1,022 MODERN BASEBALL, Superweaks, Thin Lips, Bristol Bierkeller, Monday 13th February 2017

Slightly different circumstances than intended for this one; I’d booked tix for this, a quick return to these shores for Philly Emo/ punk pop funsters Modern Baseball, looking forward to some more rousing modern punk delivered in a laconic, conversational and slightly geeky fashion by Mobo’s co-songwriters and co-vocalists Jake and Brendan. However a few weeks before the gig, the band announced that Brendan, unfortunately, was staying behind to deal with some mental health issues. Absolutely the right thing to do, no arguments there, but still this undeniably left a void which required filling; how the band would fill it, though, would be an, erm, interesting solution…!

Comic shop buddy Troy was up for this, so I’d booked him a ticket; then Troy mentioned it to his colleague Keefer who sorted himself out with one! Thus a happy trio hit the road for a swift drive down, parking in the cheaper NCP a couple of streets away, then joining a long, young and predominantly black-clad queue for entry at 7.30. Back in to my rickety old 80’s Bristol “local” again; it still looks as if it’s not seen a lick of paint since the halcyon days of those Birdland and Ride gigs! Kept a watching brief at the bar for the supports, meeting up with Troy’s mate Shaun, and his “almost” sister in law and her mate; openers Thin Lips, fellow Philly natives (as were all 3 bands tonight!) featured a hefty female vocalist and initially leant towards the darker, gothier side of Emo/ punk, thereby recalling Swindon’s own All Ears Avow! They latterly reverted to a more user-friendly but generic college pop-punk, pleasant enough but unmemorable. Main support Superweaks were however a more palatable proposition, a 6-piece ploughing a more chunky 90’s powerpop furrow, so much so that their second number kicked in with a distinctly Weezer “Buddy Holly” drumbeat! Some unexpectedly nice 60’s style harmonies from the bearded lumberjack lookalikes either end of the 5-strong frontline too. They also called for a lighters-aloft display from the crowd before a slower, grungier number which frankly was better than the song itself, before reverting to their more powerpoppy oeuvre. Not original, but they went down well and left a favourable impression on my ears.

Popped down the front, stage right, as the Mobo boys set up onstage, the Brendan-less trio of Jake, bassist Ian and drummer Sean being augmented by guitar tech Nick. Thumbs up to the mixing desk, then Jake announced, “Bristol! Here we go, we’re doing it,” and the band eased into whip-fast, ringing opener “Wedding Singer”. Initially, the band seemed a little subdued, muted even, as they eased into the gig, although the same couldn’t be said for the frenzied young sold-out crowd, moshing and singing along to every number from note one, prompting Jake to regularly step off the mic for the crowd to fill in. However, by the manic rush of “Apartment” and the excellent, Irish-tinged and almost Dropkick Murphys-like frantic reel of “Tears Over Beers” the boys were in their stride, and the subsequent mouthful of “Alpha Kappa Fall Of Troy The Movie Part Deux” was a solid, titanic riffathon. Great stuff!

Jake then introduced a 3-song mid-set solo interlude with an explanation of Brendan’s absence, initiating a, “Brendan! Brendan!” chant from the crowd and prompting Jake to respond with, “we’ll tell him you said hi – that’s what that means, right?” The subsequent acoustic trio was pretty much accompanied word for word by the devoted crowd, almost Dashboard Confessional-like, causing a proud smile to spread across the laconic Jake’s features. We then had a clutch of Brendan’s numbers, and here’s where it all got a little interesting; firstly, a nervous looking kid was brought onstage to front an excellent “Weekend”, doing a fine job in the process; then a couple of Thin Lips members took vocal chores for a couple more of Brendan’s numbers, a superb, widescreen and anthemic “Just Another Face” sung by TL vocalist Chrissy being the highlight; then, a chaotic cover of The Killers’ “When You Were Young” (introduced by Ian as, “the only other song we all know!”) was preceded and punctuated by the tall, young Joey Ramone lookalike bassist giving shout outs to all and sundry, the whole thing collapsing into joyous disarray to end a totally fun gig.

Caught our collective breaths before we, chivalrously, saw the girls off to their lift home, then we hit the road ourselves, ruminating on a slightly unorthodox but nonetheless entertaining evening out. Get well soon Brendan, but don’t worry, your Modern Baseball colleagues are doing you proud in your absence!

1,001 MODERN BASEBALL, Winter Passing, Vicky Speedboat, Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach, Thursday 1st September 2016

Another of my recent “post redundancy blues” musical discoveries, this band, and probably my favourite of the lot; let’s face it, with a name like Modern Baseball, I should like them! An intriguing write-up in a freebie mag picked up after the Titus Andronicus show, and a checkout of some fine YouTube clips (including the superb joyous amphetamine rush of current single “Wedding Singer”) prompted me to pick up the Philadelphia natives’ current album “Holy Ghost”, and glad I was of it! A superb set of short, snappy blasts of shiny punky powerpop (or powerpoppy punk, whatever), with crunchy, galloping guitars and garbling, angsty emo-lite lyrics delivered variously in an impassioned, Dashboard Confessional style, or an almost Philistines Jr. laconic drawl, it’s fast becoming a 2016 favourite. A possible Transatlantic cousin of similar recent discoveries, Durham’s Martha, then, and like that lot I resolved to catch Modern Baseball “live” at the earliest possible chance. Just missing out on an apparently sold-out Electric Ballroom gig (wow, this band really have passed me by), I was however quick to jump on tix for this post-Reading Festival show, before this one sold out too!

