NEW MUSIC: Plurals - "Your Situation"

Confession time: a big, goofy smile lit up my face the moment I first plunked the needle down on the beautifully marbled yellow vinyl album that arrived in the Ruttville mailbox a couple of weeks ago. Your Situation, the debut album from Plurals, immediately takes me back to a very happy musical place. From the first jackhammer guitar chords through the final washes against the side two inner groove, Plurals bring back everything that made New Wave (back in the days when it was a wave) so exciting and, yes, fun.  Their thoroughly modern takes on that nostalgic noise have made them a favorite of mine since catching them opening for Shonen Knife a while back, and later supporting Peelander-Z. I raved here about their first recorded output, the digital EP Laced With Boniva, and it should be no big surprise that I'm about to rave again.

Your Situation reprises the four tracks from the EP, adding five more shots of their insanely clever and insidiously catchy sound.  Over the course of nine tracks, the band (Michael Bowen on guitar and vocals, Elena Fox on bass, keyboardist Rachel Anne Warren, guitarist Jim Glass and Sean Pumphrey on drums) covers a whole lot of ground.  The opener, "Sicker/Better," starts off sounding like someone sped up Devo's "Uncontrollable Urge" until Fox and Warren bubble up through the mix with a series of tra-la-las that would make The Banana Splits proud.  As a counterpoint to Bowen's angular lead vocals, they evoke expected comparison to The B-52's.  The girls play the distant, alienated, emotionless New Wave backup singers role to even better effect on the phenomenal "Rose Garden," a bubblegummy romp that may be my favorite thing I've heard them do.

Sandwiched between those cuts is the hysterical "Look At the Nerds," a nearly operatic celebration of geekdom that serves as a showcase for Warren to channel both Nina Hagen and Klaus Nomi simultaneously (and yes, I used that line when describing the song as they played it live, but it is one of my favorite comparisons I've ever made and, if you listen, pretty damn accurate.)  Also worthy of note among the new cuts is "World Star," a knowing a jab at the infamous online site that collects cellphone videos of street violence and presents them as entertainment. The punchline, no pun intended, is perfect: "The hits keep coming..."

As mentioned before, if you missed out on Laced With Boniva, all four cuts from that digital EP are here as well: the funky herky-jerky "Manic Depressor," the almost Pixie-ish "I Am The Lions," the slightly retitled "On The Telephone (Clap Clap)," and the simply excellent "Mental Illness (Sooner Or Later)," wherein The English Beat is paraphrased to wonderful effect.

Yeah, the record put a grin on my face, because the fun these five folks have making this music comes through viscerally, both in their live performance and in their recorded work.  This is a band to keep an eye on, kids.  I get the feeling we've only scratched the surface of what they are capable of. You can pick up Your Situation on vinyl or as a digital download at the band's website, PLRLS.com. You can stream the whole record there, too, if that's your thing.  Me, I'm old school: colored vinyl and lots of inserts can't be beat!

I shared "Mental Illness (Sooner Or Later)" with you back on this Now Hear This round up; here are two standouts from the newer stuff, "Sicker/Better" and  "Rose Garden."  Enjoy, and then go pick up the whole album and help support the band!

Sicker/Better

Rose Garden

Back to Baltimore

Man, I did not realize how badly I needed a night like last night.

It's been a slow process, rebuilding my world over the past year or so both emotionally and financially, and I still have more hills to climb before I'm truly at ease again in either aspect of my life. Hey, it took a nearly five-year tumble to create the rubble I'm climbing out of, it's going to take some time to rebuild as well.

One of the things that has been sorely missing in my world is live music. Hadn't gone to stand in front of a band since seeing Freezepop and Lifestyle in Philly over a year ago, and I missed the live band experience. It's as if a part of my soul wasn't being properly nourished. I had the chance to go see one of my favorites, One-Eyed Doll, in Allentown a couple weeks back, but those plans fell through at the last minute. When I saw that Peelander-Z was going to be at The Ottobar in Baltimore, I knew I had to be there! Still, I almost backed out at the last minute, not sure if I could (or should) afford the evening. Only $15 to get in, sure, but figure grabbing dinner somewhere and having a few beers at the show, possibly a purchase from the merch table, and it starts to add up when you're on a tight budget. Bless my brother, he basically said "don't worry about it, we're going!"

