The benefit!

Our show space was born in June and came with some natural limitations.  The first major limitation was our lack of a PA system.  Fortunately, we have some good friends that have them and as long as we book their bands, we will have an active PA.  The second limitation was the lack of insulation.  With just exterior walls, the space get extremely hot with lots of folks inside.  As the Maine winter rolls, in we will be unable to do shows without solving this issue.  Neither of these are cheap fixes.  We threw a benefit show to help get the space in a better state for weather and sound!

The opener for the long day of music was A Bird Among Men.  I am not sure how often he plays outside of Squashed Warehouse but he is one of my favorite acoustic acts in Maine.  He has really clever lyrics as well as interesting vocal progression.  His confidence has really grown since I saw him play for the first time this summer.  Great guy, great music, a great start to the show!

A Bird Among Men

Second was local "part time" ska band Sticker Incentive.  I believe this was their first official show but they did not let their nerves get to them.  They played their tunes quickly and tight.  They were a lot of fun to watch!

Sticker Incentive

The Underwater Dogs were up next.  I saw them recently at a house show they put on but they were actually much better here.  They are a unique garage punk style.  They somehow engineered an old telephone to act as a distorted microphone which is really awesome and adds to their fuzzy sound.

The Underwater Dogs

Fading Dawn was to followed up with a really unique blend of pop punk and metal.  These folks really played their songs well and seemed to have been very well rehearsed.  These were some of the nicest folks at the show too.

Fading Dawn

One of my personal favorites, QQQQQ played in the 5th time slot.  I have seen these young guys several times and I can easily say that this was far and away the best set they have ever played.  They cracked out all of their songs quickly and kept it simple.  They are some incredibly talented musicians for their age and may have found the perfect way to temper that talent with some simplicity.  Awesome set!

QQQQQ

Stokin' the Neighbors are 3 guys who have played in several other bands and have a lot of show experience.  They play punk on the poppy side with some edge.  The drummer is really good and is extremely fun to watch.  They played their first show here several months ago and it is obvious the music has progressed, look for them on tour in a few months!

Stokin' the Nieghbors

Crowd favorite, hard working, nicest punk band in the state, Uncle Spudd played in the middle of the late afternoon.  They are a regular here at the Squashed Warehouse but too often I make them play last so I wanted to give them a great time slot for them to showcase their songs.  They destroyed the place.  Folks were going bonkers, dancing the whole set away.  They stuck to most of the more aggressive songs and it kept the crowd engaged.  This band should have the largest punk draw in the state.

Uncle Spudd

Brunswick ska heroes, Sonic Libido followed got the tough job of following an amazing set and were able to keep the pace without missing a beat!   Folks were dancing and skanking all around the space.  They won some new fans for sure, especially with the covers they ran out.  Perfect picks for the crowd.  Apparently, they are usually surly on stage but they seemed nice to the folks here!

Sonic Libido

Cross-Armed Calculator came up from Rhode Island for the show.  They played a doomy, noisy, garage style with no vocals or bass.  They were a lot of fun and brought their huge record distribution with them!  It was great to see some new styles be introduced to the Maine scene as well as seeing lots of folks thumbing through records!

Cross-Armed Calculator

Jimmy Jacked has played mostly bar shows for the last couple years.  They said it had been almost 2 years since they played an all ages show and I think they were surprised how many folks they played for that were under 21 at our space.  The first half of their set was punchy, fast, angsty, old-school punk.  They second half was a little slower but still loads of fun.  The singer really gets involved and clearly loves to play.  I think the band may have realized that the kids still like punk rock, as long as they can get into the shows!  Can not wait to have these folks back.

Jimmy Jacked

One half of Black Market Pine was able to make it and played a great set!  Honestly, this is quickly becoming my favorite Maine band.  The folk punk unit is talented song writers with the best political lyrics in the scene.  Folks are beginning to learn some of the lyrics and sing along as well, which is awesome.  Maine needs more political punk and this band really hits the spot!

Black Market Pine

Closing out was our good friends, Cheers to Verona!  They played some new tunes as well as the old hits.  They are a crowd pleaser for sure.  They are a little slower than the punk bands that usually play our space but they fit this show perfectly and were a great closer to an amazing night!

Cheers to Verona

We raised just over $200 to start some upgrades to the space.  It was amazingly generous of all the bands to come and play such a great show!  We are proud to be a part of the scene and excited for the future of punk in Maine!  Thank you!