This weekend I had the great pleasure to attend a concert at The Union. It was here that I was able to listen to three punk bands: King Buu, Radattack and The Wastemen. All three of these bands were able to keep the audience engaged with a mix of great stage presence and musicians. This show reminded me of people saying punk dies and sold its soul, yet somehow bands like these are able to draw a crowd and keep it, despite some issues.
King Buu is a band out of Cleveland, with a sound that felt hard to place at times, ranging from straight ska to rockabilly as they like to put it. To me it felt as though they managed to capture the sound of punk before punk “sold out,” with the feeling of raw vocals, heavily distorted guitars, banging drums and thumping bass. This is a sound that is becoming extremely rare outside of local music scenes – that I have known in my short 18 years – as people move away from the dirty punk rock sound.
The stage presence of King Buu was mesmerizing, whether it was the lead singer bouncing back and forth on stage to the guitarist nailing his solo. If the band is able to put this much energy into every concert it plays, then I would say King Buu is worth seeing the next time it's in town.
The next band in the line-up was the headliner – Radattack out of Columbus. Starting with what seemed like a typical mic-check, the members kept asking for the sound guy to keep raising the sound level on their mics and amps. That lead to the set being way louder than it should have been, especially in a room that is basically just four walls made of brick. My friends and I only stayed up at the stage for two songs after which our ears had felt like they had just been bombarded with multiple hours worth of concerts at average concert level of volume. When it comes to the music I did hear, I thought Radattack was great. If there is a chance to see them in a larger venue, absolutely go see Radattack.
The last band rounding out the night was The Wastemen from here in Athens. With a sound I would say is comparable to Nirvana’s first album Bleach, The Wastemen gave 1990’s vibes throughout its performance. As a local band, it had a lot of interaction with the crowd, which is something that is to be appreciated at any show, no matter the size. With talent that can only be made in Athens, The Wastemen is certainly a band that has amazing potential.
So after all this, I feel that if you are someone who truly loves live music, the atmosphere of a dark smoky club and some rocking music then you should definitely keep an eye out for local bands playing throughout town. There are people who claim that punk is dead and that all music is the same now, yet those people could not be more wrong. Punk is alive and well in the local scene in Athens and shows no signs of stopping.
Logan Carr is a freshman studying political science at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Let Logan know by emailing him at lc300918@ohio.edu.
