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The Imperial March
Music Fest
The Phantasy Night Club
03-08-03
This was a huge (15 bands) assortment of local and
touring punk rockers, but I only stayed for part of it. Guess I’m getting
old. That plus the fact that most of the bands I heard, while good at what
they do, weren’t the sort of thing I dig. With all these bands playing, The
Phantasy had a second room opened for the occasion. I was told by a friend
that this room used to be the “green room” for the acts that played the
downstairs Phantasy Theatre. The bands in this area of the club played
without benefit of monitors, stage, or lighting but the sound was acceptable
and neither of the two groups I saw in the room seemed to suffer that badly
from the situation.
The first band I caught on the main stage was Redline,
and they were a pretty good pop punk band. They sounded tight and the
singer/guitarist had good stage presence. They were just a little too
commercial sounding for my tastes.
Quickly hopping over to stage two, I caught The
Interns, a relatively young group. They reminded me of groups like Trust
Company and Hoobastank. Again, not my cup of tea. Regardless of my
tastes (or lack thereof) the band played well and the kids watching them
seemed to like it.
Back on the main stage, Sidecar was playing more pop
punk. They had more of an edge than Redline, though, and I have to admit
they played a few songs I liked. Of the bands I saw, these guys drew the
most crowd attention.
The last band I caught was The Jacknife
Powerbombs. They now have Commander Wally (The Squirts, The Interceptors)
playing drums, and it's be a change for the better. Lead vocalist Matt made
the most of the space they were playing in, bouncing off the columns in the
room on one occasion and in general running around like a maniac. Loud fast
and ugly punk rock, the way it ought to be.
For pictures, click
here.
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