For 20 minutes, though, Nature Boys was a brutal and brilliant summary of decades of punk - from Ramones to Black Flag in two songs, from Stooges to X in one minute. Cursory but sure, compact, clever and spiked with hooks. The crowd fed off the band while it lasted.
Shame, too, because the bands before only played four songs each, just to get to Nature Boys faster. Death Cult (members of Conquerors and Life As We Know It) warmed up our inner ears. Lonesome, gritty riffing was channeled through two Casios, manned by two players, gently stroking notes with blots of cold, wet tones. The honky-tonk got twisted and heavy — like nausea on a cruise at sunset. Fine Hoods colored the dive afterward with crushed, queasy guitar and synth pop. Its inflated frequency range is otherworldly and erratic, but the songs poke tuneful holes through the white noise that suffocates and distracts the music. They have a point to make about the media-saturated, half-deaf world we live in, and they try and teach you how to listen to it. Listen to Fine Hoods here. All these acts are from Kansas City, so watch for them.
Comments (0)