Wow. What a night, 2 shows combined into 1, 4 headliners, and 9 bands all together(Talk Sick Brats and Talk Chaos did not play for unknown reasons, though likely because of a time crunch).
It doesn't get much more amazing than this!
It doesn't get much more amazing than this!
This show had a chaotic layout with 2 bands always going at once, one upstairs and one downstairs. You could only seldom catch a band's full set missing another's. At the same time this chaos made it even more fun in a way.
On a side note the small downstairs room seemed to be about the only place to find a decent pit. It didn't seem so much due to band quality as just the lay of the land.
Fuska went on as Vatos Locos began their set upstairs. They played a really crazy up-beat Ska that even featured a little saxophone work. They really got the crowd going, especially when Molotov Compromise's Vocalist joined in to trade vocal duties back and forth.
Vatos Locos handled the bigger room of Fitzgerald's with amazing confidence. They came out, and rocked the place just as hard(if not harder), as ever. The Locos ran through a range of different sounds from full-on hard rocking Punk, to some faster numbers, and even a few on the slower side which saw influences of Rock-A-Billy among others.
Blackmarket Syndicate went on as Chelsea Hotel had started upstairs. They played as fast, tight, and hard as ever; that's without a bassist too! They performed some of their classic songs along with a few new ones that have never been played live. On top of the top-notch set, they ended on a cover One Man Army's "Victoria"; which saw them bring out a guitar to smash. Though, it was quite resistant to the abuse, and took some eager audience members to finally break it.
Chelsea Hotel rocked the crowd with their premium NY-Style Punk. They captured the audience with a tight performance that was just as much fun to hear as it was to watch. The onslaught of quality old style songs and of course those Pagans tunes seal the deal to make Chelsea Hotel an irresistibly fun experience for anyone.
Molotov Compromise put on a great show with their great Punk-Ska mix. I've seen them quite a few times before, but this time was by far the best. They instantly captured the attention of anyone in the room, and even got most to participate in some way. They played harder, faster, and better than ever plus they pretty much had the best pit of the night. Unfortunately I had to miss the last half of their set to catch Total Chaos, but even in the short time I saw them they were amazing.
Total Chaos put down a non-stop barrage of fast, loud intense Punk madness. They played some of the fastest material their disposal while putting on a wild stage show mirroring the music. It also helps of course when you have an amazingly stand out Bassist to help keep things lively. Though the pit was undeservedly meager at times they still got those up front to be more lively especially for classics such as; "Babylon", "Complete Control", "Riot City", and "F*ck The System"
Star Fucking Hipsters got the title of downstairs headliner. They had the audience completely stoked. The entire crowd was hanging on every beat, the moment any style switch took place the audience would show. One second there's a pit, the next a crazy skanking filled sea of people. They played range of original Ska, Punk, and many other styled songs, and ended on a cover I unfortunately wasn't able to stick around for.
The Vibrators played amazingly, commanding nearly the entire room, and easily the biggest crowd yet. They were tight, and interactive with the audience even if they always the most attentive("This next one is the title track of our album 'Under The Radar'... Now, can anyone tell me what the name of our next song is?" *unintelligible crowd screaming* "... Well, shame on you."). They played all their classic Garage-y Punk hits including: "Petrol", "Whips & Furs", "Troops Of Tomorrow", "London Girls", "Baby, Baby"(which had a crowd sing along), "Automatic Lover", and more. Even though they had finished their set list given everyone an amazing performance they still demanded more. So, they came out and played a short encore, and ended on "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah".
UK Subs played to a full room, and the most lively group. There wasn't a pit for much of the show, but it was made up for with all the crowd surfing(which seemed to be the favorite activity that night). They played fast, and tight with at least 1 or 2 songs each showcasing the individual members talent. Their set featured a large number of songs from their first two releases "Another Kind Of Blues", and "Brand New Age" while still maintaining a career spanning performance. Crowd favorites include: "Kicks", "Warhead", "Riot", "Stranglehold" among others. They left the stage after finishing most of their hits, but the mandatory cries for an encore began. They were answered with a 6 or 7 song farewell, which even saw Charlie Harper on the Harmonica.
