They Are All, So Don’t Even Try: NXNE 2008 with Redd Kross
Published on July 30th, 2008 in: Canadian Content, Current Faves, Issues, Music, Reviews |It’s like they’re playing to a crowd of five-thousand instead of five.
Danny Echo from Vancouver helped immensely. Not only were they really good, they were “I need to remember their name” good, a perfect opener for Redd Kross.
Singer Danny Echo (gotta love a band who names itself after its lead singer’s fictional moniker) has a husky, powerful voice which roughs up the edges of their instantaneously infectious music, like Noddy Holder from Slade. The guitar riffage was a great blend of AC/DC and vintage power pop. Shannon Perkins’ bass was bigger than she was and she was wearing high heels. Hot!
They had smoke machines. They jumped around and sweated and rocked their asses (and ours) off. They made us whoop and holler and clap our hands. Danny leapt down into the “crowd” and flailed around. All of this for five people. It restores your faith in rock and roll, I tell ya.
Then it was time for the next band.
He dances like Morrissey and moves like Iggy Pop. Is that a pencil moustache?
I knew I’d need earplugs for the show, but I didn’t know I’d need them quite so soon. A slightly mumbled greeting in French, and Starvin Hungry launched into their set. . . and lit into us. Holy hellfire, you do not see or hear bands like this anymore, or maybe I’m just jaded and should get out more. No disrespect to the eighties, but Starvin Hungry makes you forget the eighties ever happened.
Photo © Susan Moss
It was like being in a filthy punk club in 1978, or at least what I imagine that must’ve felt like. No pretension, no outfits from Hot Topic, no pretty boys, but raw, nasty, sexy aggression. Singer and guitarist John Milchem is that wild man you always hear rumors about, but never actually see. It made me feel infinitely better about not being old enough to see The Misfits, Killing Joke, or Gang Of Four back in the day. Because this was better and happening right in front of me.
Click to read more on. . .
Danny Echo and Starvin Hungry
Dave Foley, Hollerado, and Miss Derringer
Redd Kross
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4 Responses to “They Are All, So Don’t Even Try: NXNE 2008 with Redd Kross”
July 31st, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Starvin’ Hungry has quickly become my all time favorite band and I can’t wait to see these guys get the recognition they deserve. Intelligent, hip-shakin’, dirty punk ‘n’ roll… they got it all! Unfortunately I missed their NXNE performance, but I’ve seen them live a few times and they never disappoint.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I know exactly how you feel. I can honestly say there is nothing else in this world that even comes close to the feeling I get being at a Redd Kross show! I get so excited to the point of feeling physically ill. For a long time I thought it was train sickness cuz most of the RK shows I’d been to had been in NYC which was a short train ride from the Jersey suburbs where I grew up. But then there were other jaunts into the city where this did not happen and I figured I had overcome my illness. That was until I saw RK again, for the first time in over 10 years, this past December in Brooklyn. From the morning of the show, until the second before they hit the stage I could not shake the woozy feeling. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sit still for one minute, couldn’t think about anything but seeing RK! Once they hit the stage, the sickness was over…I was finally getting my fix! There was no other feeling overcoming me but pure bliss for the remainder of the evening…and several weeks thereafter!
August 1st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Hi there, kross-eyed! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. “Pure bliss” is a good way to describe the feeling.
And elaine, I agree that Starvin Hungry have some great lyrics to go with their great tunes.
LLM
May 30th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
[…] Echo has been blessed with a great big rock and roll voice. This was apparent when I saw the band live at NXNE 2008: they played their hearts out and even though there were only a handful of people in the crowd at […]
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