The VibratorsAAH… punk rock. Is there nothing so sweet?
– Holly Homan
Saturday night September 15, 2012, El Corazon hosted two separate shows. One show, the Flobots, was held in their main room. The other, with the cool punk band, The Vibrators, was held in the tiny “lounge.”
The Vibrators are pure, unadulterated British Oi! Originally formed in 1976, they are contemporaries of legendary punk bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash. Currently only drummer John “Eddie” Edwards is an original member.
After four great bands thoroughly warmed the stage, The Vibrators came on in pure oi fashion. The Vibrators are what punk should feel like, sound like and look like. Bass player Pete Honkamaki viciously shredded the strings of his bass and performed the lead vocals on most the songs. He barely stayed in one spot. His slicked back hair and sleeveless vest revealing the vibrant tattoos up his arms, gave him the perfect punk rock look. Meanwhile drummer Eddie beat the skins with wild abandon yet never seemed to break a sweat.
Highlights of their performance was their punked up cover of the old Sonics song “Have Love Will Travel” and the Vibrators song simply called “Baby Baby” that should be used as a lesson for Justin Bieber to give him an idea of what rock music should sound like. While Eddie took time to tighten some screws on his cymbals, guitarist Nigel Bennett made the comment that their drummer was playing with his nuts. Periodic joking with the audience was common place even though this band looked like tough guys.
Though the club was tiny (El Corazon as a whole isn’t big), there was a small but very enthusiastic audience who certainly could slam as well as the teens. I was knocked flat on my butt, slammed against the stage and lived to tell the tale. AAH… punk rock. Is there nothing so sweet?
For an encore the band performed a wild punked up “Shakin’ All Over.” After the previous four bands lit the stage on fire, said stage was still smoking when The Vibrators finished their set. I could have listened and watched them play all night. This was an evening I was sorry to see come to an end.
The Triple SixesI was knocked flat on my butt, slammed against the stage and lived to tell the tale.
– Holly Homan
Preceding The Vibrators was a band called the Boats (perhaps they should do a double bill with The Cars?). Hailing from Sacramento, CA, this punk rock trio played fast and also has a very energetic bass player (this is rare. Most bass players stand in the shadows and just pick away at the strings and that’s it). None of their songs was much longer than two minutes. This is a young band. I doubt they were over the age of 25. But they oozed charm, constantly joking with the audience and urging them to participate. I was sorry when their set ended. I was having way too much fun watching them. I highly recommend anyone who loves punk to give them a listen and check out their show when they return to Seattle. They’re well worth the effort.
Keeping the stage embers burning for The Boats was Seattle’s Piniellas. The Piniellas claim they are a Seattle based Power Pop/Ramones-core band. I loved these guys! Though there is a definite Ramones element to their music, they are not a Ramones cover band, nor are they a Ramones copycat band. There is enough originality in this band to make them refreshing and fun. They play fast, hooky and catchy songs, complete with the one, two, three four intros that the Ramones were so famous for. The drummer (who was also celebrating his birthday) wore large pink sunglasses their entire set, but the scene-stealer was the bass player who did duck walks a la Chuck Berry or Pete Townshend windmills. Their songs exuded an innocence, defying their very punk songs and finished their set with a cover of the old Paul Collins Beat’s “I wanna Be With a Rock and Roll Girl” — a song I hadn’t heard in a long time and that most punkers would agree is a guilty pleasure. And that’s exactly what The Piniellas were — a guilty pleasure. That’s not to say their songs were without substance, because they definitely were and I would highly recommend them to anyone who remembers the early days of punk and wants to see an authentic homage.
Local Dudes, also from Seattle, were the second band to keep the stage fires burning this night. They were the only non-punk band on the bill. Rather, they played a straight up rock and roll with just a hint of country. This four-piece has a very charismatic lead singer with a gravelly sounding voice that’s so perfect for rock and roll. The highlight of their show was their cover of the Stone’s “Not Fade Away.” They certainly didn’t let the fire die out that was so excellently ignited by the first band to play — The Triple Sixes (I wonder why they just didn’t call themselves eighteen?). The Triple Sixes also hail from Seattle and they didn’t just warm up the stage for a night of punk, they set it on fire and fanned the flames. They are high-speed oi and highly charismatic. They played a fast-paced, high-energy show, finishing with a great cover of my favorite Misfits song, “Astro Zombies.”
What a fun night this was. Every single band did an outstanding job of carrying on the punk rock tradition and showing The Vibrators that punk is alive and well in Seattle.
