Did I Already Fail my New Years Resolutions?

The title is irrelevant to what you’re about to read about punk bands Crash Poodle, No Dreams, Dancing With Dante, and Frog Team. But it does raise an interesting point:

Did you miss my stupid fucking bullshit?

Anyways, this was Frog Team’s EP release show. But there was something interesting that I noticed about the lineup, aside from one promoting their EP: each band represented like, a different phase of local maturity. Let me explain.

You had the Zand-esque style Crash Poodle who, as far as I can tell, don’t really have a history of performing yet. They’re the ones who have no idea how the audience will react to their music and have no idea how to make the audience react in the way they want. While timid, if you’re a band in this phase, just realise you getting on stage already makes you ballsier than everyone in the audience making excuses for why they can’t. After all, if I get on stage, who’s going to write about it? That’s the only thing stopping me, of course.

You had the next level of local performer, Dancing With Dante. The ones who have experience, and with it confidence, but don’t know how to get the audience to react to their moves. Do you headbang to electronic breakdowns? Do you apologise for making mistakes? Do you just stop giving a fuck? If you’re Dancing With Dante, not giving a fuck works really well for the pop punkish vibe being thrown out. It felt awkward when being taken seriously and comfortable as fuck when fucks flew out the door. The less fucks given by them, the looser I felt.

You had the level up, No Dreams. The ones who have confidence and experience and the knowledge to get the audience involved. They had kicks, they had yells, they had fish for sale, and they had me wondering if it would be tragic or punk if Globe Hall’s wobbly ceiling fans fell down during the show. My guess is, it would have been punk. But I also avoided standing underneath them.

And finally, Frog Team. The ones who had all the above plus the maturity to know that we wanted to see a show but also get home before the snow storm got intense. Frog team didn’t dwell on shit and Frog Team didn’t rush through shit – they slowed down when it was appropriate, fast when called for, and let us enjoy a show that didn’t leave us checking our phones or leaving in the middle of a subzero storm. You knew they weren’t going to hold you hostage, so you had the freedom to let Frog Team take hold of your attention for a short but entertaining set.

Which is more than can be said for some bands that have millions of album sales but still play small clubs because fuck the audience, that’s why.

Want some FYSM merch for the new year? Click that link!

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