Live Reviews, East & West:

Screeching Weasel/MTX/The Queers

Webster Hall NYC 7/25/15

Growing up I had come to terms with shows that I would never have the chance to see. I had to come to terms with shows that just weren’t going to happen or line ups from bands that for whatever reason were never going to reunite. A few months ago my iPhone bings! and I get a text from Jim that says “what do you think?” with a link to a recently announced show at Webster Hall. That show being one that I can honestly say I never thought I would see but have been dreaming about since I was 12. I said “God I hope we don’t have a wedding to go to that weekend because my wife is going to be pissed that she has to go alone since I’m going to this show.” Thankfully, there were no weddings and arraignments were made, tickets procured. (Ed. Note: Speak for yourself, Ryan. I wound up going to a wedding and missing the show. - Jim T.)

With my excitement pouring out of my ears I called one of my friends to tell him about the show and informing him how not buying a ticket was one of the biggest mistakes of his life. “It’s not even the real band” was the first thing out of his mouth. Which is totally true. This is not Joe, B-Face and Hugh at The Rat or Ben, Vapid, Danny Panic and Jughead at McGregors. Those days sadly are long gone. The urge to sing the songs I grew up with are not. It’s kind of like being the smart kid in the dumb row at school. Close but not close enough. My reservations about new line ups and poor decisions from a few years ago be damned; I was going to go, drink beer and sing my grey haired head off.

I arrived at the show just as MTX had started their set promptly at 7 pm. The set was very tight with very little stage banter, just great song after great song. Dr. Frank is one of the best song writers (and writers in general) that I have ever heard. I sang along with every word and jumped around. MTX was the only band on the bill that I had not seen. They were, in all honesty, the band that drew me to the show. I am a huge fan of Dr. Frank’s King Dork series and was blown away not only by the show but genuine love and respect he showed everyone at the show who asked him to sign a record or take a picture.


The Queers were up next with a line up I have not seen them with before. Anyone who has seen The Queers knows that at any given time there is a rotating cast of characters backing up Joe, but tonight seemed special. They focused on a lot of their pop tunes and Dr. Frank even said it was probably the best Queers set he'd ever seen. Having seen them twice a year for about the last 17 years, I would agree. Joe seemed really into it tonight and the band was extremely tight and focused on a lot of their pop songs and a few Ramones covers which just felt right. Just like every Queers show, it was a giant sweaty singalong. I was really impressed with Patrick on bass. He seemed to be having just as much fun as all of the crowd jumping all over each other.

The wild card for me was Screeching Weasel. I had not seen them since Philly in 2010 and was wondering what kind of a set it was going to be. Old songs, new songs, Ben’s “performance Art” stage banter? At first glance I was worried on seeing Ben take the stage in his bedazzeled jacket. Thankfully the band ripped through classic Screeching Weasel song after Screeching Weasel song. Into the set, Ben asked if the audience wanted to hear five new songs off the new record or cut the set short. The audience as a whole wanted to hear the new songs. I went to take a piss after yelling, Play “My Friends Are Getting Famous!” By that point I was feeling no pain and had no desire to hear songs from Baby Fat. That’s just me. I will say that many people seemed very into it. The new band sounded great. Ben has surrounded himself with a group of great musicians. The show was one of the best I've ever seen and was thrilled to have the chance to get to see a show that I never thought would happen.

Screeching Weasel / MTX / The Queers

Observatory North Park, San Diego

A short while ago, I reviewed Screeching Weasel’s latest album, Baby Fat Act I, a punk rock opera. I asked the question whether Ben’s current band, put together after his old band all quit on him in the wake of a certain incident at SxSW, matches the quality of the old lineups, and whether Ben still has the ability to write great songs. My conclusion was negative. Well, I’m here to tell you that I was both right and I was wrong. But more about that in a bit.

The show was held in the recently renovated and renamed Observatory North Park. The old North Park Theater was completely redone inside, ripping out the cushy seating and replacing it with a wide open space with a sound booth near the back. Further behind, a bar was added, though drinks had to stay inside the bar area, because the venue hosts all-ages shows. I was impressed with the redo, its huge stage well-lit, though maybe a bit larger than need be. Certainly the best feature of the new space is the abundant air vents inserted into the floor, with cool air blowing up from underneath. Anyone who’s been trapped in a hot, crowded club can appreciate this.

