I showed up a tad late and only caught the last few songs from the opener Tightwire but from what I saw and heard, they were tons of fun and a bit bummed I missed most of their set. I’ll definitely be checking them out in the near future!
After acclimating myself for a brief few moments, The Last Gang came on, and I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting but right off the bat The Last Gang captured my attention. Music wise, I had never heard them before, not a single song, but they were incredible with a great mix of reggae punk, rock, and more traditional punk with a staggered set that complimented their style and kept the crowd interested. I’ll definitely be jamming their new record and previous records very soon!
Then as soon as The Last Gang ended, instead of grabbing drinks, people moved quickly to the front of the stage to secure their spot, which is usually very indicative of an older crowd. Hell, I saw several under five year old kids clinging to their parents, which really makes me excited to get my little one out to a show when her attention span is a bit longer!
Next came Teenage Bottlerocket, the band that I had been waiting to see since I first saw the video for Headbanger, and while I had heard of them prior to that, I just wasn’t much for punk years ago and have only begun the last couple of years to really enjoy and sink myself into punk rock. That said, Teenage Bottlerocket weren’t much of teenagers anymore but their live performance doesn’t say that at all. They still bring a ton of energy and even high kicks and jumps. One has to wonder if they limber up before that? Hmm.
Their setlist was one after the other with very little talking in between, or really any talking at all if I remember correctly. As they continued to power through what was a very long setlist (but not by punk standards of shorter than usual songs,) they really entertained the audience outside of just the music with weird looks and lack of chatting and just keeping it rolling. Teenage Bottlerocket did not disappoint at all, and in fact almost brought a somewhat hardcore vibe to the show, which was even more impressive and fun for me given my background. Definitely looking forward to their next show!
TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET SETLIST:
You’re Never Going Out of Style
