Life In A Bungalo

Rancid, Big D and the Kid’s Table
Irving Plaza
August 15, 2008

Rancid took the stage a week or so ago for a five day stint at New York’s prestigious Irving Plaza (only fools call it the Fillmore). It’s been a few years since Rancid’s last visit to the Big Apple, and this time they packed in a larger venue and brought a ton of legendary bands with them–Bloodclot, Sick of it All, Madball.

Alas, I got the bum night and had to sit through Big D and the Kid’s Table and their ska-infused pop punk hooha. They reminded me of a castarated version of the Suicide Machines, but with way more horns and a lot less punk. That said, they covered Morphine, which is always a plus in my book. Too bad no one but me were old enough to care.

Rancid were the stars of the night and truth be told, the band have become legends in their own right. God knows they’ve earned it. While not as intimate as their run at BB Kings a few years back, the plays was packed with kids itching to sing and the band did not dissapoint. Particularly if you’re a fan of “Out Come the Wolves,” from which the band played nearly a dozen songs. It would have been nice if they peppered in some pre-Wolves classics, but alas, they had five nights to fill.

Besides, a fantastic rendition of “Rejected” courtesy of Matt Freeman, the band dipped into their new B-sides collection and pulled out “The Brothels,” “I Wanna Riot,” and “Tattoo.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard them touch those tunes, except maybe Riot during the early Wolves tours.

Other than that, the show was rather paint by numbers with most of the hits accounted for and a single song encore of “Time Bomb.” In all honesty, if you go see the Offspring or Green Day, the chance of them playing a song of their first two records is slim to none, let alone really random B-sides, so this tour ranks pretty high in my book. Good to know there are still bands out there that know there fans weren’t all born after they released their biggest records.

Carbon/Silicone
April 2, 2008
Asbury Lanes, New Jersey

This is an open letter to anyone that is still bitching and moaning that they never got to see Joe Strummer or the Ramones. GO SEE MICK JONES BEFORE HE DIES. Not that he’s going anywhere soon, but at the rate that John Rotten keeps getting healthier and heroes like Johnny Cash die…Well, you get the picture.

And boy, does Mick Jones still kick ass. Life In A Bungalo caught his latest band, Carbon Silicone at the legendary Asbury Lanes last Wednesday and I was blown away. The man can shred like no ones business, and he has seemingly worked out all his B.A.D. dance hall crap and left it in the ’90s. Read more »

Tim Armstrong
Photo by GLK Photo

With their new record nearing completion, the punk rock veterans Rancid are turning their attention towards a new project—a summer tour that will mark their first live shows since 2006. Rancid—Tim Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Lars Frederiksen (vocals, guitar), Matt Freeman (bass, vocals) and Branden Steineckert (drums)—have spend the last few months working on their seventh studio album.

Working with Epitaph president Brett Gurewitz, who helmed the project as producer, and mixer Joe Barresi (Tool, Bad Religion), the album is slated for release later this year.

Rancid depart on April 5 for a week of shows in Japan, a mini-tour which includes headlining the Punkspring festival in Tokyo and Osaka, reuniting Rancid with 15,000 of their closest friends each night.

It has been two years since the last Rancid tour, and five years since the last Rancid record. Read more »

H2O, melodic hardcore heroes from the mid-’90s, have posted the first new song from Nothing To Prove, which is hitting stores through Bridge Nine Records on May 27th, 2008. The album’s opening track, “1995″ is streaming over at their recently renovated and redesigned myspace page.

Nothing To Prove was produced by Chad Gilbert and recorded with famed engineer Paul Miner and it’s a 10-song statement that H2O is indeed back and better than ever. Read more »

Young Werewolves
“Cheat the Devil”
www.theyoungwerewolves.com

Out of the grindhouse and onto the radio, the Young Werewolves fire on all cylinders with silver bullets blazing and fangs bared. This band of punky surf rockers pummel the listener to oblivion with 14 infectiously catchy numbers about horror movies and Hollywood babylon.

Every song on “Cheat the Devil” is a keeper. The production sound is pure Nuggets era garage rock with simple yet savage drum beats that just groove. The bass is fast and tight and the guitars are sloppy and noisy–music to my ears. Guitarist/singer Neil Falcon’s voice sounds a bit like Rob Zombie, but the music is pure Cramp’s style rock & roll.
Read more »

Epitaph just sent out a link to a fantastic performance by Bad Religion on KROQ. It’s just Brett, Brooks, and Greg performing three songs on acoustic guitars and a snare.

Less Than Jake
“Pezcore”
“Goodbye Blue & White”
“Losers, Kings, and Things…”
Sleep It Off Records

Growing up, I was never a big fan of Less Than Jake. Part of it was my hatred towards ska and the huge ska resurgence that took place in the mid-’90s. Part of it was my disdain for horns. Either way, I never took much interest in the band of Floridians and they kinda fell off my radar for a long time.

About four years ago, I caught the band opening up for Bad Religion at The Roseland Ballroom, a cavernous concert hall that looks more like an airforce hanger than a ballroom. The band was up before Bad Religion, but it was hard to argue that they weren’t the headliner. From the moment their banner dropped, 3,000 adoring fans screamed in unison like it was The Rolling Stones returning to England. The place went nuts for 45 minutes. Bad Religion hit stage an hour later to half the reception and most of the kids cleared out. Read more »

Against Me just released a live and acoustic version of their song “The Ocean” from a recent Thanksgiving show. Surprisingly, the band rocks an upright bass. Pretty cool.