This
past Saturday evening (5/5/2018), I found myself with a lack of
responsibility outside of working on these articles that I feel
compelled to shove into the gaping maw of the internet. I took this
open schedule opportunity to not get any writing done and made the
hour and a half drive south to Morgantown, WV to see Submachine and
Killer Of Sheep tear it up at 123 Pleasant St.
While
driving down to the venue, I couldn't help but laugh at myself for
traveling over an hour to see bands that I could see by driving
across town but can never find the energy to get off of the couch to
do so. I also found it odd that I knew more about the parking
situation around a club in Morgantown than I do about clubs across
town. I had ventured south to the same place in previous years to check out True Widow and The Evens.
Luckily,
I didn't have to worry about coming up with food since I jammed
enough Onion Maiden to feed a small village down my gullet before I
hit the road. Since the music is my main priority when I embark on
adventures of this sort, I never bothered to find out if there are
any decent food or coffee sources around 123 Pleasant St. outside of
the fast food joints that are on the road between the interstate and
the venue.
Submachine
was the first band to hit stage. After seeing them numerous times
over the years, they are still a lot of fun and they seem to be
getting better with age. It was great to hear the old songs live
again, such as The and Bull In A China Shop, but the handful of newer
songs that they played were even better. The last song they played
sounded completely different from anything they've done in the past. To hear Submachine get out of their comfort zone and so soundly pull
it off was worth putting up with the asshole in the pickup truck with
Texas plates on the highway. If there is a new record in the works,
I will be the first in line to pick it up because it will be a
monster. I think their last record, In Spite Of Everything,
was musically, and sonically, the best thing they've ever done but
these new songs were eye opening scorchers.
Next up
was a band from Cleveland called FYPM (Fuck You Pay Me.) They're a
band that I had heard of and seen their rather memorable name on
flyers but never actually crossed paths with before. Immediately
after their set I picked up both of the LPs they had at the merch
table. With songs like Ammosexual and Douche Chills, what's not to
like. The song that cinched it for me was Steubenville City Limits. It's a song about the Steubenville high school football players from
a few years ago that were doing anything they wanted, including rape,
and these behaviors were excused and covered up by school officials
and the local authorities. And the singer, Tony Erba, gets bonus
points for pointing out to me that there was a Sheetz a few blocks
over during pre-show chit chat when I was complaining about not
having a place to grab coffee for the drive home.
Killer
of Sheep went on next and I'm guessing they went on third in order to
give the drummer, Greg Mairs, a break between sets since he plays in
both Submachine and Killer Of Sheep. I have been enamored with this
band since I saw them open for that Black Flag reunion band, Flag, a
few years ago. Killer Of Sheep had the best set of the night back
then and they get better and better every time I see them. They also
had a few new songs in their set so hopefully they'll be doing
something with them soon. Yes, I know, their album Scorned
came out less than a year ago but I really want to hear what else
Riff Master General, Oyo Ellis and company have up their sleeves.
Sadly,
I had to bail before, Morgantown locals, False Profit played. The
hour was getting late and I was starting to feel it. With the hour
plus drive in pouring rain ahead of me, I decided to call it a night. Since I am conditioned to be chained to a desk at 7am on most days,
I was certainly up past my bed time. I was off to Sheetz for coffee
and then back to my couch. All in all, I'm glad I resisted my usual
impulse to hide in my house to avoid humanity and let shows like this
pass me by.
Here
are some links to check out the bands that were on the bill:
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