Concert review: The Tossers / Crazy & The Brains – Live in Grand Rapids

Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill – 03 Mar 2022

The Tossers and Crazy & the Brains kick off the their March tour in Grand Rapids, MI

I could never really get into Crazy & the Brains. Their xylophone driven punk was just a little too much novelty for me. (I’d most recently avoided them at Punk Rock Bowling last September.) I’m sure a former editor’s constant shilling for them didn’t help either. Yet here I was, shelling out my hard earned cash to see them. What changed? The page on the calendar. March is the month when I love to celebrate my (completely non-existent) Irish heritage. 

It’s also the time of year where all the celt-punk bands cash in by gigging like mad. What does this have to do with Crazy & the Brains? They got involved by joining The Tossers for a good chunk of March touring. The Tossers are not really a punk band per say (they refer to themselves as “The World’s Loudest Folk Band”). Like The Pogues before them, their most punk attribute is their attitude. 

The Tossers were founded by vocalist, mandolin player, and proud Chicagoan Tony Duggins, and have been around since 1993. They predate, and probably even influenced, celt-punk heavyweights like Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. This show on Thursday, March 3rd at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids, MI, was the first night of their St. Paddy’s Tour.

There was no local opener, and Crazy & and the Brains went on promptly at 8pm. Unfortunately, due to a slow kitchen at a nearby restaurant, we showed up late. (I hate not getting what I pay for. That’s how I celebrate my actual Dutch heritage.) We only ended up catching about half of their 50 or so minute set. Things started out well enough. When we walked in they were playing a spirited cover of Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died”. Still, it didn’t take me long to realize something was amiss. Where was the xylophone? 

People seemed to be enjoying the New Jersey quintet, but they also seemed to be a bit nervous about filling the small dance floor in front of the stage. Singer Christopher Jesus did his best to engage the audience between songs. At one point he asked if the crowd had any questions. Being fortified with liquid courage, I shouted out, “What happened to the xylophone?” Jesus said, “It’s gone baby.” (That just reminded me of the greatest xylophone song of all time, “Gone Daddy Gone” by Violent Femmes.)

So there you have it. The signature xylophone is gone, replaced by a mundane keyboard. By the end, Jesus and company seemed to have won over the majority of the crowd with their quirky take on punk. (They even got called back for an encore.) I saw a lot of folks carrying around Crazy & the Brains records and talking the band up after their set. For me the jury’s still out, but I mostly enjoyed it. 

By the time The Tossers hit the stage, most of us were pretty well lubricated. (Mrs. Trauma was with me, so I tried to stay on my best behavior.) The small dance floor filled up, and it was definitely a celebratory atmosphere. The loudest cheers were reserved for traditional songs like “The Rocky Road to Dublin”, “Dirty Old Town” and “The Parting Glass”. Duggins seemed truly appreciative of the rowdy, weeknight crowd.

Not surprisingly, drinking songs like “Whiskey” and “Buckets of Beer” also went over extremely well. There’s just something about that Irish music. It can make even the oldest, whitest man want to shake his ass. While I substituted PBR tallboys for whiskey, I still had a great time singing along. When The Tossers tried to leave the stage after their set, they were dragged back up for another couple of songs. Everyone went home happy, though I suspect there were some rough Friday mornings. 

Confessions of a merch whore: The Tossers didn’t have any vinyl, so I settled for another black T-shirt that I certainly didn’t need.