Pointed Sticks Play A Free Show!!

Last weekend local power-pop legends the Pointed Sticks played a free show outdoors down on West 4th Ave in Kitsalano neighborhood. The streets were shut down for some sort of "summer of love" anniversary celebration, and they had old cars on display, local merchants were having sidewalk sales, and there was also 2 stages "celebrating the music of the 60's". Somehow the Pointed Sticks, late 70's punk/power-pop, ended up playing... right after a Doors tribute band. I don't get it, but i'm not complaining because the Pointed Sticks don't play very often (i think this would be their 5th local show since reforming).
By time the boys came onto the tiny stage next to the Marks Work Wear House the sun was blazing hot and not showing any signs of easing up. Before they kicked into their 1st song the crowd was treated to a little rant from Art Bergman, formally of the legendary Young Canadians! From what i understand Art no longer lives in Vancouver, and it appears his health is on the decline. But even though he looked rough and needed a cane to keep himself up he is still filled with piss & vinegar as his rant ended with him wishing death upon the audience (or something like that). The Pointed Sticks played a bunch of new songs over their hour-long set, some of which i had heard before, plus a healthy amount of the classics. Highlights for me were when they played "Apologies" and "Part of the Noise", which had the small crowd singing along.
I managed to catch a CD thrown into the crowd, it was a new Pointed Sticks CD called "Raw Power Pop" and features 18 or 19 songs recorded at some of the reunion shows they've played. Nice little treat for this fan!!
Here's some pictures from the show....

Art Bergman addressing the crowd.

Stiff Little Fingers

I know Stiff Little Fingers are well known, and get a fair bit of praise, but yet i still feel like the band is often overlooked. I'll be honest here, not only do i consider their first LP "Inflammable Materials" to be one of the best records EVER but i think this band is just as important as the Clash as far as late 70's punk bands go AND i think they're way fuckin' better than the Sex Pistols. Yeah i said it, and yeah i'm going to stand behind all of those statements. When i first started listening to punk i somehow got my hands on a copy of "Inflammable Materials", i still own that copy, and i remember my jaw hitting the floor when the record started off with "Suspect Device". The guitar was so raw & gritty, the lyrics were filled with rage and spat out with conviction, it was exactly what the teenage me wanted out of music. My only complaint with this record, then and now, is the record closing song "Closed Groove". It's not that the song is horrible, i actually kinda dig it now, but it just seems like such a silly way to end such an angry and amazing record! Especially with "Alternative Ulster" being right before it, why wouldn't you just end with that? I mean, that shouldn't have been buried that deep into the record anyways, but if you aren't going to put it on side 1 then why not just close out the record with it?
Anyhow, about a week ago my friend Jeff got some records from a friend of his to sell. |Out of the pile i got a few, most notably Stiff Little Fingers "Alternative Ulter" 7". This single came before the "Inflammable Materials" LP and not only is this a different, and more raw version of "Alternative Ulster" but it also features the otherwise unreleased B-side "78 RPM". Like i said the A side is rawer, and just explodes of the turntable. "78 RPM" is a great song, and i don't understand why it never got put onto a full length. It's a great jangly song with Jake Burns just spitting out the lyrics . Fuck, this is such a classic 7" single!!

Old Pop-Punk Compilations...

If you look thru my collection you'll see that i'm interested in all the different aspects of hardcore/punk, pretty much all the styles and different scenes are represented (except for white power shit like Skrewdriver). But one style that you'll see alot of is 80's/90's style pop punk. I still love alot of the melodic punk that pops up in basements and not the kind that pops up on billboard charts. It seems that the early to mid 90's were the best years for this style of punk, with cities like Berkeley/San Francisco/Oakland and Gainesville, Florida providing alot of my favorite bands. You could usually count on labels like No Idea, Very Small, Lookout!, Mutant Pop, Allied and others to provide the goods. I'm going to write sporadically about some old pop punk bands, and maybe i'll even upload some lost gems. This week i got a couple compilation singles in the mail that i won on ebay. One of them i had been trying to procure for a while, and the other i honestly had never heard of before but had to have since it featured Cringer. First up, "Misfit Heartbeat" on Take A Day Records (which didn't release alot but most of it was great), and this double-7" comp features Pinhead Gunpowder, Wynona Riders, Rhythm Collision, Pot Valiant and others. Nice little photo copied booklet with lyrics and what not inside the photo copied sleeve. All in all not the strongest comp, the Pinhead Gunpowder song is ok but not great, Wynona Riders cover "Kids in America" (it seems like a million pop punk bands covered this song years ago), Rhythm Collision has one of their great speedy melodic songs here, and Pot Valiant is surprisingly great on here with a song that sounds like old DC emo or a bay area band called Scherzo. The other comp i got is called "Things I Stole" and features Christ on A Crutch, Lupo, Cringer, and Libido Boyz, and is on Disaster Records. Not 100% "pop punk". Like i said, i had never heard of this record or label so when i saw the listing i had to throw my hat into the ring and try and win this 7". The packaging on this record is great, the picture sleeve folds out into a big poster with some original poster art on 1 side with the other side providing band info & lyrics. Christ on a Crutch, who are NOT pop punk, does a Diddy Squat cover which is pretty cool. We don't need to mention Lupo. The Cringer song comes from when the band lived in San Francisco which is important to note since their early days in Hawaii and L.A. are when the band was still weak and honing their skills. Their song, "Hooked On Junk" is similar in style to the songs on the (amazing) "Karin" 7". These later songs show the progression in Lance's lyrics and music that eventually became the blueprint for J Church. Libido Boyz song here is fast and melodic, sounding like a combination or SNFU (and other skate rock bands) and Uniform Choice (mainly vocals). I recommend tracking this down if only for the Cringer song.

Gaslight Anthem

A few years back i discovered a New Jersey band called the Gaslight Anthem, i can't remember why i looked into them, but i felt an instant connection to the band lyrically and musically. And lately it seems like i'm not the only one feeling this connection. Musically the band reminded me of some older melodic punk bands (the vocals have a little gruffness to them) mixed with some rock elements that bring to mind Bruce Springsteen and some old college rock (for those who remember the term). Lyrically, they flow more like essays, or a book but aren't too wordy or filled with whiny poetry.
This week I got 2 new 7"s from the Gaslight Anthem; one is a sneak peek into their new (2nd) full length "The '59 Sound", while the other is demo versions of songs from their 1st full length "Sink or Swim".
The 2 new songs are incredible that show a progression without changing their sound. They've added a bit more of a "roots" influence, a little of the Springsteen influence, especially on the song "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues". And you gotta love a song with lyrics that name-drop Tom Petty.
The "Sink of Swim Demos" 7" showcases songs that i'm already familiar with but with a rougher, and looser quality to them. I imagine that this is closer to what the songs sound like in a live setting. I think in some ways i like these versions better, especially the haunting "Navesink Banks". This record is on Devil Dance Records, and i lucked out in getting the "tour press", with a nice grey/blue split vinyl, see the picture below.
Over the next few weeks the mailman should be bringing me not only the new full length on vinyl but also a very sweet looking Gaslight Anthem coffee mug! Both ordered from the fine folks at Vinyl Collective.