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The Punknews.org Tour

live in Cleveland / Detroit / Toledo (2004)
Punknews.org

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

Contributed by: CaptainCrunch
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on August 17th 2004

The Punknews.org tour rolled into my neck of the woods and I was fortunate enough to catch more than one show. This review is a compilation of what I saw.

Straight Outta Junior High was the opener on the stops I saw. These guys were hilarious, and they put on a terrific show to boot. Good times all around. Although they have songs “about lesbians” and one that’s entirely comprised of Japanese words, they were original enough to grab my attention. I’ve heard people bring up comparisons to Nerf Herder, and I’d say their antics onstage made me think of old school Blink. Genuinely funny, not overdone. Their sets were a breath of fresh air for those of us who are used to seeing bands take themselves way too seriously. I’d give them a 7. If they come to your town, check them out for a guaranteed good time.

I’ve seen Before I Go, a band hailing from the Detroit suburbs, a little more than a year ago. I’ve also seen them open for Motion City Soundtrack. They have a rather strong following in the Detroit area, especially in the suburbs, and I remembered them to be pretty solid. This time around they were not as impressive. They just didn’t seem to me to be all together. The vocals were average and didn’t seem to go well with the rest of their sound. His screams were alright but the actual singing was more like melodic talking without any rhythm to go along without the music. It just didn’t fit. Probably an accurate microcosm of the band itself, the frontman’s clothing ensemble consisting of diesel jeans and matching shoes, belt, shirt, and snazzy frosted tips (estimated value of outfit: 2 months rent) didn’t seem to go with the rest of the band’s t-shirts and jeans attitude. Everyone else seemed to be more interested in playing their instruments than looking good, and if they got on the same page they could be a better band, in my opinion. I give them a 5.

Somerset was definitely the strongest band on the bill. These guys are all they are cracked up to be. The Minneapolis quartet blistered through their set each night and brought the rock to anyone fortunate enough to be watching. They played songs off their This Thought Process EP as well as the songs available on their site for download. They also mixed in a couple new songs, one of which was excellent, the other was so-so. As someone who’s seen them multiple times, I do have to say they are one of the most prepared bands I have ever seen, and they really care about their music and performances. They put on an excellent show and I highly recommend them. Somerset gets an 8, they are a strong band that will garner a lot of attention in the years to come.

I saved the most outrageous for last. The Dog and Everything didn’t really steal the show, but they did steal the coveted “unintentional comedy” award. These guys do play some pretty good pop-rock, its catchy and very easy to bob your head to. But they have to be the cheesiest band I have ever seen. I don’t even know where to start, I mean, they had a roadie, which is kind of bad in itself for such a small tour, but they didn’t even help take their stuff off the stage at all. As soon as they finish they jump offstage and run to their merch table to meet the “hoardes” of “screaming” fans while the roadie cleans up after them. Supposedly they made a show on the tour and other bands sets cut short because of this. Completely bush league. At one show I was at, Somerset was helping their roadie unload ‘The Dog’s’ gear just so they could set up their own stuff. It doesn’t stop there. Their in- between song banter is as goofy as it gets, and the singer actually asked the crowd to “give it up” for himself. Please. They also decided to freestyle rap between songs on one occasion as well. Hilarious. Supposedly they are big in Chicago, and that’s very believable. They have a very mainstream sound but somebody forgot to tell them they aren’t playing arena shows or the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice awards. I give them a 6, they are very good at what they do, although it definitely isn’t my kind of music.

In all, the tour was a very good time. Anyone who attended got to see some good music from a few different genres for a great price. These bands might not be playing small tours for a lot longer so it was a good experience. That, and I got to see The Dog and Everything rap.

PICTURES FROM CLEVELAND SHOW
Straight Outta Junior High
Before I Go
Somerset

VIDEOS FROM CLEVELAND SHOW
Somerset - The Tragedy Of Christopher Needs
Somerset - Dub

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Anonymous (August 19, 2004)

i hear The Dog Any Everything just scored a sweet tour with "Hey Arnold" & "Doug".

megan (August 18, 2004)

1. anthony = awesomeness
2. somerset = amazingness

i saw this show in chicago, and as soon as somerset got off stage i called scott punknews to say "this band is too amazing for their own good, everyone else playing tonight should be embarassed because they were just upstaged in a major way."

but then i remembered how much straight outta junior high made me laugh and thought, well, maybe they shouldn't be embarassed, but everyone else should be.

this score is for captain crunch!!!

Anonymous (August 18, 2004)

What do you base that on , mykindofmurder?
http://www.rocknrollsubmarine.com if you really want to check us out then say we suck

Crookedsuperhero (August 18, 2004)

Is this the same somerset who released fast cars, slow guitars?

mykindofmurder (August 18, 2004)

to the dude below me....

you're band must FUCKIN suck.

Anonymous (August 18, 2004)

Before I go is one of the worst bands in the area, plus they're assholes. My band open for them in Toledo once and they brought in an Army of 15-year old girls to their show. Now this is fine and dandy cuz it's nice to have people at your show. But when you play at a bar they get their money from drinks and not from the door. Since they have a decent sized following they were supposed to play last, so as my band's loading on stage they get the promoter to change the order because they're girlfriends had a curfew. So of course they played, took all their fans with them and left us to play to like the 15 punks that live in Toledo. Of course we ended up getting the plug pulled on us after five songs because we were fighting on stage and turning our amps up louder than 2. Fuck those guys.

CaptainCrunch (August 18, 2004)

Thanks for your comments,.

I didn't judge BIG based on appearance. Their appearance was brought up to better illustrate what I was trying to convey about how the band played. It was merely an analogy to help illustrate my point that they didn't really play well together and didn't seem to be on the same page. If you re-read the paragraph I wrote you'll see that. They were a lot better the last time(s) i've seen them but it seems to me that they have lost a little intensity and cohesion, and because of that their performances were mediocre.

Anonymous (August 18, 2004)

i saw this tour in chicago. . .

Straight Out of Jr. High was funny as hell and played a well put together set, even getting someone like me who doesn't listen to pop punk to bob his head.

Before I Go: i thought these guys were pretty good. The vocals this night were totally on and matched well with the rest of the band. And by the way, judging a band by what they wear is completely ridiculous. Judge the music.

Somerset: The first time i saw this band last year I wasn't all that impressed. But on this night they totally changed my view of them. This is a solid band with a great stage presence and i predict good things.

Swizzle Tree: not on the tour but played in chicago. don't even waste your time with this band.

The Dog and Everything: This band is solid on stage I'll give them that and they have the most serious roadie in all of unsigned pop punk. But i think their music is pretty terrible, and i agree they are super cheesy.

however watching members of Before I Go and Somerset dance around in tiny track shorts during D and E was pretty funny.

mykindofmurder (August 18, 2004)

sounds pretty shitty.

colin (August 18, 2004)

haha

punks can be videogame fans i guess.

i've been playing cs:source for 3 days man, where have you been? (although mine's illegal.)

score's for the tour posters. cause i did 'em.