!OUTERNATIONAL! and GBH at the Seaside on Friday, June 2nd
Thank you Tyler for making a Myspace request for an earlier all ages show because if it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t of gotten to see these two great bands. You ROCK!
!OUTERNATIONAL! shook up the place before GBH took the stage and got our attention like fireworks on the 4th of July… I was blown away by them! I don’t even know how to classify them into a genre; it is like punk, ska, politics, worldbeat, dance, rock, and a little adventure on top. In other words you couldn’t stand still during the set and ever song is something refreshing to your ears. They have a point and a view to tell you over some fast spunky tunes.!OUTERNATIONAL! had clear harmonies, instruments ranging from drums, harmonium, trumpet, guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and a little elbow grease it was a musical explosion that brought the heat up on our cool summer night. Towards the end Ross from GBH who is a badass bass player also managed to rock a dainty ukulele with!OUTNATIONAL! They went out with a bang and ended their set with “Fighting Song.” Their set was perfect, it sounded so good and the trumpet solo knocked my socks off.!OUTERNATIONAL! is a must see live band! Check them out on myspace and pick up their album “Eyes on Fire” it is in my car right now and I have a feeling it won’t be coming out for a while.
I love how the GBH Myspace says “30 Years and Counting!” Punk rock music must keep you young because this is the second “older” British punk band that I have seen lately where they have more energy than the kids in the crowd. GBH must have a love for what they do because they still kill it 30 years into their career. All the way from Birmingham in Spokane the kids in the front row were there to sing every word and to circle pit. It was electric to see, I know that may sound cheesy, but it was so cool to see kids get that excited to see a band. GBH managed to squeeze in new with the old (maybe after a deal or two) but they played “Kids Get Down,” “I am the Hunted,” “Diplomatic Immunity,” “Give Me Fire,” “Perfume and Piss,” plus many others. Since kids were singing along and yelling out what song to play next when it was time for them to play more Colin gave us three options “Big Women,” “Generals,” and “No Survivors.” He played No Survivors and since only one kid raised his hand for “Generals” they ended their set with the popular vote of “Big Women!” For the size of the crowd the kids kept a pretty good circle pit going and running to Colin as soon as the chorus came so they could scream it into the mic. For about two seconds a kid even managed to get up on stage. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN to be at a punk rock show on a Friday night. Not to mention to see such a band with so much punk history. I would do it again any night of the week.
Photos courtesy of Matt Auclair.
