Walking in cold to a punk rock show can be a bit intimidating, but tonight's show was less punk and less rock than expected.The Forgetters consists of Kevin Mahon, the original drummer from Against Me!, and Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker and Jets To Brazil fame. With these guys as 2 of the 3 piece band I expected a pretty heavy punk rock show. Not the case.
The songs were lyrically driven with a somewhat beatnik feel that incorporated generic riffs with the occasional heavy drum beat. The gaps between songs were filled with sound bites that were interesting at first but over done as the show waned on. There was a 3rd member of the band, a gal on bass, but she did not impress me and interacted quite awkwardly with the audience. In fact, the entire show was a bit awkward.
With lyrics like "I'm a straight-up ghost since you wrote me off" and "I’m not a toy or a hobby you can pick up, but I enjoy being in this body for now," I think I would have enjoyed the songs as a spoken word performance rather than an attempted punk rock show.
The Night Accelerates
(excerpt)
I try to know you but I'm too late
Some guy told you how you're no good
So now you're gonna prove him right
We're all trauma all the time
And I ought to charge you by the hour
For all the time I think on you
I caught you platting my demise
I thought I ought to help you try
(excerpt)
I try to know you but I'm too late
Some guy told you how you're no good
So now you're gonna prove him right
We're all trauma all the time
And I ought to charge you by the hour
For all the time I think on you
I caught you platting my demise
I thought I ought to help you try