Voodoo Glow Skulls / Whole Wheat Bread in Philadelphia (6/11/08)
When I heard that Voodoo Glow Skulls were playing a 21+ show up in North Philly at the North Star Bar on Thursday (6/11/08), I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I’ve seen the band before, but never in a bar setting, and never a 21+ crowd. On top of that, the venue has a “strict no moshing” rule.
In a narrow, small room to the side of the bar was the stage, and there was about a crowd of no more than 40 people. Half fans of ska and punk, the other half fratboys there to drink.
Next up was a three man band from
Whole Wheat Bread
In the past, I never was a huge fan of Whole Wheat Bread. Their recorded stuff is a little too poppy for my liking, and their live shows usually are a bit as well. This time around however, they played the rawest set I have ever seen them do. I only own “Minority Rules”, however, they played some material off of their EPs, and it definitely sounded like some solid songs. And for a band mixing crunk and punk, they do it surprisingly well. The crowd was getting really into them (especially the drunk fratties), and I even found myself requesting an encore.
-Burn
Voodoo Glow Skulls
Yeeeeess! The reason I came to the show. This legendary band (they’ve been rocking it since 1988) took the stage and didn’t waste or let up for a second. The no moshing rule of the venue was instantly broken, and no one even tried to calm the skanking/circling crowd. They played tight as usual, and with just as much energy for us 40 people as they do for 400 people. Everyone dispersed after they left the stage, leaving only 10-20 shouting for an encore, which they graciously complied.
Songs I remember from set:
-Insubordination
-Say Goodnight
-Dogpile
-Nada en la Cabeza
-Fire In The Dancehall
-While My City Sleeps
-The Ballad Of Froggy McNasty
-Shoot The Moon
-Charlie Brown
-Fat Randy
-The Band Geek Mafia
-Left For Dead
Buy:
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5 comments:
Didn't even know VGS were still playing out these daze... Its kind of a shame after having seen them once I think on the Warp Tour from days of old.. Being on 90 mins from Philly I might have considered driving in to check it out. Wish the booming metropolis of Stroudsburg had a better seen so they would attract some of these bands you are fortunate to catch on a regular basis. But all the same I agree with you 150% these guys sooooooo much energy I get tired just listening to their recordings !! Cheers and keep up the great blogging..
Cheers
AngryDuck
that was a great show! The north star is a great little room. It is still true to rock n roll just the the voodoo glow skulls! Great blog by the way!
Thanks for the kind words guys! Yeah, I really liked the North Star a lot (well, as long as they don't enforce the No Moshing rule).
And yeah, Voodoo has soooo much energy even to this day. I go on message boards and people say these guys need to hang up the hat because they've been around since 1988, but that's really stupid. VGS has more energy in their live show than like 99% of bands out there to this day, regardless of how long they've been around.
AngryDuck: They'll be coming around again sometime within the next year for the Ska is Dead tour. You should definitely come out!
The Glow Skulls made Culturespill's "Most Interesting Bands to See This Summer" list! Check it out: http://culturespill.com/?p=212
Wow I didn't know Whole Wheat Bread implemented crunk into their sound. I def. have to check them out. Crunk & Rock are very similar throwin 'bows and mosh pits.
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