Pissing off Scenesters Since 1995
Mad Marge & The Stonecutters
The Knitting Factory
August 12, 2007
Click for Full Photolog of the show on Flickr!
It took quite a few years, but Mad Marge and her merry band of Stonecutters have made their way to the East Coast, and it was worth the wait. BullGooseLooney opened the show with a set that would have probably rocked my world back in 1995. Blink 182 meets Screeching Weasel style pop-punk with tons of energy. These youngsters from Glen Ridge, New Jersey seem to have their sound down pat, but they lost points for making the crowd wait for 10 minutes so they could find another amp head. A real punk band would have kicked over their stack and just cranked out the jams with the second guitar playing lead. I mean, when you get a chance to play NYC, the last thing you need to do is look like wimps while pussing around with your overpriced amp.
The Stonecutters proceeded to show the kids how its done, storming the stage and demolishing the tiny club with a half hour set of psychobilly terror. The band interspersed songs off their upcoming record with classics like “Monster Hiding Under The Bed,” to the delight of the hardcore fans singing along in front of the stage. Singer Alicia “Mad Marge” Ridenour is the spitting image of Gwen Stefani, but the Stonecutters are definitely not No Doubt. In fact, this isn’t even your father’s Stonecutters—the line-up from a few years back received a complete overhaul with a new rhythm section, and the addition of a second guitarist. The sound is monstrously huge now. Throughout the set, Ridenour pounced at the crowd, passing the mic and beckoning the fans to sing along. Everyone felt the buzz, and even though she said she was sick, Mad Marge kicked everyone’s ass. Here’s hoping they head over the east coast again in the near future—Hell, New Jersey has a Springfield too.
[...] I first heard Mad Marge two years ago on a pcychobilly comp called “Return of the Hot Rod Zombies.” The song was “Shake,” and it completely changed the way I listened to female psychobilly singers. Rather than act all cutesy like some of her contemporaries, Mad Marge tore into the track like a vampire vixen on crank. The tune had more balls than most of street rock punk bands, yet the song was infectiously catchy. Turns out the band’s self-titled first record was brimming with songs like “Shake,” and even louder, faster numbers like “Monsters” and “Shallow Grave.” After three years of cruising the left coast, Mad Marge finally made it out to NYC. Life In A Bungalo decided to bother Mad Marge’s Alicia Ridenour while she was strolling through Central Park the day after a blistering set at The Knitting Factory. [...]
it wasnt our amp, it was the venue’s…if it was ours it woulda worked!