Four bands played last night; two of them I was very psyched to see again: Peelander-Z, of course, I had been blown away by when I saw them in Washington DC in early 2012 with One-Eyed Doll - a show which ranks among the flat-out best top-to-bottom live shows I've ever seen (neither are bands you just stand in front of - both are big on audience interaction and participation). Also, a local Baltimore band, Plurals, was on the lineup. I have raved about them since seeing them open for Shonen Knife the last time I was in Baltimore. So, I went in figuring even if the other two bands weren't any good, the night would still be fun.

I've mentioned before that there is a really cool scene happening in Baltimore lately. That was underscored again last night when the first band, Natural Velvet, took the stage. Fronted by bassist/vocalist Corynne Ostermann, they are a moody four-piece post-punk outfit relying heavily on reverb and echoey, distant vocals. They are also fan-frickin'-tastic. Ostermann gives off a coy Hope Sandoval vibe while guitarists Spike Arreaga and Kim Te scratch and slash, creating an ethereal yet agitated wall of sound. They've got an EP up on Bandcamp - check it out. As first bands go, they are one of the better I've seen.

Plurals were simply outstanding. I am a big fan of their modern take on an old-school new-wave sound, from Rachel Warren and Elena Fox providing the faux B-52's harmonies to Michael Bowen's Mark Mothersbaugh-meets-Frank Black lead vocals, combined with angular guitars and plinka-plinka keyboards, they've got the sound circa 1980 down without making it feel dated. Played some favorites including "Manic Depressor," "Mental Illness/Sooner Or Later," and "Clap Clap" (all of which can be found on their excellent Laced With Boniva EP, another Bandcamp offering which you must hear!), along with some I hadn't heard before: about mid-set, Warren took over lead vocals for "Look At The Nerds," seeming to channel both Nina Hagen and Klaus Nomi simultaneously. Simply put, Plurals are one of my current favorites - just wish there was more recorded stuff out there! (Hint, hint...)

I'm not exactly how best to word my reaction to Christopher Nobody & The Nothing. Don't get me wrong, they were quite good, but there was something just a bit off to my ears. My brother drew a comparison immediately to bands like Saccharine Trust which, while not exactly hitting the target, is pretty good jumping off point to describe them. Christopher Nobody shout/sings neurotic, hiccuppy songs while lurching about the stage, occasionally throwing himself bodily to the floor and occasionally stalking out into the crowd. The band was solid, loud and noisy - just the right accompaniment for songs like "I Love My Executioner" and "Sick Sick Sick." But I think somehow I liked the concept behind what they were doing better than the execution. Again, I liked their set and would gladly see them play again - maybe in a different context I'd be more in sync with their performance.

Speaking of not knowing how to describe a band - I've now seen the mighty Peelander-Z twice and am still not able to describe exactly what I've seen...or experienced. You do not simply stand and watch Peelander-Z. You can't. They refuse to let you. You become part of the show, whether you're one of those chosen to come up on stage to take over instruments for the band or don a foam rhino head and pound out a beat on a tom-tom or you're simply part of a crowd-wide limbo contest or circular conga line. Before the night was out, we had been part of a drum circle, watched a human bowling match, and pounded with sticks on pie tins. This old man tends to stay out of the mosh pits these days, content to stay on the edge and help rebound folks back into the fray, but when a Peelander-Z mosh pit breaks out, you can't not be a part of it - it engulfs everyone, and everyone is having a great time. They opened at breakneck speed with "So Many Mike," and tore through crowd faves like "Mad Tiger," "Taco Taco Taco," and "Ninja High School" before ending with the standard show-closing cover of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." If you've never experienced Peelander-Z before, do yourself a favor and go see them. They are much fun.

As I said, I really needed that night. It may be awhile again until the next live show I see, but if I only get to one this year, I do believe I chose the right one.

More pics from the show will be up on the That's What I Was Going To Say Facebook page later on tonight - please stop by and, if you haven't already, "like" the page so you don't miss out on any of the fun stuff coming up on the blog!

What Are You Doing This Weekend?

If you live in Philadelphia, PA, Baltimore, MD, or Washington, DC (or close enough to get to any of the three), I am once again going to urge you to go see the most awesome live band you will ever see, One-Eyed Doll!

Tomorrow night (Friday 4/13), they will be in Philadelphia at The Fire on Girard Avenue; Saturday night they'll be in Baltimore at one of my favorite venues to see a show, The Ottobar, and Sunday night they play DC at at DC9.  They are touring with Japanese (via New York) "action comic punk band" Peelander-Z.  Both bands are big on audience participation, so this should be a fun series of shows.

