The Birch Hill 1999 NJ Ska and Punk Fest
June 28, 1999 @The Birch Hill
review by dxboi
Maybe its the lack of sleep, maybe its the heat, but for whatever reason i find
it hard to remember details of this show less than 24 hours later. The whole
night seems a blur of crowd surfers, sweat, $3 bottles of poland spring, and the
usual oh-so-familiar faces. Rather than write one, continuous review, i'm gonna
break it down band-by-band. I'll try and get them in the right order, but don't
get mad if i screw up. (if you're gonna get mad at me for something, find
something good, like how i stole all the tools out of your toolshed and made an
outhouse on your front lawn!)
Lucky : I showed up a little late due to a previous engagement, therefore Lucky
was the first band i saw. This was the second time i had the chance to check out
this all-girl band, but i still havent been able to pick up one of their tapes.
A pity really, because they're very good. They seem to have a wide range of
influences (i swear i hear some Steely Dan in there.) which combine to make a
somewhat unique sound. Theyre a welcome change from all the ska, pop-punk, etc.,
that i'm used to.
Foil : Right after Lucky was Foil........again. I've seen Foil so many times
that all their shows are starting to merge together into one big memory. Its
very annoying. They played the standards, like "Makes Us survive", "I Smoke",
"Chronologically", "Hoodlum", etc. It was one of their better sets, and a vast
improvement over the last time i saw them at Cheesequake Firehouse. Eventually
later on in the night Nuno played drums for Professor Plum (i'm not totally sure
why), and then, even later, their sax player played with Inspecter 7.
Catch 22 : There's been alot of talk lately about how the "new" Catch 22 sucks.
To be honest with you, i never really saw the old Catch 22, therefore i have
nothing to compare to, but i was astounded by them last night. Standing in the
back looking down on every single person in the crowd just going nuts for Catch
22 was definitely the highlight of my night. They were great last night. I
walked in on them right in the middle of "Keasbey Nights", which i think was the
first song. Like most of the songs it has a "hardcore" feel to it now. I, for
one, like it better this way. The cd is cool, but one thing that always bothered
me was how it was sorta jazzy at parts, which i like, but its just not what i
wanna listen to sometimes. Catch 22 was full of energy, opted on some songs to
let the crowd sing entire verses and choruses on their own. It was quite a
sight. They played "Sick and Sad", "Dear Sergio", "Giving Up, Giving In" (which
was unbelievable), "Kristina She Doesn't Know I Exist", "1234 1234", and ended
with "American Pie", dragging out the last chorus for just about 10 minutes. By
the end of the set, there was anywhere between 10-15 people onstage. Another
cool thing was that Catch 22 sponsored a little contest of sorts to see which
crowd surfer could remain "afloat" the longest. If this is whats referred to as
"bad" Catch 22, i could only imagine what they used to be like.
One Cool Guy: I havent seen OCG in a very long time, since they played with
Mephiskapheles. Since then they've gone on a national tour, and gotten bigger
than ever before. Despite this, they havent really changed much since that Club
Bene show. They still open with "X-Ample", and played all the same songs,
basically every song from the cd and the seven-inch, plus "2-Tone World". Now,
keep in mind, they played them well. OCG is probably loved more than any other
band in NJ, if only for the fact that rarely ever do they leave NJ (although
lately theyve been playing all over the place, from Florida to NYC to
Connecticut). It was a good set, and though the dancing got a little violent at
parts, and somebody threatened to kill me (WHATS UP CHUCK!), it was good stuff
for the most part.
The Youth Ahead: Somebody in scheduling had the bright idea to put on Catch 22
and The Youth Ahead at the same time, therefore the Youth Ahead didn't have as
big a crowd as theyre probably used to. In the past i've often said that i don't
like the Youth Ahead, but the more i see them the more i begin to realize where
there appeal lies, which is in the simple catchiness of their songs. They got
stuck on the second stage, and didn't have the best sound system going for them.
It was a good set (the parts i saw at least), but they've sounded better. They
played "I Think We're Alone Now", and all the usual stuff, as well as alot of
songs off their new album coming out in a few weeks.
Dodgeball: Dodgeball was one of the many smaller bands playing on the "punk"
stage. I'd barely ever heard of them before but i was pleasantly surprised by
what i saw. They played good pop-punk, and had alot of fun with the tiny crowd
who came to see them. Probably more than the 400+ people who were sweating it
out in the other room to see Professor Plum.
Sharky's Machine: I only saw about 15 minutes of these guys, but what i saw was
good. Most old-school punk usually comes across as just a bunch of guys who
can't play their instruments and play the same song over and over, but these
guys actually have some good songs and gained alot of new fans that night. I
know they have a cd out, but i didnt have the sufficient funds to buy it. (damn
those $3 waters.)
Inspecter 7: This was Inspecter 7's first show without Guisseppe, who recently
left to follow a job opportunity. Skooch has taken over on some of the vocals,
and the sax player from Foil filled in on some (but not all) of Skooch's sax
parts. It needs a little work, but i think with a little time the new setup will
work and I7 will return to their former selves. This night they just didnt seem
as into it as they usually do, nor did the crowd who by this time were so tired
that most could barely stand, let alone dance. I7 abandoned the usual "Reshape"
opening and rather started with a cover of "One Step Beyond." Not bad. They than
proceeded to play "Sleeping With the Enemy", "The Game", "H.C.S.",and "Agent
86." It was at this point that i had to leave, albeit a little dissapointed with
I7's set. I'm sure that the next time i see them they'll be back in top form
though. Guisseppe's departure has hurt them, but by no means will it kill them.
back to articles