First up on this night was the Mr. T Experience, commonly referred to, simply, as MTX. Dr. Frank continues to surround himself with competent musicians, play fun, humorous mid-tempo pop punk, and steer clear of controversy. This night was no exception. They played through a forty-minute set of songs from their catalog, including a couple of my favorites that live on my iPod, “Swallow Everything” and “Fill In The Blank.” I had never seen them live, so I was happy to do so this night, and they didn’t disappoint.

After a 20-minute break and changeover, The Queers were up. But Joe didn’t have his guitar with him! He told the audience that he was going to just do vocals this night, and show Ben Weasel how it’s done. On stage with the band, playing bass, was Dangerous Dave, with Chris Fields on guitar. For awhile, things were great, with the band ripping through their classic songs. Joe, free of his guitar, moved around the stage quite a bit and sang with even more ferocity than usual. He even used up much of his supply of bottled water by emptying the contents on the audience. About two-thirds of the way through the set, however, a scuffle broke out – on stage. Dangerous Dave, who was obviously somewhat intoxicated, had been stumbling around on stage, bumping into the other band members, and being kind of obnoxious. Finally, after being hit on the chest with the headstock of Dave’s bass, Chris had enough, and shoved Dave back. Dave fell back into the drums, and security rushed on stage to break it up. I was certain it had to have been staged, but apparently not, and Dave was escorted backstage and didn’t return. The balance of the set was incident-free, with a cover of The Ramones’ “The KKK Took My Baby Away” and the classic “This Place Sucks” closing things out.

Another break, another changeover, and Screeching Weasel was up, a band I hadn’t seen live in over twenty years. The band, sans Ben, began with “Tremendo Fantasia,” the “overture" to Baby Fat, which I described as being like a Sergio Leone soundtrack done on the cheap. It was just as cheesy live as it was on the record. And then, out came Ben. He was clad in a bejeweled sport coat over a black button down shirt, and sporting some kind of chain around his neck. Looking rather stern, he and the band lurched into…some great, classic Weasel tunes! Here’s where I was wrong in my previous assessment, folks. This current crop of musicians that Ben has recruited are great. They ripped through all the rapid-fire snot-filled songs like they had been playing them all their lives. Songs from throughout the band’s history filled the venue, and the assembled punks sang along, fists waiving in the air.

At about the one-third mark in the hour-long set, Ben paused and mentioned the new album, asking the crowd whether they wanted to hear some of the new songs or more of the old songs. The crowd responded by asking for more classics, but Ben pretended like people asked for the new stuff. Here’s where I was right in that album review. The new songs just can’t compare to the old ones. They just aren’t very well written. The crowd was visibly unimpressed, and after four or so songs, the classics came back. A few times, however, someone in the audience was throwing ice cubes at Ben. At one point he swatted it down, and other times the perpetrator just missed. But near the end of the set, Ben called out one Mohawk-sporting punk. “Every time something’s been thrown at me, I look at where it came from, and every time, you’re there,” Ben accused. The guy declared his innocence, and Ben said he was sorry if he was wrong. But then someone shoved a cup full of ice from the guy’s girlfriend’s hands. Ben was pissed, declaring that the guy was having his girlfriend do his dirty work, and he called the girlfriend various obnoxious names that I will not repeat here. Others near the couple began to attack them, and security jumped into action, breaking up the fight, and dragging out the guilty parties.

In the wake of this latest incident, Ben spoke of being an outsider in the outsider’s world of punk, with people always hating him and excluding him. He called the crowd “my people,” declaring that they, too, were outsiders. “If you want the high-fiving group of friends, go up to the Bay area to Fat Wreck Chords,” he said, implying that they weren’t a real punk label. This didn’t win over many people, but Ben launched into the song “Cool Kids,” off Bark Like a Dog.

Finally, the song I had been waiting for, right near the end of the set. From Boogadaboogadaboogada!, “This Ain’t Hawaii!” It brought back memories of seeing Screeching Weasel in small clubs. Before they got “big,” they were just another local band, like everyone else, and, though Ben was sometimes difficult, there weren’t the kind of crazy incidents that seem to follow him around now. I can’t help but think that if Ben took a step back and had a bit more humble attitude, things would calm down. But then he wouldn’t be Ben Weasel.

Bottom line, though the show was marred by a few fights and incidents, and even though Screeching Weasel spent valuable set time on the Baby Fat songs, the night was a hell of a lot of fun.

PS – I apologize for the lack of Screeching Weasel photos. The band, for fear of photos being used in negative reviews, prohibits photography at their shows.