D.O.A. at The M Room 6/17/10

This took me longer to get up today than I had intended (had my ass kicked by a hangover all day, you’ll see why shortly), so this will be the only post today (Saturday). Without further ado, my impressions of the trip Mark and I took to the M Room to see D.O.A.

The M Room

15 W. Girard Ave

Philadelphia, PA

The M Room was a bit difficult to find, but I blame that mostly on my GPS saying it was on the opposite side of the road than it actually was. It’s a small venue, that seems like the type of place that would be cool to hang out at on a normal night with friends. Beer was cheap, Pabst Blue Ribbon 16 oz. cans were only $3, and their prices for other beers was equally as reasonable. They offer a $4 PBR 16 oz. can and shot of well bourbon (I wouldn’t recommend this, sounds like a better idea than it actually is). The stage is separated from the bar, with some high top tables with chairs for seating (the main bar had booths and tables that the stage was visible from as well). The sound guy knew what he was doing, because the sound was great. There wasn’t a lot of wasted time between bands from start to finish, just the right amount of time to go to the bathroom, smoke a cigarette, and get another delicious PBR pounder.

The Prisoners

The prisoners played a decent set. They have a bouncy gritty style, but there wasn’t much variety in their sound. After the first 5 songs of their set it started to get repetitive. Their sound was fast and fun, but there wasn’t a whole lot of variety. I would definitely give them another chance though.

The Women

The Women were awesome. They played a great fast set, with a fast old school punk/hardcore sound. It was only 8 songs long, but they were great songs. They finished the set off with a cover of The Misfits “Children In Heat”, and it was great. Mark picked up their 7”, so I’m going to have to listen to it when we hang out.

Flag of Democracy

Flag of Democracy played a 12 song set filled with fast, in your face old time hardcore. Saying the crowd was excited to see F.O.D. would be an understatement. F.O.D. played with tons of energy, leaving everything on stage. They’ve had the same lineup for the last 25 years and I could tell they’ve never lost their love and passion for hardcore. They played a song off their new album (which was tied up due to complications since 2005. They had it for sale, but my lack of funds hindered me picking it up.) and it was more melodic than the other songs they played, but still balls to the walls fast. When their last song started, the first pit of the evening opened up. The crowd got their hands on the mic, and it felt like a true punk show for the first time all night. I definitely want to hear more of them.

D.O.A.

Setlist:

1. To Hell An’ Back

2. World War 3

3. Rebel Kind

4. missed the title of this song

5. D.O.A

6. Untitled

7. missed this one too

8. Marijuana Motherfucker

9. I Live in a Car

10. Smash the State

11. Fuck You

12. This Machine Kills Fascists

13. missed this one too

14. 2+2

15. Class War

16. The Enemy

17. The Prisoner

Encore

18. Fucked Up Ronnie

19. Liar for Hire

20. Police Brutality

21. Disco Sucks

D.O.A. came out with lots of energy, and kept it up through their entire set. Rebel Kind is a song off of their new album “Talk-Action=0”, and it had the same style and aggressiveness that the few older D.O.A. I’ve heard had. I witnessed someone playing guitar behind their head for the first time outside of a movie when Joey Shithead did it during this song. That wasn’t the first guitar surprise he had in store for me (you’ll see). During the 4th song, which I couldn’t get the title of thanks for the effects of the PBR setting in, a huge pit opened, and it didn’t get any smaller through the rest of the night. During D.O.A., Joey Shithead left me in shock when I saw him play the guitar with his teeth. I didn’t think that really happened. I went to the bathroom near the end of D.O.A. and wasn’t able to catch the title of that song. Marijuana Motherfucker was a song that I hadn’t heard before, and Mark and I both really enjoyed it. People were dancing with reckless abandon, which is always fun to watch. Someone thought dancing with an open PBR was a good idea (not me) and it sprayed everywhere. It was a lot fucking cooler than you might think. When D.O.A. started to play The Prisoner, out of the corner of my eye I caught Mark go rushing into the pit like a bat of hell without warning. Typical behavior for him. He lost a shoe and crashed to the floor on his elbow. Definitely a highlight of the evening. D.O.A. left the stage after The Prisoner, and then came back for their 4 song encore. When I first started going to shows, I always enjoyed this, but now it’s tedious. It seems like every band does this. What’s the point? We’re all conditioned to know that you are going to comeback out for a few more songs. Just play them. I was excited to see them play “Fucked Up Ronnie” live. It’s the only song that I had known of theirs for a while. Even though they didn't play "Hardcore '81" in it's entirety like advertised, it was a great show, and definitely worth the trip.