New Jersey’s Bouncing Souls Heat Up Seattle’s Cool Temperatures with the Menzingers, Luther and the Hollowpoints, By Holly Homan

Sunday Night July 22, Seattle’s tiny Chop Suey club hosted New Jersey’s Bouncing Souls. Chop Suey sits on the southern end of Seattle’s diverse Capitol Hill neighborhood and this night right on the edge of the annual Capitol Hill Block Party. The aforementioned is a musical event where several streets are cordoned off and several bands on several different stages set up and play. This is the event where all the wannabes and trendy go, but those of us truly hip, who thrive on the counter-culture of independent punk, headed to Chop Suey to see the Bouncing Souls.

After three outstanding opening bands, the lights dimmed and the anticipation from the packed crowd grew intense. Intermittent chants of, Ole’, ole’, ole’, ole’, ole’, ole’ rang forth. Finally, The four Bouncing Souls literally bounced onto the stage. The crowd surged forward and I felt as though I would be sliced in two at the hips as I was crushed against the stage. Kids and Heroes was one of the first songs they performed and I think everyone in the club sang along word for word. When they lit into Sing Along Forever, many started slamming. Then the crowd surfing and stage diving began. I braced myself for the onslaught, wondering how many bruises I’d go home with this time. I still carried bruises from the Casualties’ show two weeks prior.

The Bouncing Souls play poppy and melodic tunes, but though their music sounds light-hearted, their songs touch on a lot of deep subjects covering abusive relationships and war, among other things. In the past they were very vocal about their disliking of George W. Bush. So this is not a shallow band. Their shows are anything but light. On stage they come across all punk rock.

Greg Attonito’s vocals are smooth yet powerful, although I thought the sound mix could have accentuated his voice a bit better.

By the end of the night, bassist Bryan dripped sweat from every pore on his body to the point that it formed on the stage floor in huge splotches. Guitarist Pete and drummer Michael kept the music grinding in perfect punk rock fashion with non-stop manic energy. That is how hard this band works on stage. I think I’ve seen the Souls once before at their own show and a couple times at Warped Tour. The first time I saw them was in 2004 at Warped Tour. Though I was familiar with their music at that time, I hadn’t seen them live. I was hooked from then on. They do not disappoint. My pogo shoes got worn out after not only pogoing but from being stomped on by others who were slamming, pogoing and stage diving, and everything else one does at a punk concert. Prior to the Souls I unearthed a rare gem — The Menzingers. The Menzingers are a foursome from Philly. Many in the audience were familiar with them and sang along to many of their songs, while others slammed and crowd surfed and stage dived. The Menzingers have been a band for less than a decade, but they know their way around the stage and they know how to work the audience better than a lot of bands who have been around much longer. They were hoards of fun to watch too. The entire band is very congenial, joking with each other and the audience throughout and instigating their fair share of stage diving and crowd surfing. They perform guitar laden pop/punk songs with very insightful and intelligent lyrics. Judging by the crowd response to their show and their prowess at performing a proper punk show, my gut instincts tell me this is the last time they tour as one, a support act, and two in a small club. Keep your eyes peeled for The Menzingers. They’re going to go far.

Before The Menzingers was another Philly band — Luther. Luther is another four-piece, guitar driven punk outfit. Although their sound was pretty hard, there were some elements of the more poppy sounds of Blink 182 or New Found Glory in their songs. The bass player whipped his head back and forth so rapidly that his long, straight hair often fell in his face. Their songs were catchy and melodic and fueled the flames that were ignited by the first band, Seattle’s Hollowpoints.

The Hollowpoints are another four-piece, guitar driven punk band. Their particular brand of punk is pure, raw energy that never lets up. Everything was 78 RPM with these guys. At the beginning of their set barely anyone was near the stage, but two or three songs in, people were moving in to get a closer look and listen. The energy they put forth in their performance could possibly have powered the electricity needed to put on the entire night’s show. They were that powerful. Keep your eyes peeled for The Hollowpoints. These up and comers are going to make an impact.

By the time The Souls left the stage and the packed liked proverbial sardines crowd began a mass exodus to the outside, I could almost see steam emanating from the door as we all spilled onto the sidewalk and into the cool, damp air that is Seattle’s summer this year. Although I’m sure the temperature was a few degrees higher right around that exit door just from the sheer energy put forth by the four great bands that just finished playing. This is what punk shows are made of.

– Holly Homan