The Midwestern Takeover
The Midwest took over the East Coast last week as Minneapolis punks Dillinger Four and Off With Their Heads brought along newcomers Tightwire to play a few shows in New York City, Washington DC, and Asbury Park, NJ. Their Asbury date at House of Independents was the last of their mini tour and a celebration of Asbury Park music scene legend Jim Norton’s 50th birthday. In addition to the three midwestern bands were Jersey rockers, The Vansaders and their blend of punk and rock n roll. What had transpired was one hell of a birthday party.
THE VANSADERS
First to hit the stage were The Vansaders. The Asbury Park based rockers had come out in full priest costumes as they were there to save our souls through punk and rock-n- roll. Either that or to celebrate Halloween a bit early, but the former sounds more entertaining. The Vansaders “blessed” the crowd by mixing what sounds closest to Bouncing Souls riffs with an Old 97s vibe, thus kicking off the night.
F.F.O.: The Bouncing Souls, Old 97s, folk-punk.
Their set included:
End of the Line
Highway
Stuck in NYC
Long Lost
So Far Away
Sunrise
They Call Me Steve (Teenage Bottlerocket cover)
Roll the Dice
Fire That Burns
TIGHTWIRE
After the Vansaders, Minneapolis’ Tightwire took to the stage and made one hell of an impression. Having just released their debut record, Six Feet Deep, on Red Scare Records a few weeks earlier, they played almost all of it live and if there’s one record to end up on your debut end of the year list, Six Feet Deep deserves it. Their set sounded like a heavier version of The Ergs, which sent the crowd into a frenzy. Basically, if they play a show near you, you should check ‘em out.
F.F.O.: The Copyrights, The Loved Ones, The Ergs.
Their set included:
Draggin’ Me
Told Ya
Out of It
Spell on Me
Pentagram Tattoo
Don’t Like To Lose
Hidden Planet
Simple Question
Don’t Wanna Wait
Body Language
Six Feet Deep
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS
Off With Their Heads followed Tightwire’s set. What was supposed to be an acoustic endeavour turned into frontman Ryan Young on guitar with bandmates John Polydoros on bass and Kyle Manning on drums because why not. The band blasted through their set as the crowd screamed along to each song. The audience completely lost it once Ryan Young jumped down into the crowd to sing “Clear the Air”, rushing the stage as if this was the last song of the entire night.
Their set included a mixture of the songs below:
I Am You
Eyes
Focus on Your Family
Trying to Breathe
Jane
Seek Advice Elsewhere
Always Alone
Go On Git Now
Fuck This, I’m Out
Nightlife
Clear the Air
DILLINGER FOUR
Ending, or starting, the party were Dillinger Four. While it was a Sunday night, you would have thought otherwise as the House was packed in. As the band ripped through classics like “Noble Stabbings” and “doublewhiskeycokenoice” the crowd lost it; a pit opened up and others stage dove throughout the set. At times the crowd almost overpowered the band in volume as they screamed along to every song. It’s hard to think of a better way to celebrate a birthday than to have a big ole punk rock party and that’s just what the folks over at House of Independents and Dillinger Four did.
Their setlist included:
A Jingle for the Product
Folk Song
Noble Stabbings
Gainesville,
and a mix of other songs in their discography.
Coverage by Daniella Heminghaus
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