I really wanted to try to pull the triple-shot, but it looks like Sunday night in DC is the only show I'm going to get to.  (My old transportation issue again - maybe One-Eyed Doll will be the thing that actually inspires me to learn to drive after all these years...)  But, if you're able to get to any (or all) of the shows, by all means GO!  As I mentioned in my post about their last trip to Baltimore, One-Eyed Doll put on an incredible performance. You will not be disappointed, and at roughly $10 - $12 a night, how can you go wrong?  That's huge entertainment value for your dollar!  And tell Kimberly and Junior that I sent you!

If you go, and you'd like to share your review of the show here on the blog, I'd be pleased to publish a guest post or two.  Let me know either on the comments section here or on the Facebook page!  If you're in DC Sunday night - see you there!

FINALLY!

Yeah, it's pretty much going to surprise no one that I'm about to rave over One-Eyed Doll's performance in Baltimore last night at Ram's Head Live, but that's because I'm a sensible person.  How anyone can see the mighty Austin, TX duo in action and not be blown away is simply incomprehensible!

Was beyond psyched to finally get to see One-Eyed Doll live after months of singing their praises here on the blog, over on my Facebook page, and, frankly, anywhere anyone would listen.  Assiduous readers will recall that shortly after I was introduced to the band they were scheduled to play in Allentown, PA - not too far away from good ol' Lancaster - and I was geared up for that show only to find it cancelled at the last minute.  (Long time friends will recall that I like to use the word "assiduous" whenever I can.  I can be a vocab snob sometimes.)  Of course, as soon as the current tour in support of Orgy was announced and a Baltimore show was added to the itinerary, I knew I would be there come hell or high water!

I've mentioned before that Baltimore is swiftly becoming my favorite town for music.  It's only about an hour and a half each way from where I sit in PA, and this particular venue is easy to get to (pretty much a straight shot down I-83 right into the city) and has an attached parking garage with entrance right to the club door - no waiting in long preshow lines on the street like most clubs!  Heck, the restroom even had an attendant - and after many years of experiencing seriously dodgy if not outright vomitous club bathrooms, it was nice to see a clean one that didn't make me feel like I should burn my shoes after setting foot inside.

The show was originally scheduled to be three bands, with Richmond, VA's Faultline joining One-Eyed Doll and Orgy on the bill.  Had a chance to talk with One-Eyed Doll's drummer Jason Rufus "Junior" Sewell before the show at the merch table, and learned that Faultline would not be there.  Apparently, they have split up the band.  So, it became a two-band show with each band getting a little more stage time. Nice.

Technically the set-up was One-Eyed Doll opening for Orgy, but it felt more like Orgy mopping up after One-Eyed Doll tore the place down!  Kimberly Freeman is simply an unstoppable force.  From her stark good-little-goth-girl look to her gymnastic choreography (how does she kick that high?), she seizes your attention from the moment she steps onstage and never lets you out of her clutches. She tells stories, insists on crowd participation, showers the front rows with mouthfuls of water, stalks around the stage like a lioness protecting her territory, and collapses in apparently complete exhaustion between songs only to quickly rise and begin the process anew.  She is constant motion, leaping the barricade to become one with the crowd, tumbling back onto the stage like a rag doll, literally bending over backwards for her performance at times.  She pulls various hats out of a bag behind her amp, but none of them stay on her head very long: a few seconds of wild hair-whipping headbanging sends each one flying.  Yet through all the fury, her guitar never stops - and when you look past the show, she's a damn good guitarist.

Speaking of damn good, if you can somehow manage to summon the strength to tear your eyes away from Kimberly, you'll notice Junior bashing his drums as though his job is to pound them into the ground like nails in a board.  On this evening, his intensity was such that by the midpoint of their set one of his cymbals was literally cracked halfway though!  While he may not be the visual focal point of the show, he is the constant driver of it's ferocity.  

On this night, they scorched through an excellent set, opening with "Committed" and including "Nudie Bar," "Fight," "Pao!," and "Be My Friend" among others - a good representation of their material and their wicked sense of humor.  The closer was an awesome rendition of "Monster," culminating in Kimberly's running leap across the stage into Junior's drum kit, sending drums, cymbals, and Junior sprawling across the floor.  Always helpful, she then picked Junior up by the throat and drug him to center stage where they took their bow before demanding that we all follow her as she leaped the barricade into the crowd and became our pied piper leading us to the merch table, where she and Junior spent the better part of the next hour or so talking to fans, signing autographs, and taking pictures.  Kimberly and Junior are simply two of the nicest, friendliest people.  They truly seem honored by their fans' adulation, and were more than willing to spend time with each and every person.

