The New Class of Punks
Tonight was a night that I got to check in on how some of the younger music talent is killing it in the local scene. I could put each one of the bands into a different punk rock genre giving a good mix of sounds. They had a solid turnout of the under twenty ones moshing and moving around most of the night. These kids have passion and energy for music, and I love it.
Right off the bat, I was catching Sunlaand who I had unfortunately missed the night prior. These guys and a gal were the skate punks of the night despite once uttering “fuck skateboards.” They have a song “Skate or Die” and self-titled album with a skateboard on it, so clearly I knew this sentiment to be false. The set was only the first of bands to get the crowd moving around the circle pit. They have a song titled “Michael Cera” so, of course, they are awesome and you should go check out that album with a skateboard on it on their Bandcamp.
From there we got our pop punks of the night, with Expiration Date. They reminded me in sound and stage presence of another band I had seen recently, Assuming We Survive. Before their set started, they brought two friends on stage and had a cheering contest for them. Middle of the set they played as the original four that started the band, where it seems they are losing their Joe after this show. Meanwhile, Noah went and enjoyed himself in the pit for a song before returning up on stage to play guitar. They engaged that audience the entire set.
The hard punk rockers with red stage lights most of the set, Kill Your TV, were next. These guys were what I needed to hear remembering I had to work my regular job the next morning. These guys come with the volume and vitality. Aaron kept working to incite the crowd and keep the pit going. I had one kid next to me after a song, just hand his friend his jacket and jump into it with a couple others. These dudes know how to rock a stage.
Last was the guy and girls in Zero Degrees North, who I’d probably call the 80’s indie punk rock of the night. They remind me of Dead Milkmen a lot, with a little bit of Jeff Rosenstock in the blend. Garrett’s jacket is more fashionable than anything I own. Their bassist seemed to have the most energy, rocking around that stage the entire set. That was a fantastic way to top off an amazing group of younger punk bands coming up. People should check out any of the bands mentioned here if you get the chance.
