Live Music Review //
Downtown Boys /
Perennial /
Two Headed Girl
April 30th, 2023
@ Willimantic Records, Willimantic CT
Additional photos can be found in a Facebook album here :::
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1236495293747356&type=3
Aside from the day before, it had been about six weeks since we'd been to a show at Willimantic Records and when they announced two shows in the same weekend, I knew that despite making the drive two days in a row there was no way I'd be missing either of them. The day before this was the legendary Linda Sharrock live and in person and on this Sunday afternoon we would see punk rock icons Downtown Boys.
I hadn't see Two Headed Girl for a while so it was nice to see their name on this show. The last time I saw Two Headed Girl was prior to the pandemic and it was at a Halloween themed show in Middletown where they played as All Time Low. It's this strange reminder how the year 2020 felt like it got taken away from us, but going out to shows is something I only started doing late last year.
Two Headed Girl has this great sound between punk and alt rock, something like grunge. I could've heard this back in the mid to late 1990's, along the same lines as a band like That Dog, where it just feels melodic but also punk and then it's just all tied together as well. I have my list of bands that I feel like are forgotten from that grunge era but I love them and with names like The Murmurs, I think Two Headed Girl would fit in so well.
Perennial was the second band on this three band bill. I took Jess to see this show because I really wanted her to hear Perennial live because it's an experience. There are really two bands in the CT area scene that I feel like really need to be experienced live because they bring that something special, that extra level, to their shows and Perennial is one of them.
Though this set was played in the dark, there was still as much energy as a Perennial set brings and it was just fun to see everyone bouncing around and really getting into it. As much as I love Downtown Boys, watching Perennial just made me think about how anyone could top that or at least not be intimidated by it on some level. It's just one of the best live show experiences I've ever had and there will never be a time when I don't want to see Perennial live. I will take every chance I can get to see them.
Downtown Boys brought the energy as the headliners and never let up for their entire set. Downtown Boys are very loud and very political. Their singer would get into the crowd and sing into people's faces and I enjoyed seeing that because it's the part of punk rock that is supposed to be confrontational. Sometimes, punk rock is supposed to make you feel threatened because people make us feel threatened so we throw it right back in their faces.
But also I feel like it's all just a way to kind of get inside of your audience's head and hopefully get them as excited as you are about these ideas. It's one thing to sing along but it's another to understand the words and act upon what they are saying. So I really enjoyed this set as it felt like a very solid journey into music but also a means to hopefully light a spark inside the minds of those who witnessed it.
This was a big weekend for Willimantic Records and I was happy to be there both days. Quentin was with me on Saturday and Jess on Sunday. I saw people with their kids on Sunday but I just know Quentin wouldn't be able to do that much music and that much loud right now, so it was all right for him to only be at one of the shows. But, for me, being able to go to both of these shows this weekend was healing for my soul.
Willimantic Records can be found on the web here :::
http://blog.willimanticrecords.com/
Two Headed Girl can be found on Bandcamp here :::
https://twoheadedgirl.bandcamp.com/album/two-headed-girl-on-left-of-the-dial-live
Perennial can be found on Bandcamp here :::
https://perennialtheband.bandcamp.com/
Downtown Boys can be found on Bandcamp here :::
Comments
Post a Comment