Webster Hall, NYC- 26 June 2022
It’s all you were searching for
I first stumbled upon RX Bandits in late 1998 on a Go Kart Records double cd compilation, Double Exposure. 24 years later and I finally had the stars align to allow me a chance to see them live… and they were worth every bit of the wait, improved upon by all the other goings on that went with it.
The show happened to be the same day as NYC’s Pride Parade and the air along 3rd Ave was electric even in the hours after the parade had come to a close. Spirits were high, the clothing was bright & loud, the happiness was palpable as I wandered up the five blocks from the parking garage to Webster Hall. No matter how miserly the plane I tend to exist on, the atmosphere on that walk nullified the curmudgeon in me. And then the show started and a great day got even better. I may have gone with the singular goal of watching those damn Bandits, but I was blown away by both opening acts and the diversity of sound they brought to the show.
Opening up the evening was Philly duo, Clockwise on Fire. The pairing played 20 minutes of blended psychedelic, funk, alt-prog, THC-infused indie jams. If mescaline can add color to a song, these are the songs made to enhance the tabs.
The band members didn’t need to bounce all over the stage, the performance was based on talent and the kind of vision that usually requires a desert walkabout and a bit of ayahuasca. The free-wheeling two-piece was locked in on an unbreakable groove and trapped the audience in its rhythms and didn’t let go until the set ended.
Next to grab the crowd by its shoulders and amp up the levels was Nova Charisma, another artist i hadn’t heard of before this evening.
The Baltimore two-piece features Hail the Sun drummer and vocalist Donovan Melero and Royal Coda guitarist Sergio Medina. Despite all reports showing them as a 2 piece, a 5 piece took the stage for the live show, and filled the room with passion and catharsis.
This is post hardcore in the purest sense with explosions and erosion of sound, a frenetic outbreak of hair, pop-n-locked guitar convulsions and mic swings. Clear At The Drive In influences shine through in every aspect without once appearing contrived or choreographed. This is a band in which the music flows through in all of its chaotic beauty. I couldn’t tell you a single song played, and don’t really give a shit because I loved every second of their performance. ATDI ran so these guys could sprint, and watching the explosive nature of the band’s stage presence was an absolute blast. There was not a single inch of stage or equipment that the band did not stomp, spring or shimmy across.
Finally, it was time for RX Bandits to saunter to the stage. There was no silly chatter, no crowd work to hype up the audience. The band didn’t need it. They came out, bound straight ahead into “And The Battle Begins” and we were for to the races. The crowd immediately went cuckoo-bananas, blowing the fuck up and bringing the temperature in the room up at least 3 degrees in 3 minutes. Things didn’t cool off throughout the set. The Bandits wouldn’t allow it to.
I’m not sure there was a single pause throughout the main performance aside from momentarily introducing each song and a brief interlude where multi-instrumentalist Steve Choi took the mic and wished frontman Matt Embree.
The band, who have shifted from poppy ska-punk to reggae-saturated post-hardcore were pitch perfect for the entirety of their set. With absolute classics like “Dinna-Dawg (and the Inevitable Onset of Lunacy,” and “Consequential Apathy” straight through personal favorite like “Ruby Cumulous” or “Overcome (The Recapitulation)” the band served their fans a proper dosing of ditties, leaving fans euphoric and satiated.
For a band I waited nearly a quarter of a century to see, I had reason to worry that they couldn’t sustain my expectations, but these bastard Bandits outshined all of my optimism. What a beautiful set, what a perfectly curated tour and what a beautiful evening of love and music.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
