Anchor Down, Bastards Of Young, and In The Red - Live in SLC

I have a lot of co-workers and friends that have never been to a good live show. They may have seen a pop star or a country act or maybe a small local show, but they have never been in a crowd as it falls back and forth in anticipation of the oncoming band's set or seen a mosh pit erupt because of some simple chords. What makes me ever sadder than this is the idea that many of these friends of mine have never been to the right of passage for any true concert goer, the house show. Many of these house shows are poorly run affairs, where you don't know that the band is the ones sitting next to you on the porch till they go on stage; however one that I recently went to was a bar above the rest, not only in the way that it was put on but also the bands that played.

The show, just this last Thursday, was for a group of punk and hardcore bands from the bay area of California and Portland. Run out of the basement of a small house in Taylorsville, dubbed the T-Ville House, the show was fully run like any professional show except only donations were accepted but that does not mean that the small crowd of twenty or thirty of us were given bad sound or a dangerous setting. Instead it was quite the opposite, the venue was clean, exits and bathrooms were clearly marked and the sound for a basement punk show was surprisingly clear and beautiful.

The show kicked into high gear when California's In the Red hit the stage at around the seven o' clock mark. The band, functioning very well as a trio, played some very good mid tempo thrash mixed with some early 90s grunge, think a good thrash punk band fronted by Eddie Vedder. It was really pleasing to hear a band that can play a type of music that doesn't necessarily fit in with the rest of the bands on the bill but still is enjoyable and weird. Their drummer, Matt, was a pleasure to watch as he not only pounded his kit with a hearty zest for his beats but also sang along to most of the words. Their singer stated that the band's slogan for the tour was "Almost Metal" and I think this statement sums up their set and their mentality as a band, they don't sound like punks but they sure act them, in a totally good way.

Next on the bill were Bay Area punks Bastards of Young, whom I assume lifted their name from the Replacements song of the same name, pretty awesome guys. Seriously. The band, vocalist and guitar player Nick Ripley, Patrick Hill on guitar and vocals, Sean Hills on bass, and Wyman Harrell on drums, play a wonderful blend of punk that is reminiscent of the Bouncing Souls and Polar Bear Club. Their set, which included a cover of the classic Clash tune "Career Opportunities" with the aid of the bass player of In the Red on drums, played like Chuck Regan of Hot Water Music fronting a very punky Polar Bear Club. Aside from the problems with tuning and some low vocal levels, the band played an extremely energetic set that any touring band would be proud of.

Before their set I got I chance to sit down with Lucas Andrews from Anchor Down and talk a little about their tour and what they do as band. First of all I really have to say I am impressed by the band just for the way that they handle themselves. They screen print all their t-shirt, they booked the entire tour for themselves, they do most of their stuff so DIY that you really cannot help but be impressed by the way that Anchor Down handles themselves and their image to the public.

Their set, which headlined the night, was comprised almost entirely of songs from their EP Steel to Dust which came out earlier this year on Solidarity Records. The band played with a new bass player named Matt, who brought an energy to the set with his incessant moving and palpable energy. The band looked professional on stage, looked like veterans though a little road weary were still ready to play some of their music for willing ears. Running through some of the best songs on the album like "El Radio" and my personal favorite "Bromancing The Stones", the band came off sounding a little like early Alkaline Trio or late period Lawrence Arms, but still sounded like their own band due to the crooning of vocalist Alex Hudjohn and the amazing drum work of Chad Noakes. As the band got near the end of the set their invited people who knew the words to come help them sing the songs due to their weakened voices from a recent sickness that had swept through the band. On the final song, and probably the finest by the band, "World War I" many in the crowd were happy to oblige the band by singing the final refrain of the song "These words are our bullets, these chords are swords, we're marching in time, we're waging a war." As the song ended I couldn't help hope that this band continues to wage a war on the blacktop and succeed as a band.