[Stay tuned for a review of Thee Oh Sees' performance tomorrow or maybe later tonight; haven't decided yet.]
If you’re looking for one band, just one, that personifies the latest wave of Punk, it’s Fresh & Onlys.
Their songs run an astonishing gamut between Factory Records/Joy Division/Blank Dogs (by extension) darkwave (“Invisible Forces”), roots punk and rock-a-billy (just about anything off that first Castleface album), Bad English/Echo & The Bunnymen-style ’80s rock (“Delusion of Man,” “Plague of Frogs”), kitchen-sink style Clash-rock (“Dude’s Got a Tender Heart”), Jay Reatard-esque strummin’/singin’ and, most importantly, garage rock of all stripes.
What I wasn’t prepared for was how well their recorded presence as a four-piece (minus the cute back-up singer chick; too bad) came off in concert. Choosing the best cuts from each album Tuesday night, Fresh and Onlys put on a veteran-level show that emphasized their punk/garage, stomp/face, kick/ass side.
And, surprisingly enough, there were folks in the crowd who knew their songs (someone even requested “Delusion of Man”), a sign that, slowly but surely, good bands like Fresh & Onlys are penetrating smaller markets like Denver and, shit I dunno, Dover?
The best-rendered songs included “Clowns (Took My Baby Away),” which kills on CD but absolutely MASSACRES in-person, the aforementioned “Delusion of Man,” which might just be their best-ever song, and show-closer “D.Y.,” a song that — yes, I’m tooting my own horn — I predicted would be a shit-yourself live experience on the way to the show.
Oh, and Tim Cohen is a fabulous frontman, a fact I also would have predicted had I known he is also the man behind Black Fiction, a California group I reviewed a few years ago and was heavily intrigued by. Not to mention Shayde Sartin, who is, look and all, the best bassist ever, has played session with groups like Skygreen Leopards and others.
All in all, I’m giddy to have discovered Fresh & Onlys before they brake/broke up, and I plan on mining their already-deep discography for all its worth. Stay tuned for a review of the wonderful Bomb Wombs cassette!
