RattleHead Records - The Sound of Rhode Island

Pele

Live at Lupos at the Strand: Badfish, M80, Racquetball, and Bad Larry. Don't you wish you had been there?

A full house for local rock? You bet! Super cover band Badfish played Sublime songs at the Strand, and before that, Bad Larry, M80, and Racquetball showed all the hep cats how to dance the night away.


	Released: 07.30.04
	Source: The In on the What
	Author: Pele
	Original source link

Sometimes I wonder how many ska bands have come out of Cranston. I don't know what it is, but somethingabout that town seems to produce dozens of punk-loving,brass-infected 7-piece rock bands.Not that I'm complaining. They make for good shows.

Bad Larry - " Get your dancing shoes on!"

There was something for everyone (kind of) this time around. Many many more people than I expected showedup at the Strand to see Badfish and their local cohorts. Aside from Zox, I honestly didn't expect localacts to have that kind of pull. Apparently, neither did the singer for Bad Larry. When he had finished checkingthe equipment he looked up at the crowd, gawked, and yelled "Holy hell there's a lotta people here!".Sounding like a kind of cross between Less than Jake, Reel Big Fish, and the Rx Bandits, Bad Larry kicked offthe show with a bang. It only took maybe half a song for a full-fledged moshpit to form.The horn players demonstrated their prowess right off the bat, stepping away from the microphones on thefirst couple songs and blasting their melodies over the crowd's noise from the edge of the stage. The factthat one of the trumpeters had Coolio's hairdo made it even better.

As they screamed "Get fucking crazy!" and the horn section almost started moshing onstage, it becameclear that Bad Larry is one of the most danceable bands around. Their motto, after all, is "get your dancingshoes on". After three or four of the really upbeat numbers, they took a break as the singer declared,"this is about what happens when love goes bad...". The song was filled with sweet, clear trombone and shufflingdrums as the Strand turned into a communal makeout session. It wasn't long, however, before the band wasback in action - pounding out the tunes and screaming away. They announced during the set that they havejust recorded a new CD and it should be coming out soon. If it's anything like their live shows, I want one.

Racquetball - "Beer Goggle! Beer Goggle!"

Racquetball consisted of 1 singer, 1 guitarist, a bassist, 2 alto saxophones, a tenor saxophone, and a trombone.Much like Bad Larry, the trombonist was the featured soloist. They had a rowdy vocalist who alternatedbetween singing and that rapping thing that seems more and more common in ska bands. These people seriouslyput many professional rappers to shame. Racquetball played the same kind of 3rd-wave ska as Bad Larry,influenced by the likes of Reel Big Fish and Catch-22.

Racquetball seemed to be having a rough time of it. They didn't miss any notes, and the songs themselves seemedfine, but for some reason they just didn't have that kind of wild kick that Bad Larry had just displayed.The horn section seemed kind of tame and the vocals became a bit weak at times. The crowd, unfortunately,was not buying in and seemed to lose interest after a few songs. However, there was one high pointto their set. They played a song called "Beer Google", which was obviously about being intoxicated.They did a call-and-response chorus with the audience, who clearly got a lot out of it, being not entirelysober themselves. After "Beer Goggle", however, they couldn't seem to hold the energy.I'm willing to bet that Racquetball was just having an off-night (every band does) where it just doesn't seem to come together.I hope they have better luck next time.

M80- " AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

M80, unlike the previous bands, was not ska. This was punk at it's finest. Comprised of 2 guitarists, a vocalist, bassist, and drummer, it was once again not the songs that made the performance. It wasthe energy. As the lead singer approached the microphone, he called out "Everyone with a mohawkcome to the front row! We know you're out there!"M80 has clearly been doing this for a while and has gotten their act together quite nicely. The vocalistwent back and forth between tuneful singing and straight punk screams, keeping the melody and aggressionappropriately balanced. They also had several impressive guitar solos.As they launched into their opening chorus of "What went wrong?" the audience perked up and began to getback into the show. The mosh pit regained its former size and intensity. Crowd-surfing picked up. Securitybegan working overtime. Doing mostly originals and throwing in the odd NOFX cover, they provided thesoundtrack for yet another ferocious moshfest at the Strand. They seemed to scream "We're punk and wefucking mean it!". And we believed them.

Badfish - " Sorry, we don't review cover bands"

Go here if you need your Sublime fix.Peace out. Pele

	other items in this group
	Gunshot Wound / Lemon Lime Tennis Shoes' dual cd-release party, with Visual Pollution 08.23.04 by Pele (The In on the What)
		RI says goodbye to NK punks GSW, Lemon Lime Tennis Shoes sing songs of redemption, and Visual Pollution is really angry.
	Live at Lupos at the Strand: Badfish, M80, Racquetball, and Bad Larry. Don't you wish you had been there? 07.30.04 by Pele (The In on the What)
		A full house for local rock? You bet! Super cover band Badfish played Sublime songs at the Strand, and before that, Bad Larry, M80, and Racquetball showed all the hep cats how to dance the night away.
	Slugworth, Randy Pinto and the Galactic Boots, Shed, and Ruin the Ending 07.16.04 by Pele (In on the What)
		Pele reviews Ruin the Ending, Shed, Slugworth, and Randy Pinto and the Galactic Boots at the newly-reopened Green Room. Have a look.
	Big D, Streetlight Manifesto, and Slik Willy at the Call 07.13.04 by Pele (In on the What)
		Big D and the Kids Table played at the Call. Slik Willy and Streetlight Manifesto opened. Hear the legendary story of the most hardcore ska fan on the block.
	Zox, State Radio, and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers Give A Valentine's Day Hug 02.14.04 by Pele (In on the What)
		Zox, State Radio and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers played a very special show on February 14. Interested? You should be.