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Archive for the ‘Crossed Keys’ Category

[ATTENDED: August 1, 2024] D.O.A.

I was never really a fan of D.O.A.  I had nothing against them, they were just slightly off of my radar.  I have their album that they recorded with Jello Biafra, but I had no real reason to investigate them further.

I was surprised to see that they were still around (after dozens of lineup changes). They have broken up and reunited a few times and as of 2014, they have had a stable lineup with original guitarist/singer Joey “Shithead” Keithley and Mike Hodsall on bass and Paddy Duddy on drums.

I didn’t know this, but, Joey Shithead was elected a city councillor in Burnaby, BC in the 2018 municipal elections as a member of the Burnaby Green Party. He was re-elected in the October 2022 municipal election.  He is 68 and has a lot of on stage energy and presence.  I was also surprised by his little showoffy moves–playing guitar behind his head and playing with his teeth (?) I think.  Those aren’t really punk moves, but they were fun to watch.

Their last album was 2020’s Treason which took direct aim at trump and his ilk.  They even re-recorded one of their old songs, Fucked Up Ronnie as Fucked Up Donald, just for him. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: August 1, 2024] War on Women

War on Women came on my radar sometime around 2021.  I’ve been wanting to see them now for about four years.  They were supposed to open for Voivod back in March but they left the tour for some reason.

It’s interesting that they were now on another tour with an old school Canadian band, D.O.A.  I bought a ticket for this show because of them (I was kind of indifferent to D.O.A., but they were super fun).  Their set was killer (and may have actually been longer than D.O.A’s).

War on Women is a five-piece singer Shawna Potter lead guitarist Brooks Harlan guitarist Jennifer Vito and bassist Suzanne Werner.  They had a guest drummer for this tour (a guy from Canada, they said).

The band plays a nice mix of heavy metal and punk–with some songs being heavy and riff heavy and others being kind of fast without the riffage.  And Potter’s voice is fantastic.  She sings clearly but she can scream with the best of them. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: August 1, 2024] Crossed Keys / The Bad Ups

I had never been to The Broken Goblet before.  It’s a brewery in Bensalem in a stripmall type environment with a parking lot.  It’s a big venue (which is expanding).   They have a bar (with their beers on tap) and a large stage.  They also have (at some shows) some tables and chairs (which I took advantage of).

I arrived a few minutes after The Bad Ups has started, and by the time i got into the venue they were probably more than half way through their set.  Which is a shame, because I really enjoyed their upbeat, borderline ska sounding music.   Or as this review from New Noise magazine puts it

Being of Jamaican descent, frontman Travis McKayle named his band after the patois term “baddup,” which means to treat someone poorly or violently. Pulling influence from the best of the ’90’s and 2000’s Epitaph bands,

I’m a fan of that era of Epitaph music and I enjoyed the few songs that I heard.  I didn’t see a setlist anywhere so I don’t know what they played.

After about fifteen minutes, Crossed Keys came on.  Like The Bad Ups, Crossed Keys are also from Philadelphia.  Crossed Keys lead singer Joshua Alvarez described their live show like this (more…)

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