Orgy turned out to be better than I expected, especially given the task of having to try to follow One-Eyed Doll.  This tour is Orgy's return after 7 or 8 years of inactivity; in actuality, this version of the band contains only one original member, Jay Gordon, and his newly-assembled troupe of musicians.  Orgy was one of those bands that always somehow flew under my radar in the '90s.  Of course, I knew of their cover of New Order's "Blue Monday," and had heard other tracks here and there, but I never really got into their music for whatever reason.  They sounded good last night, though - a bit like Pretty Hate Machine-era Nine Inch Nails crossed with a slicker-sounding Pop Will Eat Itself.  But even with five band members and an LED light show projected behind them, they didn't produce the same energy that two people with a guitar, drums and a bag of hats had created earlier in the night.  And while Orgy's set has inspired me to go back and learn what I missed the first time around, they ran probably about three songs too long - it all started to sound same-y too me.

Overall, I don't think I could have spent a better twenty bucks for a Sunday night's entertainment.  Now, I want you to listen to me closely:  if One-Eyed Doll plays anywhere near you, you must - MUST - go see them.  Drop whatever else you're doing, change plans, whatever, but you must go.  I promise you will not be disappointed!  I sure wasn't!

As always, more pics from the show will be up on the That's What I Was Going To Say Facebook page later tonight. Stop by and maybe "like" the page while you're there, won't you?

Let's Knife!

Baltimore is quickly surpassing Philly as my favorite destination if I must travel to see a band. Of course, I'd love to see more bands come to Lancaster. Some do, but the trade off we make here in south central PA is that Harrisburg, Philly, Baltimore, New Jersey and - in a pinch - NYC are all within easy access. As a result, the pickin's are pretty good around here when it comes to shows - you've surely gathered that from earlier posts!

Last night I was back in what seems to be the general go-to place in Baltimore, The Ottobar, to see the awesome Shonen Knife, who are currently on their 30th anniversary tour.  What a great night of music it was:  three opening bands plus Shonen Knife, and only ten bucks to get in - wot a bargain!

Now, history dictates that once you go past two opening acts you're getting into questionable territory as far as band quality, especially when all of the openers are local bands.  Baltimore, however, has a pretty decent scene going these days, and in last night's case the rule did not apply.  The openers were great - not a clinker in the lineup!

I admit to going out on a limb saying that about The Degenerettes, who were up first, only because by the time we arrived we really only caught the last two and a half songs of their set - not really enough to make a true assessment, but what we heard was very good.

Plurals

I can say without reservation, however, that the next band, Plurals, were outstanding! With five band members perched on the not-so-roomy Ottobar stage, Plurals blasted out a nifty set of originals and one cover (of sorts): in the midst of their poppy-punky wall of sound, I caught myself realizing I recognized some lyrics but couldn't place them at first.  It took another cycle through the verse before I realized I was hearing the words to The English Beat's "Save It For Later," or at the very least a close approximation.  The one drawback to Plurals' set was that the vocals were mixed a bit too low. Still, this is a band I want to hear more of.  Couldn't find a website for them (with a name like Plurals, Google doesn't help much; searching "Plurals band" leads me to a similarly named trio from Lansing, MI) and their Facebook page is not a band page but rather a regular profile. 

The Quarantines

The final opening act was The Quarantines, an excellent pop-punk trio with a curious tendency to sing about robots.  Their set was loud, rockin' fun, and they were clearly the most polished of the opening acts.  I am kicking my self today for not picking up their record at the merch table last night!  Great stuff.  The Quarantines are a band I think we'll all be hearing more of in the future.

Shonen Knife

A little before 11:00, Shonen Knife hit the stage, opening with an enthusiastic Japanese-language version of Cheap Trick's standard set-opener, "Hello There" (here redone as "Konichiwa").  Over the next forty-five minutes or so, they treated us to a sampling of their best tunes. "Devil House," "ESP," "I Am A Cat," "Super Group," "Redd Kross" and more were greeted with knowing cheers from the crowd, and the girls seemed to be having a blast onstage.  After a searing run-through of "Antonio Baka Guy," Shonen Knife left the stage and left the crowd chanting their name and begging for more.

