MLK Weekend Fun: Punchline
I finally took advantage of the fact that I: a) work at a local university, and b) have the opportunity to see great up and coming bands. This past Friday, I took Kate and Libby to see Deep Empire, Illuminea, Gene the Werewolf and Punchline.
Deep Sleep Empire opened with a respectable show. The guitarist broke a string and played the second half of the set to the amp to cover it up, but good solid music from them. They fit the whole emo/indie/punk expectation.
13 year old girl watch: Huh. They were pretty good.
Deep Sleep Empire on Myspace
Illuminea, with their 5 lead singers, cello and violin kicked off the second set. Somehow their psychedic sound just didn’t seem to fit with the punk rock theme of the show. It seemed like they needed to turn down the volume a little so the crowd could appreciate them more.
13 year old girl watch: They sound like hippies. We’re going out in the hall. Text me when they’re done.
Illuminea on Myspace
The curtains closed before the next set, bringing the anticipation level up just a little higher for the Gene the Werewolf set. Curtains opened with a twisted carney intro to the band, then went straight into Super Hero, a song off their demo that’s a little bit Kiss and a little bit (the) Darkness and a whole lotta fun. Jon, err, Gene, was dressed to kill in a white suit and black aviator shades. The followed with the other song off their demo, Make Love, before going in to a cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ that got the crowd sufficiently pumped up and in a party mood for headliners Punchline. Diamondcore, indeed.
13 year old girl watch: That was fun. They’re really, really good.
Gene the Werewolf on Myspace
Now, I had never seen or heard Punchline before this moment, save for their Myspace stuff which was misleading because the first few songs are acoustic. Acoustic is good, but acoustic is not what this band is all about. To quote lead singer Steve Soboslai, “…less talk, more rock.” And rock they did. The dove into their set with the volume cranked to 12 and didn’t let up for a moment. This show is exactly why I missed live music so much–the way the sound from the speakers blows the clothes right off your body. Punchline, now signed to Fueled by Ramen (Fall Out Boy, etc.), are off to Europe with MXPX after the show.
13 year old girl watch: They sound like Lostprophets. I like ‘em. Alot. Can I have a tee shirt?
Punchline on Myspace | Official Site
Check out Punchline’s video for ‘Don’t Try This At Home’ from their latest “37 Everywhere”.
