A refreshing fury

Since being back in Maine, I have been easing my way back into the punk scene.  I am trying not to step in the way of what other folks are doing but still be active.  It is a tough balance but things are going well.  

However, most of what Maine is at the moment is pop punk.  Personally, I really do not like pop punk.  There are some great kids working really hard to build the scene and I respect that so I have been going to see pop punk bands and even setting pop punk bands up with shows.  Personally, it is just not what I like.  I like my punk to be more abrasive and angry.

Saturday, there were 3 bands playing in Portland that I had yet to hear.  They were not pop punk so I jumped at the opportunity to go.  Picking up a good friend, we hit the show and met up with a few other friends.

First up was a band called Force Control.  They were awesome.  Fast, angry, catchy, very early 80's US mid-west hardcore.  It was just my style.  It felt great to see a band play this style of music and they did it incredibly well.  I am thrilled that a band like this is in Maine right now.  I will go out of my way to see them when they play going forward.  The rage was a breath of fresh air from the pop punk I have been seeing recently.  Sheer brutality.

Next up was Gout which was billed as a D-Beat band.  I thought they had some D-beat influences but I would not have called them D-Beat.  They were quite good though.  It is always fun to see a bassist doing vocals.  Nice, angry, loud, yelling. 

Bad Leg was up last.  They were a mid tempo punk band with almost a SoCal feel to them.  They were really good and a lot of fun to watch.  The singer is really animated and interacts well with the crowd which is always a plus at a punk show.

I really had a great time.  It was amazing to see a refreshing fury of bands in Maine and even better to see some old friends.  I am really excited about the state of Maine punk and looking forward t working with all of these bands.