Uptown Riot w/ Fuzzcat & The Remedials @ Pat’s Pub
April 10th 2009
By: denis maile
On the first Friday of every month Pat’s Pub hosts a ska tinged show called Hellcats And Bulldogs. I decided it was high time I checked out what all the fuss was about, not to mention I was looking forward to checking out some Hellcats. Can’t say I care much for Bulldogs though.
Without a ska bone in their body, The Remedials opened the show. It was nice to see that the skahead running the night doesn’t discriminate against booking the straight up punk bands, practicing what they preach. Unity. And unity is what it was. The show going punks united with the miserable old people playing keno to enjoy The Remedials. It was possible that they were actually united in beer drinking, but the old folk didn’t run for the door when the music started up, so they either approved of The Remedials, or they really loved the Keno.
The Remedials are now in full swing with newish bassist Dan Gillis and he has even conformed to the tight-pants wide-stance that The Remedials (along with many other punk bands) are known for. The trade-up vocals are coming together nicely with Dan singing the harder songs, and Gabe the not so harder ones. At one point Gabe sang; “I want to live in a haunted house” which led me to believe that he doesn’t value sleep. This may be true because they took off after their set to go and headline the bill at Pub 340. A short trip down Hastings, why not? Maybe after Pat’s I’d see if I could catch the end of it.
Next Fuzzcat hit the stage and this was what I assumed the night was going to be more like. They were four regular looking dudes, playing a tight brand of upbeat groovy ska, and having a lot of fun in the process. How could you stand still? How could you not be smiling? If you were old and playing Keno, that’s how. Fuzzcat had some great chanting back up vocals that filled the room nicely, and spurred more than a few sporadic dance pits in random corners of the bar. They ended on a great rendition of the Dead Kennedy’s ‘Holiday in Cambodia,’ that had the Fuzzcat sound stamped all over it.
Then UPTOwN RiOT took the stage, and sounded exactly what you’d think a band called Uptown Riot should sound like. This was solid drinking partying music that made me crave summer and a backyard BBQ, especially during their punk rock anthem, ‘Drinking Song.’ You couldn’t help but find the bottom of your beer bottle really fast while these guys ripped it up. Uptown Riot had the tendency to break out into some really cool ska parts that shone through during their already badass punk rock sound. It was kind of crusty, kind of dirty and the vocals had that pack a day, living in the gutter kind of rasp to them. Vocalist/Guitarist Paymon’s sunglasses only had one lense, but I’m sure it was so he could keep one eye on the crowd. They got rowdy from the first note of the first song, and kept up the pace alongside the band the whole way through. If punk were built on a foundation of three things, it’d be fast, rowdy and drunk. Uptown Riot scored big points in all of these categories and I would highly recommend catching one of their shows even if you’re slow, well behaved and not drunk.
Then after they kicked us out of the bar we traveled by foot down Hastings to Pube 340 and caught the last three notes of The Remedials’ second set of the night. Then we proceeded to drink until they kicked us out of that bar as well.
© Denis Maile 2009
© The Skinny Magazine 2009
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Thank you very much to Denis (Jones Bones / Skinny Mag) for writing a review and going to both shows! And no only that having to to evade zombie junkies in Cracktown on the way to Pub 340! Be sure to check out Denis' band Jones Bones when they return to the stage at The Cobalt!
"Without a ska bone in their body, The Remedials opened the show." Denis Maile, Skinny Magazine
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