Life In A Bungalo

AFI
“Decemberunderground”
Interscope

Josh: In 2003, it seemed like the AFI juggernaut was unstoppable. In May they released “Sing The Sorrow” which turned into a massive hit. They toured nonstop. They were MTV darlings. For some reason, their brand of eyeliner punk had struck a chord with everyone under the age of 19. And then, they disappeared. Maybe it was because their record label was sold or maybe it was Davey Havok’s throat problems. Regardless of the reason, they were silent. But now, more than three years since their last release, AFI are back with “Decemberunderground.” Read more »

Coming of age as a scrappy young punk rocker in the mid 1990’s, there were a few bands that were always mentioned. NOFX, Bad Religion, Pennywise, Descendents, and The Queers were always blasting from one of my friends crappy cars. But in the background, like a wonderfully kept secret, I heard the same name spoken over and over again…Avail. Read more »

Carlstadt, New Jersey isn’t known for much. And until Saturday night it wasn’t known by yours truly to even exist (despite being only 20 minutes from where I grew up and mile from a place I saw about 256 concerts.) That very likely says more about my ignorance of local geography than anything else. But tucked behind the stables at the Meadowlands racetrack, and right off of Route 17 is Carlstadt. And on Patterson Plank Road (titillating near Stilettos Gentleman’s Club) is the Axis Lounge. Read more »

The Cramps/Gore Gore Girls @ Irving Plaza, NYC: October 18, 2004

“If you follow the Cramps, you’ll end up in jail. It’s not so bad”

On October 17 + 18, rockabilly stalwarts The Cramps returned home to New York City for a two day stint at the Irving Plaza. The staff of www.lifeinabungalo.com was there, and our collective lives will never be the same. Due to the city of New York’s construction plans, we were stuck in traffic for two hours, causing us to miss the first opening act. Luckily, we arrived just in time to see the Gore Gore Girls. Their gimmick was that they dressed in 1960’s go-go boots and white patent leather dresses. They were damn good to look at. Listening to them was another problem. They seemed to play good 60’s fuzzy garage rock, but I can’t honestly say that because the sound was so bad, it just sounded like a blender. Read more »