Why oh why hasn't anyone been showing up to punk shows in Lawrence? I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, here, but it's getting ridiculous. When you have Kevin Seconds and Kepi Ghoulie -- frontmen for one of the best hardcore bands and one of the best pop-punk bands, respectively -- only draw 20 people, either the economy or the fans are totally jacked.
Kevin Seconds is best known as the frontman for 7 Seconds, a band known for its straight-edge anthems like "Young 'Til I Die" and also for an amazing cover of "99 Loveballoons." Seconds' solo work is much along the lines of his work with his "loud band." All the songs were upbeat, catchy, and (dare I say it?) positive. The real highlight of the show, aside from the fact that Seconds is a pretty dab hand at folk strumming, was to discover that he has a range. While there's certainly some melody in those old hardcore songs, Seconds' solo work shows a lot of vocal power. His ability to hit the high notes is undiminished by age, and all of the songs he played last night featured a lot of sustained notes that I never would have guessed from the short bursts of vocals in his early days.
Kepi Ghoulie played drums with Seconds. Well, rather -- he played a drum with Seconds, specifically a snare borrowed from the Hemmorhoids, along with a tambourine he tapped with his foot. Seconds, as backing for Kepi, played the same snare, as well as a small plastic trash can.
Now, Kepi was the artist I was there to see last night. I love Kevin Seconds, and I love his band, and I am going to order his solo stuff from Asian Man as soon as I get paid this week. This show made me a fan of his solo work after being somewhat skeptical before. Kepi, though? I've been a fan of his since the Groovie Ghoulies, and last night marked the fourth time in a year I've seen him play. It would have been five, had I known that Seconds and Kepi had played the Boobie Trap in Topeka Tuesday night.
But, anyhow -- Kepi Ghoulie plays new solo stuff, old Ghoulies' tunes, covers, and interlaces it all with clever, funny, and mildly self-deprecating commentary. The running theme last night seemed to be Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. No Frances Bean, that's just too far. His tunes are all about people being werewolves or vampires or in space, and they're catchy as fuck. Seriously, I see Kepi, and I am just in an amazingly upbeat mood the entire next week. What put me in a super-happy mood was not only the fact that he played "Carly Simon," "Supermodel," and "Jetpack," but his cover songs were also amazing, especially "A New England." I didn't even care if he messed up the words to the Billy Bragg tune. Everyone in the audience seemed pretty cool with it, as well, helping him out with what verse went where.
Speaking of cool covers, check out my video of him doing Daniel Jonhston's "Devil Town" below.
Openers the Hemorrhoids were not in their best form. I think they do better in smaller clubs, with shorter sets, and a drunker crowd. I can't blame them for a being a little off. This is a punk band used to playing late, and somewhat drunk. The show at the Jackpot last night started at 9 p.m., and was over well before midnight. The 'Rhoids were nice and loud, and played their Lawrence strain of the Ramones/Queers/NOFX/Screeching Weasel/Green Day pop-punk hybrid fast and snotty. The really interesting thing about their set wasn't so much the comments made by the band like "We should have played earlier" and "Here's a new one -- it can't go any worse than the old ones," but the five incongruous girls in high heels and tailored shorts. They looked like party girls who'd been kidnapped on their way to the Jonas Brothers, and dropped straight into a punk show.
Kepi Ghoulie and Kevin Seconds will be coming back in November with "rock friends." Hot diggity. Go see this show. I don't care if you're not a "punk person." My wife's not, and she stood in front of the stage for both Kevin and Kepi, and she didn't know a single song. Also, next year is the 30thanniversary of 7 Seconds, and there will be a tour celebrating that and new releases and stuff like that, all according to Mr. Seconds himself.
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Sorry to see that this was poorly attended. I would have gone, but a show that gets over near midnight doesn't get me back home until 1:00, and I already did that once this week (for John Doe and Jill Sobule). Something had to give. Glad to know they'll be back.
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