Street Dogs and Swingin’ Utters
Asbury Lanes, New Jersey
March 14, 2008

Click here to see more photos from the show

When the Dropkick Murphy’s first record “Do or Die” dropped in the mid-‘90s, it was met with a collective “ooh and ah” from punk fans bored of the overproduced Hot Topic crap being bandied about on MTV.

The band eschewed the typical tough guy Oi mentality for working class punk rock that related as much to the Union man as it did to the disgruntled mall punk. The best part was that they played  mind numbingly catchy music.

Alas, singer  Mike McColgan left the band to become a firefighter and history wrote itself. The Dropkick Murphys went on to become a household name, fronted by gruff vocalist Al Barr. Meanwhile, McColgan began dabbling in punk again with The Street Dogs.

Unlike their Boston brethren, The Street Dogs eschew the traditional Irish style for a rawer sound teeming with proletariat-driven lyrics. A year or so ago, the band opened for psychobilly stalwarts Tiger Army and proceeded to show up their label mates by producing one of the most intense concerts I’ve seen in years. The Irving Plaza was practically breaking at the seams as the band blasted through their first few records.

Saturday night, The Street Dogs performed in an even more intimate environment, turning up at the tiny Asbury Lanes for a sold out show in front of some diehard fans. To make things even more exciting, the band brought with them the resurrected Swingin’ Utters who sound as if they haven’t aged a day, even though they have long since ditched the liberty spikes. Read the rest of this entry »

The Koffin Kats swept through the East Coast this past weekend and they brought the Goddamn Gallows and Psycho Charger with them. I’ll post a review from the Asbury Lanes show tonight, but in the mean time, click the photo above to see a full set of photos from the show.

If you get a chance, head down to The Asbury Lanes and check out the sequel to Bowl-A-Rama put on by Crybaby Gallery. A whole bunch of really great artists have customized real bowling pins donated by The Lanes. Artists include Kirstin Easthope, Sunny Buick, and many more. A handful of the pins are still on sale and all of them are on display through out the bowling alley. Squindo (who has a giant monster or two in the show) took the following photos of the pins for your enjoyment.
Read the rest of this entry »