Poppy Punk

          This show gave me a glimpse into what it would have been like had I lived in the fifties and went to a concert. BoJangle's was filled with high school gals wearing vintage fifties clothes and hairdo's. The guys wore Converse shoes and rolled-up cuffs. The girls screamed and the boys kept their cool.

          But the fifties for me were in the seventies when Happy Days was on TV. Of course, most of the kids in the audience weren't even old enough to have seen Happy Days during its original run. Lavern and Shirley and Joannie Loves Chachi were over by the time these kids learned not to poop in diapers. But no matter how they got the look, it was still a great show.

          The first band out of the gate was the KNOCKOFFS. These guys have been around a long time, but still have a relatively small following. Actually, most of their following are fellow musicians. The KNOCKOFFS play the old school punk sound from the early eighties. They sing about nothing. (I could compare their lyrics to a Seinfeld episode, but haven't we heard enough about that show?) Tom sings about nothing...and sex. I am sure the kids had no clue what he was talking about. They should also get an award for using the "f" word more times than anyone. Everyone seemed to love this band. Look for their first CD soon.

          POCKET CHANGE have also been around for a while, but only recently have they started to play a lot of shows. They are another band from the old school of punk music that remind me of SOCIAL DISTORTION. The band is filled with talented musicians and decent lyrics, but they are missing something. The audience quit dancing and bobbing their heads during their set.

          The TEEN IDOLS came on next and brought with them the only girl that played on the stage. The TEEN IDOLS play that perfect poppy punk music for which Lookout! Records is famous. They were good and all, but the highlight of the performance was in the audience. I saw a guy light his fart. I hadn't ever seen that before. And, yes, it was as cool as it sounds.

          The MR T EXPERIENCE have, without a doubt, some of the best lyrics of any band anywhere. They sing about the typical boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl and boy-starts-a-band/band-sucks stuff, but they do it with such humorous self-depreciation that it's fun. We laugh right along, even though the lyrics are not really all that funny. We laugh because we have all been there. This band is a lot like THE SMITHS. They both play perky music to these low-esteem words, but MTX is just so much more amusing. They started each song with the disclaimer, "This song is about a girl."

          MTX is currently touring all over the country in support of their latest release, Revenge Is Sweet...And So Are You. Buy it and laugh. Or cry.