Sugar, Spice, and a Dash of Punk
What do you do after spending about ten hours out at a Warped Tour in Phoenix? If you’re me, you take the day off to rest and go out to music the next night. Plus given Harper and the Moths are taking time off to put toward a new album, the Real Fits show was on the top of my radar. The night opened on a fantastic touring band, then flowed into great local acts across two air-conditioned venues.
That touring act would be Beachwood Coyotes from L.A. These awesome indie rockers just spew charisma from their performance. Not including when Jason, lead vocals, went off the stage and sang from the crowd near the end of the set. There is a lot of energy and fun that one can only wish from an opener. I hope I’m not alone in saying Beachwood Coyotes impressed.
Following that up were the local rockers of Fairy Bones. Speaking of rocking, it is like they are leaning more rock than prior times I have seen them. It could be Chelsey, already doing the superb lead vocals, bringing her guitar skills to songs that they play. Whatever it is, it only adds to the already excellent alternative sound they have and makes more people want to move. Fairy Bones keeps sounding better each time I catch them. It brings more anticipation for when I catch them in front of Rozwell Kid.
Harper and the Moths followed that up with their traditional high on enthusiasm and energy performance. That is what I come to see them for, and one of the things that puts them atop my favorite bands in the valley. As stated above, they are taking a little hiatus to work on new music and a new album. This insured I wasn’t going to miss their last set for a little bit. Making it better, they included a treat of a few pieces of new music. I will miss seeing Harper and the Moths perform for the little bit, but I can’t wait to hear the new stuff when they return.
Last up at the Rebel Lounge was a local band I had not seen before tonight, the Real Fits. Returning us more to the rock sounds of our openers, they bring an awesome sound of their own. I’ll admit I got talked into staying a little longer for them as I was trying not to miss a band to be mentioned further down. Though what was my plan to stay for the first a couple songs had turned into staying for their entire set. The Real Fits are another amazing local band discovery for me that I can only anticipate I will catch more of going forward.
As foreshadowed, I ended up doing my Every Show Joe thing and jumping to Time Out Lounge for the I Love Bacon music show. First up I caught a band I had followed for a little, but never crossed paths, Hollowpoint Vigils. This two-piece had just survived Warped Tour the day before, as performers, and made it out for another night of music. High vitality, engaging punk rock came from them. They don’t play a lot of shows with punk rock bands yet, so this is where I plug any bands looking for support on shows to reach out to them. Hollowpoint Vigils are a solid addition to your show line up.
Last up are the guys that don’t get enough credit in the punk scene here and create a fun war with my autocorrect, Burgandy Jurk. They already have a couple albums under their belt bringing a breadth of songs to perform. I’m not sure why I don’t see them on more shows, but this is my sales pitch for anyone looking for more punk bands to add to bills. They are funny, in a Weird Al, but sometimes more offensive kind of way. With that, they exude personality on every stage I’ve seen them. Burgandy Jurk is one of my favorite punk acts in Phoenix. They are the reason I made sure to stop at Time Out Lounge this night. A great closer to my Friday night of music.
