On Saturday night January 7th I headed to Seattle’s Funhouse to see Die Nasty. This time they were headlining their own show with other Seattle punk bands. Die Nasty was just as energetic as always. Singer Lauren Goffin strutted about the stage, leaning into the crowd often as if personally serenading everyone in front. Bass player Lonnie Bristle (also from Dreadful Children) and guitarist Steve Ross are no slouches in hamming it up either. Lonnie was seldom in one spot for long, crouching and grimacing while Steve wore large pink framed glasses making him look like a giant insect.
Drummer Eric Brattin slammed away hard and kept the energy at maximum level. As energetic is this band was, none of them ever seemed to break a sweat. They ended with their obligatory cover of 999’s Homicide, with Lauren shoving the mic into the audience for sing-alongs to the chorus. Those in the audience were only happy to oblige. Die Nasty is always a lot of fun.
Prior to Die Nasty was another Seattle punk band I always have fun watching. Acid Teeth also put on a high energy show and were as wild as ever this night. Gradie Wallen on lead vocals is a ringer for Jim Morrison with long curls roaming down his back and often falling into his face. He flitted about the stage non-stop, but growled and screamed more than he sang. Lead guitarist Todd Ohashi was also all over the stage, seldom standing in one place for more than a second or two unless he was providing harmony (screamony?) Bass player Johnny also sported long hair that covered his face more than it didn’t as he whipped it about while shredding bass chords and drummer Greg McCormick slammed away as if his kit were possessed by demons that would leap up and attack if he didn’t slam at them in a wild frenzy. Acid Teeth are a great punk band and full of non-stop energy. They are a treat to watch.
Before Acid Teeth was a band I’d never seen before. The Sky Rained Heroes is a Seattle hard core punk trio with a schtick. Front man, guitarist, Rhom Nevets, wore black make up around his eyes and mouth that drew upward into a point like the Joker from Batman. He also projectile growled more than he sang while dry ice filled the floor of the stage. Bass player Bob Spandau stayed in his corner, but seldom did his feet stay in one spot. He flitted about and on more than one occasion looked as though he’d bend in half backward before moving to a crouching position for only a few seconds before leaping back up again. Drummer Jeremy Maher also slammed away like a man possessed. These guys were a riot and I had a blast watching them.
The band prior to Heroes was another new band for me. Repudiate was fronted by a young dude (probably under 30) with hair reminiscent of Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons except it was normal human color. Repudiate is classic death metal, which I’m not a fan of at all, but this band I found highly entertaining. Their lead growler writhed around on the stage floor or fell across the monitors, twisting about, growling into the mic the entire time. He strutted out into the audience and stopped long enough to embrace some on the floor, much to their amusement before crawling back onto the stage to continue his writhing about. Meanwhile the guitarist and bass player both had hair to their hips that they constantly whipped about, often covering their faces. There must have been a lot of demons about that night because their drummer also slammed away as if possessed. Repudiate has no FB page and doesn’t seem to have a web page either. Hopefully this means they’re a new band and just haven’t set one up yet. I’d like to see them stick around. They have a great stage presence.
Starting the whole night off was another band I’d never seen before, Umbilical Chords. This band also has no FB page. Their music reminded me somewhat of Led Zeppelin and much of the acid rock from the mid to late sixties. They were more of a punk metal band. There was lots of energy in their music and they were very polished. Their singer could growl one second, then sing smoothly the next. Their sound was so authentic I almost imagined myself in a sixties night club.
And so another fun night of punk went down in Seattle and the Funhouse is still standing, ready for the next onslaught.
– Photos property of Holly Homan, all rights reserved.
