There were only a handful of people in the 7th Street Entry when I walked in on Wednesday night. Normally, that would have me a bit worried that I had picked the wrong show to go to but that was not the case. I knew I was where I was supposed to be and knew that I was about to get my face rocked off regardless of how many people were in the audience and that’s exactly what happened.
The local band Bad Idea got the late-night show started promptly at 9 PM. Bringing their good ol’ fashioned punk rock sounds. Although their set felt super short, they definitely left an impression on me. They weren’t trying to be anything other than what they are and I loved that. Their sound had a sense of power and attitude but stayed accessible throughout their set. They are the type of band that I think all of my friends would have thoroughly enjoyed even if said friends weren’t quite into the punk rock vein of things. Joking about how you don’t have to be a weekend warrior when you have no job or family, I loved how they were able to take their set seriously while still having some fun about the light turnout and the fact that we were rocking on super late on a Wednesday night. I will absolutely be watching Bad Idea’s calendar for another show. Their set was just too fun and solid for me to just move on and I hope to see them again soon.
Ravagers have a look and as that look took the stage, I couldn’t help but get excited. I knew nothing about this band prior to them taking the stage but their Ramones-inspired look had me intrigued and reminded me of the old days when bands like this would make my heart flutter. I don’t know when that changed but I somehow had fallen out of the almost glam-punk vein of things but within the first song, Ravagers had me falling back in love with that scene. Their punk-drenched rock ‘n’ roll sound was full of attitude and, at times, a bit abrasive but in all of the right ways. Although there wasn’t a huge crowd to enjoy their sounds, the crowd that was there was eating up every word, and, by the end of their set, some members of the audience had moved right up to the stage to shout the lyrics back into the vocalist’s face. I loved the fact that it was a Wednesday night and apparently, some people are too cool to go to late-night shows on Wednesdays, this band didn’t hold back and they gave the audience everything they had as if it was a sold-out show in the mainroom. I wish more bands were like this because it absolutely made an impression on me and, had I not been still financially recovering from my weekend in Miami, I would have bought one of every merch item they were offering. Headlining the Wednesday night show was Suzi Moon. A few months ago, I had reviewed Suzi’s EP ‘Call The Shots’ and as I was listening to it over and over again, I knew I had to see this amazing woman live. Suzi and her band did not disappoint and it was exactly what I was expecting from her and then some! As soon as Suzi took the stage, my eyes were glued on her. Maybe it was the sparkly outfit or just her overall attitude but something about this woman had me captivated from the first second she took the stage. Her attitude comes through in her music and, although it comes off a bit bratty at times, there’s something that stays accessible about this musician with the way she interacts with the audience. Even if it’s just a glance or a nod, something about Suzi Moon came off as very personable and I truly loved that aspect of the show because it’s not something I could have gotten from reviewing her music from my desk.Much like the other two sets of the night, Suzi Moon’s seemed ridiculously short and I was fading fast with how late it was and my still recovering from the last weekend but that didn’t stop me from getting a great fill of her music. There were moments that made me want to push some people around me and others that just had me standing there in awe as I watched Suzi and her band power through track after track with a flawless sense of bratty attitudes and power. Although Suzi Moon has a very distinct sound, every track seemed to bring a different vibe to the room even if the vibe was only slightly different than previously felt creating a super dynamic set that kept me and the rest of the audience who was smart enough to come out on a Wednesday night entertained.
As was the theme of the night, there was no holding back from this band and that really helped keep it feeling more like a weekend than a Wednesday. Just like Bad Idea had mentioned at the beginning of the night, sometimes weekday warriors have it better than those weekend warrior losers and Wednesday night was proof of that.