DEAD LETTER DEPARTMENT plus NUMBSKULL, SCROTUM POLES AND RODAN

For the first time, in a long time, there is a gig in Belfast with a line up of support bands that I actually give a shit about! There is not an emo, screamo, hardcoreo, nu-metalo, or shito band on the bill. Not a one. Yes, I’m pleased. The reason for this is DEAD LETTER DEPARTMENT, an indie punk band from Canada who are being put on and put up by Straight Edge Poster Racketing Angry Phil.

I arrive at The Front Page shortly after 9pm, yep, I’m here early because I don’t want to miss anything, unfortunately my opportunity to sit and talk to Adam ‘Stoner Beast’ Simms is cut short by a request to go 14 miles and get my bass amp, yep out of 4 bands, not one of thought of bringing a bass amp. Morons. Okay, that does not apply to The Canadian band, they need to keep travel costs down, so I blame the other bands, and Angry Phil. Simply because when he reads that he will get all pissed off and angry, and that’s when he’s at his most amusing.

So I get my bass amp, its pushing 10.30, about eight people have turned up. Lets get this so called gig on with and over with.

Rodan
They have still not had a practice of more than an hour in the last 9 months and Loose boy the drummer has just returned from a one week holiday to the beautiful land of Poland. Not that it matters, there’s nobody here who has not seen Rodan ten times before. Rodan play well tonight, they complain that they played too slow, but it sounded fine to. The highlights where ‘Bobbies Tears’ – a song about everybody’s favourite ex Misfit Bobby Steele, the man who has had less luck than a German tourist in Moscow circa 1941, and Adeline became the proud owner of a Rodan t shirt. She says she wants buried in it.

Scrotum Poles
BARON APPROVED POP PUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, this is the first band I have decided to award the title of “Baron Approved” too. These guys are amazing, I swear, fucking brilliant. However, there is one thing I do not like about this band, to you it may seem small, most of you probably did not even notice, but I noticed and I was annoyed by it, the cover of SCREECHING WEASEL’S ‘I wanna be a homosexual’. Here’s the problem, firstly, the intro. They got it all wrong, no reproduction of the amazing Johnny Personality bass line, it’s a tricky line to play, but points would be awarded for trying. Secondly the transgression from intro into main verse riff, no incredibly fast 16th notes (or is it 8th notes?) with a single power chord ringing over each note. And finally, the lyric content of the evening, this was the fault of Adam ‘Stoner Beast’ Simms; he got the lyrics all wrong! Dammit Simms!!!! Stop sparking up the phat bowls outside and get reading your Screeching Weasel lyric books. I will let this poor imitation of a great song pass once, but it will not happen again Simmsy. They did two other covers that night, The Ramones version of ‘Do you wanna dance’ and a Dillinger Four song. I’m only gonna pick faults in Screeching Weasel songs however, like when Vorderman performed Guest List and Insect sang “Sergeant Clinger instead of Corporal Clinger, oh I picked up on that all right. Oh yea, where was I? – The Scrotum Poles own material is top rate. I love it. I hope they get some recording done soon. Sorry about being so hard on the Screeching Weasel cover, but this is the greatest band in punk rock history, or so I think anyway, and if your gonna cover the best, then you better do it right mofo.

Dead Letter Department
Now when Phil tells me he is putting on a pop punk band I’m usually a little sceptical, after all most of the stuff he calls pop punk makes me think more off indie emo type crap, and these three Canadians do indeed remind me of something more emo and indie, but they are actually pretty good. The absolute best thing about there performance is that they do not outstay their welcome. Their set is short and snappy and prevents people from loosing interest and getting bored. They are obviously aware that their material is not well known and therefore they keep their set short and close with a Cure cover. Most people seem impressed with Dead Letter Department, shit, even I kinda like it.

Numskull
Simmsy Simms featuring Adam Simms get to on last tonight, or they headline, or whatever you want to call it. Anyway, The Simms band blast through a very quick and tight set, they hardly stop to catch a breath between songs, for a bunch of stoners they’re fucking fast! Numskull have a lot of songs and that means their sets are always unpredictable, but then they couldn’t play their entire set because they would be up there for ages and that might annoy some people, and I call those people morons. Numskull rule.

End notes:
Numskull and Rodan are also Baron approved.
I’ve been listening to The Huntingtons a lot recently, pretty fucking good.
Life IS more fun with alcohol.
I no longer have a mobile phone