Girl at the Rock Shows

I don’t understand why the city makes it so dang hard to park downtown. No wonder people avoid it like the plague. I parked at a spot with just enough time to get into Zhora Darling in time for the opening act on Thursday night, but something was wrong with the string of parking meters I was parked at. I tried multiple times to pay for my parking, but to no avail. I could have risked it. Just hoped that there weren’t meter cops out and about, but I knew my luck, so I had no choice but to drive around a little bit and find a different and more inconvenient meter. By the time I parked and got into the venue, the show had already started, and I was flustered. Thankfully, that feeling didn’t last long.

When I finally made it into the venue portion of Zhora Darling, Littleton was already a couple of songs into their set. I was instantly in love as I got my camera ready and let their sound sink in and wash over me. It was very pop-punk but with a twist. It wasn’t your usual happy-go-lucky three-chord kind of pop-punk; there was a depth to both the instrumentation and the vocals. Although their overall sound was fun, I felt a sense of maturity in most of their songs that kept me intrigued and made it feel unique. Even when the band played their song about eating batteries, there was something oddly complex about the structure of the song that had me hooked. As if I wasn’t already sold on this group, before leaving the stage, they gave the audience a flawless cover of an AJJ (FKA Andrew Jackson Jihad) song. I know that this was a bit obscure as covers go, but for me, it was perfect, and I loved the extra little edge that Littleton gave to the cover.

Following Littleton was Cut Rate Clones. I’ll be honest, I had never heard of this band before, so I was so excited to see what they were all about. About halfway through their set, they explained that when they got their start, they only played covers, but they started writing their own music and have made the leap into the original music game. That made something about their set with me click. It was fun. Their blend of punk into ska and back to punk, but with a dash of retro rock thrown in there. I’ll be honest, Cut Rate Clones’ set wasn’t the tightest set I’ve ever seen, and there were definitely a few songs where I felt like something fell a bit off the rocker giving me the fear that certain songs would fall apart but this band was resilient and, even through those rough patches, they stuck together and finished every song with a bang. I don’t want to bash Cut Rate Clones at all (and I hope that’s not how this is coming across). Not only did they seem like super friendly guys, they were clearly having fun on stage and doing what they love so who am I to say that they did a bad job but I will say, with just a little fine tuning and tightening up, I think this band could be one of the next ones to take the scene by storm.

Out of everything happening on Thursday night, why was this the show I chose? Three words– Unattractive Giant Monster. Here’s the thing: there’s life before you see this band, and then life after. Seeing these guys play really does change something because it sets the bar so high when it comes to what should come with a live show. They bring it all. From their amazing albeit quirky music to their electrifying live performance. It had been a couple of months since I saw UGM live, and my heart and soul were so ready for another chance to experience their magic.

UGM plays “sewer punk”, as they call it. What does that mean? Truthfully, I don’t exactly know, but I know that their sound is the perfect mix of all things good and unique. From standard guitar strums to some of the most outrageous vocals (and words) that pair with the slamming drums so perfectly, there’s something about this band that is so familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. Although they genre jump between punk, artsy rock, and so many other genres that I don’t have the energy to list right now, one thing stays constant, and that’s the tightness and groove of this band. Even if you think their sound is a bit too out there or the dancing from the vocalist is a bit too flashy, there’s no denying that this band has it together and absolutely knows what they are doing.

UGM spent a lot of time playing new music on Thursday night, which has me so excited to see what comes out of them next, as far as recordings go. They go into the studio this weekend and will surely come out with another amazing record, but don’t think that this is the kind of band that you can just listen to on a recording. UGM is one of those acts that absolutely has to be seen live. Not only will it fill you with so much joy and have you smiling from ear to ear, but the electric energy that this group brings to the stage is insane and will never translate into a recording, regardless of how good they are.

I know that heading downtown can be super anxiety-inducing for many people, and that’s primarily because of the parking. I got burned by that on Thursday night and easily could have given in to the frustration and just gone home, but there was no way in hell I was going to miss spending my Thursday night with three killer local bands.

Line Up:

Littleton

Cut Rate Clones

Unattractive Giant Monster

Venue: Zhora Darling

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 30

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Dance-ability- 3 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Littleton – 0

Cut Rate Clones – 0

Unattractive Giant Monster – 1

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8.3 out of 10

Show on Deck — Impaler / Rad Enhancer / VolsungaSaga / Outlaw Saints / Cymothoa

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