Review: The Rumjacks / Flatfoot 56 – Live in Grand Rapids

The Pyramid Scheme – 17 May 2022

The Rumjacks and Flatfoot 56 team up for some Tuesday night revelry.

Two months to the day after Saint Patrick’s Day 2022, I was able to briefly revisit the celebration of my (completely non-existent) Irish heritage. This time it was compliments of Europe-via-Australia (plus a Bostonian) The Rumjacks, and Chicago’s Flatfoot 56 (again). The Rumjacks were doing a headlining run after a bunch of dates with Dropkick Murphys, and the show was at the Pyramid Scheme in downtown Grand Rapids. The fact that it fell on a Tuesday night didn’t seem to do much to detract from the revelry.

Up-and-coming local punks Oi!l Change opened the show, but we missed them. I can’t decide if the name is fun or ridiculously bad. Maybe it’s both. (Let’s hope it doesn’t become a trend in the same way that ska groups love to work the word ska into their band names. Noi!se is one thing, but we don’t need a bunch of Spoi!led Sports or Poi!son Peckers.) Anyway, the people I asked said they delivered a solid set of classic punk. I’ll catch them next time.

The Rumjacks were billed as the headliner, so I was a little surprised when they came on next. Flatfoot 56 have a pretty good following in Grand Rapids, so it made sense. I reasoned they played last so folks wouldn’t leave early and miss The Rumjacks. It didn’t exactly work out that way. As a matter of fact, the crowd actually thinned out a bit after The Rumjacks. Go figure.

The Rumjacks brought an undeniable energy from the moment they hit the stage. I had only listened to the band casually, but they grabbed my attention and held it. They had the standard guitar/bass/drums setup, plus a lute (mandolin?) player, and the singer played the tin whistle when he wasn’t spitting out the words. They definitely put their own Aussie spin on the typical celt-punk sound. I barely knew a single song when the night started, but I was singing along to several before they were over.

My joy was enhanced by the fact that my son and his friend joined us for the show. Neither had ever been to a punk show, so it was fun to watch them take it all in for the first time. It was like I was seeing things for the first time. Eventually they tentatively made their way into the pit. Soon after they convinced me to join them. (I really just wanted to show them how to dance properly.) It only took a couple of laps for me to slip on the beer soaked floor and fall flat on my ass. The Rumjacks provided a wonderful soundtrack for our (painful) family bonding! It was a great set, and I’m sure I’ll spend some time digging into their fairly extensive catalog.

Flatfoot 56 have been playing Grand Rapids regularly for many years, and the Windy City band has a strong connection to the city. (It’s only a little more than a three hour drive.) A good chunk of the audience crowded the front of the stage for the duration of their set. The five piece band is still led by two of three brothers, Tobin (vocals/guitar) and Kyle (bass) Bawinkel, who founded it more than 20 years ago. They featured two electric guitars, bass, drums and mandolin. The second guitarist occasionally contributed some bagpipes too.

They played old favorites like “Black Thorn”, “Winter in Chicago” and “I Believe It”, along with the new song “Sorry”, from their just released split with The Rumjacks. (More on that tomorrow.) There were also a couple from their most recent full length, the excellent Odd Boat (2016), but I can’t recall which. I was trying very hard to live in the moment, and didn’t take many notes.

Flatfoot 56 joked about how they hadn’t played the city on a Tuesday night since 2012 with Anti-Nowhere League. (I was left pondering how I missed that show. Doh!) Their set was relatively short, but not too short, and they wrapped it up with their spirited version of the old standard “I’ll Fly Away”. The whole night was pure, unadulterated fun, and isn’t that the goal of any show? For a couple of hours we were able to leave our problems behind to sing, drink and be merry.

Confessions of a merch whore: I took it pretty easy, but I couldn’t resist picking up the new The Rumjacks/Flatfoot 56 split 12-inch EP. I probably should have grabbed another Rumjacks record too, but I spent way too much on PBR. No regrets.