Scratch Acid - The Kepones -- 9:30 Club - Nov 4 2011

The Kepones - Tonight is the first DC show for this Richmond band in 11 years. I am not sure they have done a whole lot of anything in that time as their web presence was on the meager side. But they hit the ground running tonight with a moderate to quick paced sludge filled rock'n'roar style that is a perfect fit with the headliner. Tough as nails the whole way through, but melodic enough to allow one to stay with them. This reminds me of what Tales of Terror was doing by laying the foundation for grunge, allow this lacks a bit of the swing. I won't recall the songs, but the I will recall the blast as these stylists got the job done tonight. The crowd dug it as well.

Scratch Acid -I never got to see these guys back in the day, even though I knew their Rabid Cat label mates, the Offenders, rather well. While the Offenders followed the hardcore path, these guys were doing something quite different along the lines of Flipper, the Butthole Surfers among the notable others. I instantly recalled the second song "Mess" and thought that would be the only would I would recall, although a few more were buried deep in my memory. The band was pretty much nailing their signature sound which is a more rudimentary brutal version of what Yow and Sims later would do with the Jesus Lizard. That band had more angular moves, where this one had more twisted noisy chords. They were loud and powerful tonight, although it was the vocal thrusts where I needed my earplugs to parry away the pain. Yow was stalking the stage well and there were plenty of fans excited to hear this band, many for the first time I imagine. The crowd may have been just under the JL's crowd, but not by a whole lot. And the 65 minute set was a blast. Both the guitarist here and in the previous band just let it rip without any fancy pedals/effects board. But I really enjoyed the first of a three-song encore where I named that tune by the second line although I recognized it quickly as something I owned. It was "Damned for All Time" from Jesus Christ Superstar and it was surprisingly effective played mostly straight within the Scratch Acid sound. My final thoughts are of how surprisingly normal this all sounds. They were really quite daring at their time, yet now like so many bands that push the envelope, the sound is part of the foundation for a sprawling complex.

Quote of the Night: I just was about to leave at 9:42pm as a non-related late show was schedule later. The band was thanking the crowd and was wandering off as the house music came up when someone just came in and while putting his ID back in his wallet, looked up and with eyes growing larger stated... "Oh my God, that's fucking bullshit."