On a side note the small downstairs room seemed to be about the only place to find a decent pit. It didn't seem so much due to band quality as just the lay of the land.
Fuska went on as Vatos Locos began their set upstairs. They played a really crazy up-beat Ska that even featured a little saxophone work. They really got the crowd going, especially when Molotov Compromise's Vocalist joined in to trade vocal duties back and forth.
Vatos Locos handled the bigger room of Fitzgerald's with amazing confidence. They came out, and rocked the place just as hard(if not harder), as ever. The Locos ran through a range of different sounds from full-on hard rocking Punk, to some faster numbers, and even a few on the slower side which saw influences of Rock-A-Billy among others.
Blackmarket Syndicate went on as Chelsea Hotel had started upstairs. They played as fast, tight, and hard as ever; that's without a bassist too! They performed some of their classic songs along with a few new ones that have never been played live. On top of the top-notch set, they ended on a cover One Man Army's "Victoria"; which saw them bring out a guitar to smash. Though, it was quite resistant to the abuse, and took some eager audience members to finally break it.
Chelsea Hotel rocked the crowd with their premium NY-Style Punk. They captured the audience with a tight performance that was just as much fun to hear as it was to watch. The onslaught of quality old style songs and of course those Pagans tunes seal the deal to make Chelsea Hotel an irresistibly fun experience for anyone.
Molotov Compromise put on a great show with their great Punk-Ska mix. I've seen them quite a few times before, but this time was by far the best. They instantly captured the attention of anyone in the room, and even got most to participate in some way. They played harder, faster, and better than ever plus they pretty much had the best pit of the night. Unfortunately I had to miss the last half of their set to catch Total Chaos, but even in the short time I saw them they were amazing.
Total Chaos put down a non-stop barrage of fast, loud intense Punk madness. They played some of the fastest material their disposal while putting on a wild stage show mirroring the music. It also helps of course when you have an amazingly stand out Bassist to help keep things lively. Though the pit was undeservedly meager at times they still got those up front to be more lively especially for classics such as; "Babylon", "Complete Control", "Riot City", and "F*ck The System"
Star Fucking Hipsters got the title of downstairs headliner. They had the audience completely stoked. The entire crowd was hanging on every beat, the moment any style switch took place the audience would show. One second there's a pit, the next a crazy skanking filled sea of people. They played range of original Ska, Punk, and many other styled songs, and ended on a cover I unfortunately wasn't able to stick around for.
The Vibrators played amazingly, commanding nearly the entire room, and easily the biggest crowd yet. They were tight, and interactive with the audience even if they always the most attentive("This next one is the title track of our album 'Under The Radar'... Now, can anyone tell me what the name of our next song is?" *unintelligible crowd screaming* "... Well, shame on you."). They played all their classic Garage-y Punk hits including: "Petrol", "Whips & Furs", "Troops Of Tomorrow", "London Girls", "Baby, Baby"(which had a crowd sing along), "Automatic Lover", and more. Even though they had finished their set list given everyone an amazing performance they still demanded more. So, they came out and played a short encore, and ended on "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah".
UK Subs played to a full room, and the most lively group. There wasn't a pit for much of the show, but it was made up for with all the crowd surfing(which seemed to be the favorite activity that night). They played fast, and tight with at least 1 or 2 songs each showcasing the individual members talent. Their set featured a large number of songs from their first two releases "Another Kind Of Blues", and "Brand New Age" while still maintaining a career spanning performance. Crowd favorites include: "Kicks", "Warhead", "Riot", "Stranglehold" among others. They left the stage after finishing most of their hits, but the mandatory cries for an encore began. They were answered with a 6 or 7 song farewell, which even saw Charlie Harper on the Harmonica.
Yes it's that time! The time where you take a look at what's really exciting compared to a bunch of words, Pictures!
