The Coathangers - Sick Sick Birds - (Stop Worrying and) Love the Bomb -- Black Cat - April 21 2010

(Stop Worrying and) Love the Bomb - We begin with candidates for best band name. They are a locally based four piece with a twin guitar attack. Both guitarists sing lead, one female voice and one male. The sound is sort of a punk-to-hardcore early 80s attack that reminds me of a range from the Alley Cats to the Zero Boys. That covers A-Z, so basically this is good garage-punk with decent hooks, good pace and energy to burn. The vocals got lost in the guitar roar at times and the songs did not vary a lot which one could also say about the Ramones, so it is not a big deal. I enjoyed the set and this is a good band well worth showing up early for. And enough people did in the backroom of the Black Cat.


Sick Sick Birds - Another four piece with one guitarist taking the vocal lead. They are from Baltimore and have a gutsy rock attack somewhat similar to the earnest early 80s of DC. I would say Gray Matter, but they weren't quite up to that standards, so maybe the post-Gray Matter band called Three. Good energy with songs that also fit the indie-rock mode which I cannot define but seems to paint an image clear enough for most people, no matter how broad a land mass it fences in. Some good songs and this band is worth another look. The energy of the set was sapped a bit with slow tuning (a bum string, I believe) and a shoe tying break. But they have a good sound and may do some nice things as they continue to play out.



The Coathangers - My second experience at seeing this Atlanta band who is touring hard and making a decent name for themselves. They have this great attitude first approach but also dish out some great original sounds that are not dissimilar to and edgy off-punk approach that I raved about recently at the Styrenes show. This band really takes me back to my punk days seeing a band like Milwaukee's Ama-Dots. But I heard some sharp music here where I can make a comparison to a fusion between the Slits and TSOL (Beneath the Shadows version). Their songs do attack and twist around in fun original ways. Lots of energy and although the crowd was subdued (as usual) they were clearly into it. Good stuff, check this band out. You will have a blast.

Quote of the Night: From SSB (as opposed to SSD of Boston and SST Records)... "This one's for Craig T..." Probably the first and last time I will hear a song dedicated to Craig T. Nelson. Like I mentioned that tuning took a while and they had to really dig into some old TV to keep the patter going.