On Saturday night, Pickering Creek Inn hosted one hell of a show, proving that punk's not dead, at least not in Phoenixville. The five band lineup consisting of The Noid, American Speedway, Atomic Age, Ex Friends, and Big Green Limousine drew a colossal crowd and created a celebration of chaos. (Slide show at end of story)
Big Green Limousine set the tone of the evening with a comical set of their tried and true brand of pop punk. For nearly 20 years, lead man Chris Noecker has helmed the band and cultivated a loyal following. The crowd was not disappointed on this night, as Noecker's antics were in full effect.
Ex Friends took the stage next and the room filled out. Plow United bassist Joel Tannenbaum sings, plays guitar and writes a bunch of songs. He is joined by designer and illustrator JP Flexner on drums, former Myles of Destruction violinist Audrey Crash on bass, and home recording genius Jayme Guokas on guitar. They just released a 7" on Paper+Plastick, and another one is on the way from Runner Up Records. Having never seen this band before, I was impressed... They were pros.
Atomic Age was also very impressive. They have a Hives kinda feel but with female vox and a dash of rockabilly at times. "That Girl" commands the stage and Porkchop and Matt do a great job on guitar. I had a great time with this band... They had a creepy-surf-rock-meets-old-school-horror vibe that appealed to me, and it clearly appealed to the half-drunken crowd as well. There was even some real dancing!
Big Green Limousine set the tone of the evening with a comical set of their tried and true brand of pop punk. For nearly 20 years, lead man Chris Noecker has helmed the band and cultivated a loyal following. The crowd was not disappointed on this night, as Noecker's antics were in full effect.
Ex Friends took the stage next and the room filled out. Plow United bassist Joel Tannenbaum sings, plays guitar and writes a bunch of songs. He is joined by designer and illustrator JP Flexner on drums, former Myles of Destruction violinist Audrey Crash on bass, and home recording genius Jayme Guokas on guitar. They just released a 7" on Paper+Plastick, and another one is on the way from Runner Up Records. Having never seen this band before, I was impressed... They were pros.
Atomic Age was also very impressive. They have a Hives kinda feel but with female vox and a dash of rockabilly at times. "That Girl" commands the stage and Porkchop and Matt do a great job on guitar. I had a great time with this band... They had a creepy-surf-rock-meets-old-school-horror vibe that appealed to me, and it clearly appealed to the half-drunken crowd as well. There was even some real dancing!
Then it was time for The Noid to assault the stage. Tony Cadaver is the beloved ringmaster of this fierce fivesome and also the man behind the booking of this particular show and others in the area. As with a typical Noid show, there was plenty of drunken wildness happening everywhere. The crowd was lucky to experience this as The Noid will be taking a short break to look for a new bass player. They state, "We will return next month, in full force, to ruin your evenings at all of your favorite local drinking establishments." I hope so... I hope they return to The Pick. Much madness and fun was had by all during this set.
Closing out the night was hard rocking punkers American Speedway. It was only the 2nd show with their new drummer, but man, he didn't show it. The guy is a solid robot and also a teacher of the craft, so you know he's legit. This particular Speedway set was filled with beer spraying which led to some hilarious antics on the dance floor. As the crowd drunkenly took to the pit, dude after dude slipped, slid, and even crashed on to a beer drenched floor. This carnage only fueled the rage of bandleader Michael Kerchner who schooled the audience on the gruesome themes of his songs... "This song is about a guy who built a killdozer... A FUCKING KILLDOZER!" Nasty stuff... GREAT stuff.
I really hope Phoenixville can continue producing these kinds of shows. Yeah, it's known to be a bit of a yuppie town now, but that's just rich folk coming in to eat. Seriously, we've got a ton of weirdos and artsy fartsies, enough to continue doing cool and fun events in our own backyard. I'd like to see more national touring acts making stops here (since they seem to be skipping Philly). But hats off to Tony Cadaver who once again rallies the troops to save punk rock for us all here in town. Great fucking show...
Closing out the night was hard rocking punkers American Speedway. It was only the 2nd show with their new drummer, but man, he didn't show it. The guy is a solid robot and also a teacher of the craft, so you know he's legit. This particular Speedway set was filled with beer spraying which led to some hilarious antics on the dance floor. As the crowd drunkenly took to the pit, dude after dude slipped, slid, and even crashed on to a beer drenched floor. This carnage only fueled the rage of bandleader Michael Kerchner who schooled the audience on the gruesome themes of his songs... "This song is about a guy who built a killdozer... A FUCKING KILLDOZER!" Nasty stuff... GREAT stuff.
I really hope Phoenixville can continue producing these kinds of shows. Yeah, it's known to be a bit of a yuppie town now, but that's just rich folk coming in to eat. Seriously, we've got a ton of weirdos and artsy fartsies, enough to continue doing cool and fun events in our own backyard. I'd like to see more national touring acts making stops here (since they seem to be skipping Philly). But hats off to Tony Cadaver who once again rallies the troops to save punk rock for us all here in town. Great fucking show...
