This would have been day two for Dead End America, except the black out prevented Friday’s show from taking place.   With all the inconveniences that minor catastrophe wrought, it really didn’t surprise me that it was far from a packed house for Saturday’s show.   I mean, who wants to take a shower when there might be raw sewage in the water?   And if you can’t take a shower, who wants to go out in public with a nasty film of sweat and filth caked on their body?  Luckily I was able to hose down at a location where the water wasn’t contaminated, so I figured what the hell. 

I showed up at 8pm, which means I missed the first few bands.  The Brazen Rogues were just getting under way when I walked in the door, and they delivered a sloppy but fun set of originals and covers.  Despite the rough edges, the guys got a pretty good response from the crowd and audience participation was a big part of their show.

Next up was The Gluttons.  These guys rock.  They’re somewhere in between stoner rock like Fu Manchu and bands like Nashville Pussy and Zeke.  Just good old fashioned heavy hard driving rock.  They were short a guitarist tonight (the second one being on tour with his other band Ringworm) but sounded just fine.   I'm truly sorry it took me so long to get out and see these guys.

The Jacknife Powerbombs followed The Gluttons with another set of ass kicking rock ‘n’ roll.  That’s pretty much what I’ve come to expect from this band.  Most of their songs sounded great, but a few got a little carried away with the speed.   

Then it was the Chrome Kickers turn to rock the house.  Like the Powerbombs, I’ve seen these guys so often I probably know half their songs as well as they do.  For my money there just isn’t a better pure punk band in Cleveland right now.   

Abdullah and Amps II Eleven were also on the bill, but as great as both bands are I just didn’t feel like sticking around this night.  After 2 days without fans or air conditioning, I just wanted to get back home and appreciate the wonders of electricity.   (Bob Ignizio) 

For pictures click here.