Monday night was one of those last-minute things, where I was pretty much of the opinion that "fuck it, it's not like I have to work tomorrow, and the lawn's mowed -- I'm goin' to a punk show." I hopped on the bike and headed downtown to the Jackpot.
The show was supposed to started at 7 p.m., but I guess that was the door time, because Sucked Dry didn't go on until 8. Still, once they got started with their Prank Records style of hardcore, everything was kosher. Starting a trend that would continue throughout the evening, Sucked Dry played short songs. There was massive amounts of feedback between tunes, but that was fixed with a guitar cable replacement mid-set. The metallic, industrial clang that was the backdrop to all their songs continued unabated, leaving the band's brutal sound unsullied.
Total Wreck, from Charlottesville, VA, was up second. Their fast, machine-gun drumming and guitar-riff-powered sound was fast fast fast. They played a cover (I'm uncertain as to its origin), and that's the point at which the audience went as crazy as the band's lead singer, as if this cover song had given the audience, unfamiliar with this out-of-town band, something to latch onto. Total Wreck's drum-powered sound went over well. They were the band to really get the show kicked into high gear and get the kids (few as there were) moving.
Cringe was up next, hailing all the way from Baltimore. This band's songs were short. Literally, like, 30 seconds long, with between-song banter even longer than the songs themselves. Their set, heavy on chugga-chugga hardcore riffs, lasted a grand total of 10 or 15 minutes. During their short stint on stage, Cringe did manage to talk shit on Topeka's Westboro Baptist Church, showing that they were up to date on local politics. They were also looking for "a big house or a buncha small houses" in which to stay the night.
At this point, I'm having to rely heavily on my notes, because I started drinking a bit, and things got a a little fuzzy. Guilt Trip sounded an awful lot like Career Suicide, despite the fact that the band's lead singer was sporting an "OI" t-shirt. I'd like to state further details on the band, but other than the fact that they were awfully fast and snotty, the details are a little fuzzy.
By the time Guilt Trip took the stage, I'd been at the Jackpot for four hours, and the constant barrage of guitars and loud vocals (to say nothing of the fact that the sound guy was mic'ing the drums like it was an arena rock show) my head was starting to swim a little.
Lawrence's Weird Wounds closed the show with a rather restrained set from Grant and company: the usual art-punk, with the loud, fast angry sound. The danceability that Weird Wounds brings is a welcome respite from the typical 1-2-3-4 punk sound, as the group's underlying groove helps draw the line between its school of punk and the '70s punk of acts like Blondie and Talking Heads.
I didn't stick around until the end of the show, since it was getting late, at least for an all-ages show, and it didn't seem like the crowd was going to get any larger.
The Jackpot's series of punk shows has been stellar. It's just a shame so few people have been attending. Here's to hoping that people take note and start showing up. I'd be seriously disappointed if the quality acts that've been playing ten minutes from my house had to stay in KC and leave me unable to catch their awesomeness. It'd be a shame if the folks in Lawrence lost the chance to see good punk shows just because the audience couldn't be bothered to make it out at the start of the week.