The Osaka Ramones!

After a few moments they returned, but now they were dressed in leather jackets and jeans.  No longer Shonen Knife, they were now in full character as The Osaka Ramones (a name they played under for a Ramones tribute concert many years back, and also the title of their newest CD in tribute to the Ramones.  Legend has it that Joey Ramone himself would always refer to Shonen Knife as "The Osaka Ramones").  With bassist Ritsuko Taneda playing the Dee Dee Ramone role, counting off each song "1-2-3-4" in quick succession, they ran through "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Beat On The Brat," "The KKK Took My Baby Away," "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker," "I Wanna Be Sedated," and "Pinhead" before closing with "Rock & Roll High School."  All the while, the crowd pogo'd and sang along.  Somewhere, Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee were smiling.

It was a stellar night, start to finish, and I highly recommend seeing any of these bands if you get the chance.  Shonen Knife, of course, was much fun, but it was nice to be so pleasantly surprised by Plurals and The Quarantines as well.  As usual, additional pics will be up on our Facebook page later today.

Road Stories: The Zeros in Baltimore 10/30/10

When I wrote up the NW4NW entry for The Zeros a couple weeks ago, I had no idea they were touring - much less that they were actually going to be here on the East Coast for the first time in almost thirty years!  A friend on Facebook sent me a message saying they were going to be in Philadelphia, and would I be interested in going to see them?  Unfortunately, that show turned out to be scheduled for Wednesday night (10/27), and while there was a time that I could do the three-hour round trip to see a band in Philly, get back home at 2:30 AM-ish and still be up and at 'em for work at 7:00 AM the next morning, well...let's just say that was a few years ago.

So I was very psyched to find out that The Zeros would be sticking around this part of the country through the weekend, playing in Baltimore on Saturday and Washington, DC on Sunday.  I found some friends who were up for the Baltimore run, and started putting plans together.

Normally, a show in Baltimore means a visit to The Ottobar on North Howard Street -  a fine place to see a band (I've seen The Vibrators, The Business, and Jello Biafra there among others), but, as my friends and I have long joked, it's in a neighborhood that looks like it came straight off the cover of The Exploited's Troops of Tomorrow LP. According to The Zeros' MySpace page, however, they weren't gong to be at The Ottobar, but rather at a place none of us had heard of, The Golden West Cafe.  Further, the show time was given as 11:00 PM - 11:30 PM.  OK, that was a head-scratcher...a half-hour show that late at night? WTF?

A little more research online uncovered that there would be an opening band, The Fishnet Stalkers, who we had seen before and thought were really good - another plus for the show.  Also, doors were to open at 10:00 PM - another head-scratcher.  What, were the doors gong to open as The Fishnet Stalkers began playing, they do a 15-minute set, then change over for The Zeros to play half an hour and everyone go home?  Things seemed more bizarre when we went to look up the venue - their website, as it turns out, is under construction.  But there was an email address, so I wrote to ask if this show was for real or not.  Hate to drive 1:45 down to Baltimore to find no show.

Neal at The Golden West  was quick to reply: "THIS SHOW IS A GO!" With his invitation extended to come on down and his confirmation that doors were at 10:00 and cover was $10.00, we were still left wondering a few things.  Why so late a start? And only half an hour? Again, WTF?  So I took a chance and wrote a quick note to Javier Escovedo of The Zeros through his Facebook page - and lo and behold he wrote back as well, saying they usually play for at least an hour, and come on down.

So we headed down to Baltimore on Saturday night, having no idea what we were going to find when we got there.  I can tell you this: we all agreed we were so glad we decided to go!

We got into Baltimore around 8:00-ish and found the place.  This was not a club in the midst of Troops-of-Tomorrow-Land, but rather a brightly lit cafe on West 36th Street in a fairly busy little two or three block strip of coffee houses, yoga studios, pizza places, artsy-crafty stores, etc.  In many ways, it reminded me of the neighborhood in which we found The Note in West Chester, PA,  when we saw Gorevette and The Donnas earlier in the year.  We knew we had time to kill, so we walked around looking for a place to eat. Ducked briefly into a little hole-in-the-wall record shop, the name of which escapes me now (didn't find anything to pick up there anyway), and finally found ourselves standing in front of The Golden West itself.  After briefly checking out the menu, we decided we may as well just eat there.

