The Slits with Northern Liberties, Shellshag, Satanized and Rad Racket - Danger Danger Gallery (Philadelphia, PA) - March 22, 2008

by Matthew Berlyant
27 March 2008

My second trip to Danger Danger Gallery was quite unlike the first. As opposed to the show I saw there last month, where TIMES NEW VIKING and several other bands played to only a handful of people on a chilly weeknight, this was a big Saturday night show that, at its capacity, felt like hundreds of people were squeezed into the rather limited space. I was excited to see THE SLITS for only the second time ever (the first time being a year and a half ago at the First Unitarian Church) and was quite thrilled that they’d chosen a venue only a few blocks from my apartment for their third visit to Philadelphia in the last few years. However, a band I knew next to nothing about beforehand (SHELLSHAG) almost ended up stealing the show.

First things first, though. RAD RACKET (formerly RED ROCKET), the Danger Danger “house band”, opened the show in the gallery space with a great mix of punk and art-damaged prog-rock to go along with screaming vocals that weren’t annoying. Their set was similar to when they opened for BLACK DICE and PISSED JEANS last November at the Vacuum.

SATANIZED follow them a few minutes later in the basement. I liked the music, which reminded me a lot of mid ‘80s BLACK FLAG, FLIPPER, THE MELVINS and stoner and doom metal along with some early ‘90s hardcore bands like MEREL, ICONOCLAST and BORN AGAINST. However, the vocals left quite a bit to be desired and perhaps for that reason, I just wasn’t feeling it.

The biggest surprise of the evening came with SHELLSHAG. After Satanized’s set, I caught some fresh air when I heard them covering THE HEARTBREAKERS/JOHNNY THUNDERS classic “Born to Lose”. Of course, I walked in immediately and the rest of their set was just mesmerizing. They are a male/female duo with the male half on guitar and vocals with the woman on drums. I realize that my description of them sounds like THE WHITE STRIPES, but the music was way rawer and the show much more uninhibited than Jack or Meg. At least half of their set after that point consisted of covers as well. These ranged from the great WIPERS track “Mystery” (from their debut Is This Real?) to LIZ PHAIR’s “Fuck and Run” to WHEN IN ROME’s “The Promise”. They were sloppy, but clearly in love with playing and just there to have fun. The guitarist played a flying V and had long blonde hair, but this was no hair metal act or ironic fashion show. This was pure, kickass rock and roll! To prove their point further, they destroyed a floor tom at the end of their set with both members (and several members of the audience) helping out with the destruction of said instrument by poking holes at it on both sides with drumsticks! It was a site to behold!

It was a hard act to follow, but I decided to check out part of NORTHERN LIBERTIES’ set in the basement and despite their best efforts and a lot of energy, they didn’t do anything for me. Perhaps part of it was the buzz of seeing the previous performance or perhaps they’re just not really my cup of tea (honestly I barely remember what they sounded like except they had the requisite screamy vocals that seem all the rage these days), but whatever it was, I just wasn’t feeling their set.

Therefore, I went back upstairs to get a good spot for The Slits, who seemed to take forever to get to the stage and set up. As per usual, ARI UP complained about the sound throughout their set, especially early on, even threatening to stop the show if the situation wasn’t improved because she said she couldn’t hear herself. Here is where a band used to playing in more professional venues can get into trouble if they expect the same accommodations. Nevertheless, Up and the rest of the Slits made the most of it despite (or perhaps because of) her various eccentricities and the sound issues (though they sounded fine from my vantage point). They started the set off with four songs from their debut album Cut and then, after Ari declared that she’s sick of it, they were about to launch into a newer song. They didn’t do this, either, because then she declared that she was sick of the new stuff, too. Thus, they went into “Earthbeat” (from their great and underrated 2nd Lp Return of the Giant Slits, which these days I play more than the 1st album), which culminated in Ari getting the entire crowd to make bird noises. After that, they played a few other songs that I didn’t recognize, for the most part, and then that was it. It was a short set that couldn’t have lasted for over 45 minutes, but considering how sweaty and packed it was for their set, I didn’t complain! Overall, they were tighter than they were the first time they played here with this lineup a few years ago, but my enjoyment of the show was hampered a bit by two things.

First off, the gas face has to go out to the knuckleheads who decide to pogo, skank and slam-dance in the middle of an insanely crowded gallery space, thus knocking into people who had no room to get away from “the pit”, as it were. I’m not asking people to behave like it’s a religious study session, especially at a punk show, but please have some consideration for others’ personal space. I’m big and I have no problem thwarting off the offenders (though it’s annoying as I’d rather be watching the show), but it’s not so easy for those much smaller folks. As for the next thing I’m about to say, if you don’t believe that politics belongs on this blog or in my column, I urge you to stop reading now.

OK you’re still here? It’s full disclosure time. I have been a vocal supporter of BARACK OBAMA’s Presidential campaign for some time now and have donated money to the campaign and volunteered for it on a number of occasions as well. Thus, I found it disappointing that Ari Up endorsed HILLARY CLINTON right before she and the rest of The Slits left the stage. I wasn’t surprised by this because I read about this a few days before, though I was initially a bit surprised that she didn’t have a negative attitude towards all of the major candidates, as many radical leftists tend to, and instead that she was engaging in the political process. Nevertheless, I find it disappointing that even after the way that the Clintons have conducted themselves in this campaign, some clearly have no problem with this and support her anyway. Perhaps in her case, as the leader of one of the first all-female punk bands and one who came of age in the ‘70s, she feels like she should support the female candidate. However, this undermines the ideals of both feminism and equality if gender alone, and not a candidate’s merit, is worthy of an individual’s support. Nevertheless, not all of The Slits support her, as this intriguing Idolator piece points out. In any case, I can talk much more on this subject, so feel free to comment away.

The Shellshag picture above was taken by KEVIN RILEY of Northern Liberties. You can see more of his photos here. He also took some great shots of Rad Racket and Satanized as well, so they’re well worth a look. Anyhow, the photo is used with permission. I just hope he doesn’t get mad when he reads the above review, but I have to be one hundred percent honest!

Filed under concerts punk