Hunx & His Punx, Shannon & The Clams, David Liebe Hart, '97 Bulls

The Milestone

April 17, 2011

The Deal: When David Liebe Hart of the Tim and Eric Awesome Show came into town for Casserole Fest, I must admit, the entire night was a bit blurry due to over-celebration. I was disappointed that I didn't pay complete, utter attention to his performance because I was such a fan of his work on the show and interested to see what he was doing on his own accord. When I found out he was on tour again, this time with a full back-up band, I was severely relieved that I would have another opportunity to experience the radically bizarre performance he is known to put on. In order to avoid going into the night partially blind because I wasn't familiar with the headlining bands on the bill, I researched Oakland, Calif. bands Shannon & the Clams and Hunx & his Punx and was astounded by how much I was impressed with them. Paired up with Gastonia's '97 Bulls, I had the feeling that there was a genuinely interesting night ahead of me.

The Good: '97 Bulls was remarkably strong for an opening act. They definitely have an interesting sound. As some of Gaston County's finest, they are an eclectic hybrid of garage rock with catchy overtones that instantaneously got the ladies dancing and dudes jumping. With the stage adorned with Gastonia living room décor, consisting of tallboys and knickknacks, they jammed out for us on guitar, bass, drums, hand percussion (primarily tambourine) with splashes of some songs including trumpet. Listening to them reminded me of reckless summer fun. Their hip-shaking bass lines and poppy-yet-intricate guitar riffs are perfectly intertwined with percussion and horn, captivating everyone and drawing a fairly large crowd for being openers. While the original stuff they played was fantastic, they created a radical grin on my face as they covered a Human Pippi Armstrong song, which progressed them into the rowdy end of the set as their tambourine man leaped into the audience starting a brief pit and coasting the crowd.

David Liebe Hart was certainly a spectacle. Hysterically bizarre and possibly clinically insane, David's set is now awesomely complete with a back-up band and actually seemed like music. Singing little doozies like “All My Friends like Asian Girls” and fierce ballads to AT&T about how their service sucks, he caught some people off guard but was overall a gleaming ball of entertainment. While his music is definitely intriguing, the real gold is his explanations between songs. Horridly honest about his previous relationship with his ex (who, from what I gathered, left him) and open about his belief in various races of aliens, I couldn't help but feel the genuine, bizarre tinkering that was going on behind his eyes. Throughout his set, I couldn't help but notice a certain hint of Charlotte's premier homosexual party rock, as Fat Camp bassist Philip Shive rocked out for David. It was a neat combination to hear a hint of some of our most homosexual local music complimenting a national act that I was first introduced to via Adult Swim.

As the hazy Milestone light shined down on Mr. Liebe Hart, he sang like the guy next to you in church but garbed in a cowboy hat and tassel-fringed coat that accentuated his waving, talking hands. It seemed as though some spectators didn't exactly know what to make of the insanity laid out before them as they frequently traveled from the bar and the stage. After listening to numerous rants about Mexican bed bugs and other delectable items on the platter of oddity, he ended his set with a song about Ellen DeGeneres because she may be gay but was also raised a Christian scientist.

As soon as Shannon and the Clams started, the crowd got moving to their hip-gyrating, two-stepin' doo-wop, surf-punk. Shannon's raspy, powerful voice is enchanting as is their male singer/guitarists'. They compliment each other flawlessly. Couples started dancing and making out as the others danced hard- indie-surf rock style. They certainly play the kind of music that brings people together. I have never been to California but I'd imagine it feels like their music. Their melodies and rhythm radiate sunshine and are just overall pleasant and breathtaking, almost bringing me to the point of tears for sheer appreciation of it all. As their guitarist danced and Shannon rocked the microphone and bass while their drummer threw down maintaining poppin' rhythm, shirtless with bowtie and suspenders they created an overall unity and appreciation for the moment. Their music made me want to be free and drive in a random direction with the windows down until I hit ocean. If I keep listening to this vinyl I had to irresponsibly purchase, it very well might happen.

Traces of fog lurked down around the stage and Hunx and his Punx began to glam it out for us in their fancy, shiny futuristic matching lady-attire to compliment their obscure do-wop, absolutely flamboyant homosexual greaser-eque rock. Stoned out of their minds, Hunx kept wanting to play slower songs as they all giggled about their current state and joy of playing. “We're from space tonight,” they said. “I feel like a sexy idiot,” Hunx chimed. They played an epic set that got everyone dancing like it was a sexy sock-hop. Hunx danced on the audience, sassing it up, rubbing boys heads while playing all the songs we wanted to hear, “Teardrops on my Telephone,” by request and “Cruising,” to our delight, all the while molesting his microphone delicately. He sang of homo-love while his four-girl band held down the instrumentals like futuristic babes. All in all, they made the chicks wish Hunx was straight and the dudes wish they were gay.

The Bad: I was honestly hoping that I would see the place packed out. Although the turnout was decent, these bands deserved a capacity pushing door count.

The Verdict: This show put me in a terribly great mood that I'm still having trouble shaking. Between awesome local talent, a nutty entertaining TV icon that kept a consistent grin on my face and two bangin' bands from California, I had such a variety of delight that it was almost overwhelming. Next time the opportunity is laid in our lap, I highly recommend you come out and see these acts. '97 Bulls plays more often since they are from around here, but it may be a while until we see David Liebe Hart, Shannon & the Clams and Hunx and the Punx since they are from way out in California. In the meantime, check out their music and the Afterbirth Casserole documentary in the making of adventures on tour with David Liebe Hart. It should certainly be a fantastic descent into the macabre.