If you are in Baltimore for any reason, The Golden West is a must-visit.  There is a dining room in the front and a bar in the back, and both were pretty full when we walked in (always a good sign).  We were seated quickly, and I immediately knew I liked the place: the menus are housed in old record album covers, and the walls are covered with all sorts of old toys, tchotchkes, and - by our table anyway - paint-by-numbers-kit renderings of The Last Supper.  Everything on the menu is made fresh each day, and I mean EVERYTHING.  We were offered chips and guacamole to start, and out came a plate of homemade potato chips and freshly made guacamole. The choices are healthy and varied: wraps, burgers, burritos, salads, soups - and they offer vegetarian and vegan options if that's your thing as well.  The staff is friendly and welcoming, and take great pride in describing the whole Golden West experience.  I went with the bison burger and sweet-potato fries, which were wonderful.

At about 9:30, the change-over began.  Half of the front dining room would become the "stage" area, and that meant tables had to be broken down and moved and equipment had to be brought in and set up.  Soundproof blankets had to be hung in the store-front windows.  Bands coming in the front door had to be welcomed and attended to. All this had to be done with a full crowd still milling about, and it was all done by, as far as I could see, two people:  one red-headed guy and one brunette girl.  Red seemed to be in charge of the place, but Brunette was simply a whirlwind.  She had brought us our chips, she greeted the bands as they showed up, she was tending bar when we went up for beers later, she was busing tables throughout the night - she was non-stop motion, causing us to joke that she was the only person who actually worked there!

As it turned out, there were two opening bands and a DJ scheduled before The Zeros.  DJ El Suprimo began spinning the records as the changeover continued, and when an early choice was a full side of The Angry Samoans' Back From Samoa LP, I knew we were in for some fun.  Sick Weapons began their set close to 11:00-ish.  I've mentioned before that I tend not to pay close attention to first bands, as the past has taught me that they are often not that good.  Sick Weapons are probably a better band than this show hinted at - musically they were tight, but the sound was too loud and too trebly. As a result, the female lead vocals, which were of the screech-and-holler school anyway, were somewhat distorted and hard to listen to. Eh, maybe I'm just getting old.  They played with enthusiasm and had a supportive crowd, so what do I know?

This was our second time seeing The Fishnet Stalkers, as I mentioned before, and they sounded even crisper and more polished than they had the last time.  It seemed to us that there had been a line-up change (the bass player looked different to me), but I wouldn't bet the house on it.  Nonetheless, their set was fantastic.  Comparisons in style to The Chesterfield Kings or New York Dolls mixed with a dollop of Cheap Trick-ish mugging for the crowd would not be entirely out of place.  Definitely a band to search out and see - and look for bigger things from in the future.

It was almost 12:45 when The Zeros finally took the stage, ripping into a killer version of "Pipeline" to kick off their set.  Over the course of the next hour, they played just about everything you could wish to hear from The Zeros: "Don't Push Me Around," "Handgrenade Heart," "Wild Weekend," "Wimp," "Beat Your Heart Out" and more.  This was almost the full original band, too: Javier Escovedo, Hector Penalosa and Baba Chenelle.  Only Robert Lopez wasn't there - Javier's brother Mario filled in on guitar. ("El Vez is busy with El Vez," as Javier informed the crowd.)

The crowd was small, but very much into the band.  It being Halloween weekend, there were many there in costume, which added to the overall atmosphere of the night.  It was kind of neat to see clowns and zombies and werewolves and Snooki and The Situation bopping along with a crowd of younger kids and old fogies like me, and The Zeros played the kind of rock and roll that you just have to move to. In fact, the brunette who seemed to be doing every job in the place even stopped working long enough to grab a friend and dance along as The Zeros ran through a scorching cover of "Psychotic Reaction" - even on her break she was constant motion!

After an hour The Zeros said goodnight, but the crowd wasn't about to let them go.  So they came back out for a three-song encore of covers including "Little Latin Lupe Lu" and Johnny Thunders' "Chatterbox." Afterward, the band was very gracious in hanging out with the folks who stuck around, both to sign records and just talk.  They seemed pleased that everyone had had such a great time, and really seemed to have fun themselves.

All in all, what began looking like an iffy proposition at best turned out to be one of the best shows I've been to in some time. Who'd ever think that in 2010, I'd get a chance to see The Zeros? My only regret is that I have no pics of the show - so if you are reading this and you were at the Baltimore show Saturday night and have pics, please post 'em on our Facebook Fanpage!