Page 8 - The Behrend College Collegian Thursday, March 27, 1997
Ghoti Hook headlines Erie
by Kevin Deane
Guest Columnist
Ahh, Feb. 14, famous for
flowers, hearts, love-in-a-can,
punk shows...wait. 0.K., maybe
that doesn't exactly bolt to your
mind when you hear "St.
Valentine's Day," but if you
ventured to the Erie Art Museum
Annex that crazy night you know
what Fm talking about.
Persons in the Erie community
thought enough of us lonely hearts
to bring up Ghoti Hook, a Tooth
& Nail Records band from
Virginia. They were surrounded
by 4 local bands: Mustard Seed,
Ten 23, The Huntingtons, and the
Go-Go Rays.
I was originally drawn to this
show for the opportunity to
witness Ghoti Hook live, and a
couple of the other bands ended
up impressing me.
The show opened up with
Mustard Seed, a peckish band
made up of high school guys. At
first everyone just stood still and I
wasn't quite sure what to think.
After a few songs though, I felt
that they had a good grasp on
what they were doing. Maybe it
was due to their youthful
appearance, but they surprised
me. I enjoyed watching them
play.
The second band was Ten 23, a
local punk group. I had never
heard of these guys before the
show, so I didn't know what to
expect.
They ended up being one of the
extreme highlights of the evening.
From the opening power chord,
these guys received a big thumbs
up. They played fast, they told
jokes, and they had a blast on
stage. Fun poured out from their
set like Kool-Aid from a garden
hose. Their songs ranged from
feel-good punk to a slower
, ,which 1 regretfully
cannot remember the name of.
Ten 23 put on one neat-o show. I
guess that's what you get from
Erie's most lovable punk band.
Judging by the T-shirts and the
number of the people in the
crowd, I assumed that the
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majority of people were there to
see the next two bands, The
Huntingtons and the Go-Go Rays.
The Huntingtons seemed kind
of cocky and I didn't pay much
attention to them. In fact, I ended
up outside during most of their
performance. I'd like to see them
again, so I can at least form a
completely judgmental opinion
about them.
My heart was beating
uncontrollably as the Go-Go Rays
got ready to play. I saw the horns
and guitars and became quite
giddy. As soon as they started, I
was skankin' (at least trying to).
When those sweet ska tunes
danced in my ear, I couldn't help
but groove.
Then the band had to go and
disappoint me. The lead singer
and bassist said some really rude
and disgusting things that I didn't
care for. Their songs just backed
up their truly unclassy show. I
ended up leaving the building for
a little while, with people
cheering in my ear.
But oh buddy, did Ghoti Hook
make up for it. They came out
with hats on and claimed to be
cowboys. At this point I was still
in shock. I couldn't believe I was
standing ten feet away from them.
They kicked off their set with
one of my favorite songs,
"Seasons." They continued
through, playing "Treat Boy,"
"Knock Knock," and other songs
from their album, Sunto Surprise.
They even threw in a few new
songs and a cover of "Walk Like
An Egyptian." They talked and
developed a camaraderie between
themselves and the crowd. It was
the most I had ever felt at home
at a concert.
They had a style all their own,
swinging punk rock with both
message-filled and feel-good
songs. Their blend was truly
outrageous.
After five hours, the people
began to disperse and the smoke
started to clear. 0.K., so there
wasn't any smoke, but my eyes
focused on the surroundings,
desperately trying to take mental
photographs that would forever
remind me of that experience.
I put my shoe back together and
turned to leave, with a screeching
ring yelling in my ear. It let me
know that one swingin'
Valentine's Day wasn't too
difficult to find, if you knew
where to go.
Pensive
to come
to Erie
by Tim Holsopple
Asst. Entertainment Editor
If you haven't noticed by now,
I'm the guy who wears the
bookbag with the pensive. patch
on it. Pensive. is an emotional
hardcore band from the Pittsburgh
area.
I've known the band since their
inception as red no. 9, back when
they played poppy rock numbers,
silly party-fun songs, and heart
wrenching social statements.
They still play heart-wrenching
social statements, but now with a
side order of tough.
They're bringing their whole
pallet of songs here for the
Behrend Battle of the Bands on
Friday, April 25. Judging from
their performance at a recent
local show back home, you will
not want to miss it.
On Saturday, March 15,
pensive. played at the Gem
Theater in Derry, PA (about an
hour southeast of Pittsburgh). I
had the privilege of watching
them for the ump-teenth time, the
night before I was to come back
from spring cake vacation.
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Their teeth were whiter than
white, and their tunes were tighter
than tight. I had never seen them
play with as much passion and
fury as I had that night.
Josh Walters; traps, "Party"
Marty Lunn; thunderbroom, Chad
Monticue; emo-vox, and Brett
Detar; guitar and bottom-stomach
screaming, combine to form a
united mass of brittle emo
particles. As separate entities,
they find strength in each other.
But when they're together, they
find strength within themselves.
They started their set off with
"Spiritfall," a brand-new song. I
could tell that they had spent
some serious time on that song,
as they pulled it off without any
sticky wickets. The next song
was "The Artist," an older song
that they have honed into a sonic-
BOOM! A Nestle-Quick
milkshake-smooth bassline drew
the proletariat-youth in, and
emotional vocals at the end left
the kids crying for their mamas.
Next up was "Fabrication," a
song like no other. They cut the
song short by taking out a lengthy
guitar part, but the change proved
to be for the better. Lines like,
"The mirror reveals the true
appearance...only backwards,"
show the band's belief in people
being true to themselves.
Concentrating on what's on the
inside is the capstone of self
esteem.
Following that was "Thirty
three." No, it wasn't the
Smashing Pumpkins single.
Rather, it was a brand-new song
that they unleashed for the first
time. On most of their other
tunes, pensive. tends to start off
soft, and then build to a crushing
crescendo, but "Thirty-three"
started off tough and stayed that
way throughout the course of the
song.
'Dispose" was another older
song revamped. It was originally
titled "Pungent Disposal," and it
was about a girl who gave herself
an abortion with a coat hanger.
While the message remains the
same, the intensity grew a few
notches.
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ADAPTED FROM THE 1992 FILM OF THE SAME NAME
THURL•SAT • 8 PM • APRIL 10 - MAY 18
THE ROADHOUSE THEATRE, 145 W. 11th ST., ERIE, PA
IMMO SEATS ONLY (II 14)41311-5656 / MATURE AUDIENCES
-- SPONSORED BY ROCKET 101 -- _
per, ,m jump: Brett Detar, guitarist for pensive.,
leaps in the air during a wicked show.
Finally they played "The
Subtlety of Silence," another older
song retooled and refurbished.
Originally called "Wrong
Intentions," "Subtlety..." took the
intense aggression of
"...Intentions" and funneled it into
a new direction.
"Wrong Intentions" was the
cornerstone of red no. 9's name
change to pensive. As their style
pensive. in the groove; The entire band kicking out the jams.
pensive. will be coming to Erie April 25 for the Behrend Battle of the
Bands.
changed, a metamorphosis was
inevitable. Fortunately, they
turned into a beautiful butterfly.
Please come out and support
pensive., as well as Catchpenny
(another Pittsburgh area band) at
the Behrend Battle of the Bands.
There also will be tons of local
bands, so mark April 25 down on
your calendars, and cancel those
manicure plans.
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