Rockness Recommends
The New Punks: The Ponys. The Black Lips. Mannequin.
March 21, 2007
It's really sort of perfect that The Ponys, The Black Lips and Mannequin Men are all playing a show together, as they are collectively bringing grimy-garage-punk back in vogue. The Ponys and Mannequin Men are from Chicago, while The Black Lips are from Atlanta. But as Meatloaf once so eloquently said, "Two out of three ain't bad."
The bigger-by-the-day Ponys have been punking it up for a few years now. Their just released album (like yesterday), "Turn the Lights Out," is their debut for Matador Records. And if Matador loves a band, that means the whole world will soon love that band. Ponys are a band that lay it all on the line on stage. They riff, they yelp, they rock out. It's dirty. It's tough. It's Richard Hell.
We just saw The Black Lips play SXSW and their singer puked on stage right in-between his howls. It was pretty punk rock. Like Ponys, The Black Lips are dirty and grimy and garage-y, but with perhaps a tougher (southern) swagger. Their shows are more than just playing and puking. There have been crowd fights, intra-band make-out sessions, beer bottle smashing contests, and instrument arson. These guys revel in playing the part of mischievous punks (which makes their signing to Vice Records entirely appropriate), and they pull it off convincingly. The Black Lips could easily have been transported straight from NYC circa 1977.
A whole lot of music fans in Chicago are talking about Mannequin Men and their insane live shows. It won't be long before the love for their D.I.Y. noise spreads outside the state of Illinois. These four guys are quickly gaining a reputation as a band that takes it to the next level when they take the stage. The Men play an exciting hybrid of art-garage-retro rock that sounds similar to old bands like Wire and The Revelons (an often overlooked group of the late 1970's) and new contemporaries like (of course!) our friends The Black Lips and The Ponys.
See, I told you these three playing together are the perfect combination. Bring your booze and and boxing gloves.
The Ponys, The Black Lips and Mannequin Men play Logan Square Auditorium on Saturday, March 31st.
The bigger-by-the-day Ponys have been punking it up for a few years now. Their just released album (like yesterday), "Turn the Lights Out," is their debut for Matador Records. And if Matador loves a band, that means the whole world will soon love that band. Ponys are a band that lay it all on the line on stage. They riff, they yelp, they rock out. It's dirty. It's tough. It's Richard Hell.
We just saw The Black Lips play SXSW and their singer puked on stage right in-between his howls. It was pretty punk rock. Like Ponys, The Black Lips are dirty and grimy and garage-y, but with perhaps a tougher (southern) swagger. Their shows are more than just playing and puking. There have been crowd fights, intra-band make-out sessions, beer bottle smashing contests, and instrument arson. These guys revel in playing the part of mischievous punks (which makes their signing to Vice Records entirely appropriate), and they pull it off convincingly. The Black Lips could easily have been transported straight from NYC circa 1977.
A whole lot of music fans in Chicago are talking about Mannequin Men and their insane live shows. It won't be long before the love for their D.I.Y. noise spreads outside the state of Illinois. These four guys are quickly gaining a reputation as a band that takes it to the next level when they take the stage. The Men play an exciting hybrid of art-garage-retro rock that sounds similar to old bands like Wire and The Revelons (an often overlooked group of the late 1970's) and new contemporaries like (of course!) our friends The Black Lips and The Ponys.
See, I told you these three playing together are the perfect combination. Bring your booze and and boxing gloves.
The Ponys, The Black Lips and Mannequin Men play Logan Square Auditorium on Saturday, March 31st.
