| This has to be the
most mixed bill I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing at the ‘Neck. Hell,
it’s possibly the most eclectic bill I’ve ever seen. We had Outhouse, an
“alternative” rock band; MU330, a psycho-ska-rock band; and Alkaline Trio, and
emo-punk band. It was nice and varied, which contributed to a great show. The opening act from Chicago, Alkaline Trio, had a pretty good crowd
to play to. There was one guy who seemed to know all their stuff, and he was singing along
to every tune. After hearing these guys, I think I’ll be doing the same at their next
show in the area. Alkaline Trio had a really great sound. Very emotional, but with a punk
edge. They actually sound a lot like another band that’s played Lawrence a few times
- Limp. The songs were quite catchy and enjoyable. Especially cool was the fact that they
flat out rocked the place, despite the fact that there weren’t too many people near
the stage when they started. That quickly changed, because there was a good-sized bunch of
folks rocking along with them by the end of their set. I recommend getting their CD, Goddammit,
on Asian Man Records. It’s well worth it.
MU330, as expected, had a great turnout for their set. The
boys from St. Louis are always a hit here in Lawrence, and were in town to promote their
new self-titled CD. Of course, that meant a strong emphasis on new material. By no means
did they skimp on the older favorites, but the focus was on the new tunes, which are some
of the strongest work to date from the band. MU330 has taken a path away from their
“psycho-ska” image with this new album, with much more of a rock sound - albeit
with horns. Several new songs like “Vow Vow” and “Pool Party” put this
new rock sound on display, while others like “32 Cents” keep true to their
original ska sound. It wouldn't be an MU330 show without the traditional MU stage show
antics... and of course, Gerry still sang “Close to You” and whipped out the
chainsaw. The older favorites sounded even stronger than usual, possibly due to the fact
that they were mixed in with the new material, giving familiar tunes even more
prominence. A very strong performance from MU330 all around.
Outhouse represented the local scene at this show very
strongly. Their set was great. I had yet to catch these guys live - and my only exposure
to them was two songs, “Familiar” and “Welcome,” which I liked, but
their their live show left me very impressed. Outhouse has a strong rock presence, but
they also almost seem to have a metal influence - and it's a nice combination. Think pop
rock with harder guitar riffs. They played a solid set without letting up, even though
some of the audience headed straight for the doors after MU330 was over. There wasn’t
really any rock posing, and these guys seemed genuinely happy to be at the Bottleneck that
evening. They were pretty social with the crowd, but for the most part, they just played a
lot of new stuff. I enjoyed it a lot - and it’s a shame that their label isn’t
giving them a chance to record. The music business is a bitch that way... But it’s
good to see that they’re not letting problems like that get in the way of playing and
writing some great music. If you don’t have their debut album, pick up a copy if you
can find one. There aren’t any more copies forthcoming. |