Hit the road just before 5, encountering slow but moving traffic around Newport for once, and parking up at 7 behind the Grand Halls of Learning where my friend Craig (unavailable for this one) works, after a tea stop. A wander around to the Clwb revealed a queue and doors not yet open, so I popped into the adjacent Castle Emporium, where, ironically, a young band were playing a half-formed and unrehearsed but spunky and enthusiastic grungy rock set in a pop-up space. After 4 or 5 numbers, I excused myself and joined the large queue for Clwb entry at 8. Up the metal stairs to this claustrophobic and brick-lined room, which was smaller than I remembered – we’re 4 flights up but it feels like underground!

Grabbed a table space at the back to rest my knee as the place filled up rapidly with the young Mobo (!) massive, then openers Vicky Speedboat joined us at 8.30 for a solid set of yelping slacker/ grungy laze rock which featured a splendid yearning emo-rock opener with nice harmonies, then went a little sludgy proto HM in parts, but was overall played with honesty and openness. A song about a lost night in Newport, during their last sojourn to Wales, was the best of a good opening set. A subsequent chat with VS drummer Sean at the merch stand revealed he was actually the Modern Baseball sticksman pulling a double shift tonight! The Winter Passing were up in short order thereafter; an Irish band with a nuanced dual vocal attack from a brother and sister pairing, played over a poppier US 90’s alt-rock soundtrack, their occasional quiet/ loud dynamics recalled later period Magnapop, and some strutting riffery also resembled Veruca Salt. They closed out with their best number, “Daisy”, an insistent, soaring slab of powerpop with some fine bratty female vocals. Nice work!

I wandered down the front, extreme stage left, as the boys set up, then took the stage prompt at 10 to the introspective title track from the current “Holy Ghost” CD. We knew what to expect then, as they launched headlong into the brilliant galloping circular riff of “Wedding Singer”, and the kids went batshit crazy. An incendiary start, with momentum maintained by the muscular, undulating and building “Note To Self”. The reason for the two disparate vocal styles then became apparent, with the first 2 numbers being vocally dispatched by the laconic, bespectacled Jake, whilst his more bookish, baby-faced co-guitarist Brendan delivered the more impassioned vocals, particularly on older numbers such as “Fine, Great” and the wry, chant-along “Weekend”. “Tears Over Beers” was an early highlight, a cowpunk gallop with a gauche yet witty lyric, after which Brendan exhorted the crowd to “take two steps back – this guy’s [down the front] knees are killing him!” (Not me, someone else!)

The set varied between old and new material, and the distinction became evident; whilst the older material has a naïve, powerpoppy charm, recalling early Weezer or the excellent Surfer Blood in its insistent hookiness (evidenced by this knowledgeable young crowd singing along for much of the gig), for me the “Holy Ghost” songs represent a quantum step forward, being punchier, more immediate and dynamic, and could be the material which catapults them to a wider audience – their “Bleed American”, perhaps? The Hold Steady stream-of-consciousness of the nonetheless concise “Mass” was great, featuring an unexpected soaring harmony from kinetic and constantly-beaming bassist Ian, and “Re Do” broke out after a slow start into a frenzied gabble. A plug for the “Head Above The Waves” mental health charity revealed them as thoughtful and considerate human beings as well as a potentially great band in the making, and the set finale, the excellent, chiming and slow burn-to-crescendo “Just Another Face” was dedicated by Brendan to Vicky Speedboat mainman Will, with, “gee golly gosh, he’s such a wonderful person!” A moshpit-tastic “Your Graduation” was the encore punctuation to a splendid set of enthusiastically delivered US emo-powerpop rock, after which Sean kept a pre-set promise and delivered his set-list to me on his way offstage. Chap!

Hung around awhile afterwards, catching breath, thanking Sean for his integrity, being complimented on my Hold Steady t-shirt by Jake, and quickly chatting Mets baseball with bassist Ian (the only baseball fan in Modern Baseball! What’s up with that???!!!), before being ushered out by the bouncers, which necessitated a lengthy but ultimately fruitful wait outside for the final signature on my set-list from Brendan (who found it funny I referred to his bandmates as “your colleagues”…). Car at midnight, and home at 1.10 after a swift drive home on a clear motorway, reflecting on the performance. Great stuff from this young and still-developing band Modern Baseball; in gig terms, this was a loud moon-shot, a Green Monster-clearing home run!