much like Marshall Crenshaw, he’s a guy who has consistently put our good records with great songs but never really caught on beyond the record geek masses. Kevin ups the ante and adds some pretty serious guitar pyrotechnics to the mix as well. He’s got a new record out on Future Farmer that’s about to be re-released. I’m not sure if this live show was the best representation of the record: it was their new keyboardist’s first night and dropping their second guitarist thins out the sound a bunch, especially when the house mix is pretty crappy. I bet the new record is great and I’m really looking forward to seeing them with a better mix.

The Flashing Lights came recommended, but bored me to tears. They sound like a second rate Superdrag that isn’t on par with their Southern twee-pop attitude. They’ve got a pretty decent following but very few of them were there to see them. Better luck next time.

Haymarket Riot
@ Brownies
5/26/02
Haymarket Riot are yet another great band coming out of the Chicago area. These kids may be from Illinois, but they’ve got a lot of records from DC in their collections. Think Fugazi, then think it again. They’ve got a herky-jerky spazz rock thing going on with dual vocals and a drummer that beats the hell out of his kit like it owes him money. This show would have been more suited to a matinee at ABC NO RIO rather than an 18 and over at Brownies, but they raged like their namesake despite the paltry crowd. The new record’s called Bloodshot Eyes and it’s a good one, but seeing them live is really the way to appreciate them. They deserve a bigger crowd next time.

Get Up Kids
On A Wire
Vagrant Records
This is record number five for The Get Up Kids and Vagrant’s giving them the big push, most notably coughing up the big bucks to get Scott Litt (REM, Replacements) behind the boards. There’s no doubt that The Get Up Kids are anxious to take advantage of the success of labelmates Saves The Day and The Alkaline Trio. Of course, this begs the question of why the Get Up Kids, who were the flagship of the Vagrant roster, haven’t had the same success despite having a longer tenure on the label and a much bigger buzz overall. The reason is that they have moved away from the harder sound that garnered them the fanbase that made them the successful band they are today. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if On A Wire doesn’t catch on to the Hot Topic circuit, it’ll be hard for the Kids to go back. On A Wire is a big sounding record. If you liked singer Matt Pryor’s solo New Amsterdams records but wished someone would run them through the "Big Rock" pedal, this is your record. All Pryor’s OAW songs are strong; it’s obvious he’s making a run for the "mature" title. Fellow singer Jim Suptic weighs in with a couple decent songs that suggest that he’s been listening to a lot of Beatles while he smokes his weed. Bet you a buck he’s got long hair now. That being said, his Campfire Kansas is my favorite song on the record. This should knock STD from the top spot on Vagrant’s roster and do yeoman duty in alienating their old school fanbase. Hope it works out for them.

Lawrence Arms
Fat Wreck Chords
Chicago is overlooked as a hotbed of punk rock, both old and new school. The spectre of Chi-town legends Pegboy looms ominously over The Lawrence Arms, but their Fat debut Apathy And Exhaustion is chock full of hooky punk rock with big fucking choruses that scream Dear You. Said final Jawbreaker record is the blueprint that many of the punk rockers of today use to craft their rock. The Lawrence Arms feature two singers, one of whom has studied long at the altar of Schwarzenbach. Three songs are absolute Jawbreaker doppelgangers that could be Dear You b-sides. God bless them, as Jawbreaker’s demise left a big hole in punk rock as we know it. Fellow Chicagoans The Alkaline Trio have stepped up and taken the crown most recently, but with Fat Wreck’s backing, the Lawrence Arms may very well blow past them straight into Blink 182 land.

MXPX
10 Years and Running
Tooth and Nail
Back when Alternative Press wasn’t something you’d line a cat box with, CMJ magazine and their samplers were a great way to get exposed to new bands. It was on one of those CMJ samplers that I first heard MXPX’s Move To Bremerton. You can’t get much better than that for a three minute punk pop song. I picked up one of their records and after listening to it a couple times I came to realize that somebody was singing about the Lord while he was getting his punk on. Further investigation turned up that Tooth And Nail was not a label run by kindly Dokken fans, but a whole big Jesus loving franchise. What has my punk rock come to? That being said, it’s been ten years and they’ve come up with more than a couple catchy numbers in that time. This will sell like hotcakes and will have absolutely no problem getting into Wal-Mart stores.

Piebald
Barely Legal/All Ages
Big Wheel Recreation
I like me some Piebald. They started off ok, but have really stepped up to the plate with their recent We Are The Only Friends We Have record. That little chestnut should do yeoman duty in putting Boston back in the rock limelight. Big Wheel Rec not being fools, they followed up Friends by dropping a one-two punch of a singles and rarities comp combined with the When Life Hands You Lemons record and some demos. Not too fucking shabby for 11 bucks, I’ll tell ya. It’s worth it for the song titles alone. This won’t win them any new fans, but is a great two record set if you like the punk rock with a pop edge.

Bobby Bare Jr.
Young Criminals Starvation League
Bloodshot Records
Bare Jr. was the highlight of this year’s SXSW for me. They rocked a huge crowd at Stubbs with an electric set, but the big surprise was their acoustic set at Yard Dog earlier that day. Bereft of howling amps or fancy lights, they played the lion’s share of the songs that comprise this record. Bare Jr. has said that this record is a "collection of all the songs I don’t scream on" and screams or not, it’s a hell of a great record. If you remember that Shel Silverstein wrote a number of great country songs, you’ll understand why this is one of the best real country records of the last couple years. Less willfully humorous than Robbie Fulks, but just as talented, Bobby Bare Jr.’s Young Criminals Starvation League should let the country music scene of today know we have an up and coming titan on our hands.