Be Aggressive, Lee Corey Oswald, Choke Up And Dented Personality At 242 Main And Everybody’s Favorite Irish Drinking Songs Band At Finnegan’s

Words by Tim Lewis.

I got out of work at 7, and knew Everybody’s Favorite Irish Drinking Songs Band were due on at 9:30, or 10. Something had caught my eye, and I though I had seen that BE AGGRESSIVE were playing at 242 Main. I checked into it and was correct. I sent a message to Jaw Knee Bee, and they were putting gear on the stage. I was out the door in minutes and walked in to some aggressive rock. They were playing as a three-piece with John on bass, Pete Bolduc ripping it up on guitar, and Keeth Maurice pounding out the drums. I caught 6 or 7songs, and had a great time. I was pretty stiff and cold when I walked in, but they had me in top rock form by the end of the set. Many of the songs were new, and all of them were good. Most of the songs made me work to try and catch up with them, which is always a good sign. I’m so glad I put the effort in.

I was pretty hungry, so as the last notes rang out, I booked down to Mr Mikes for a slice, then headed back. Lee Corey Oswald, from Portland Oregon, were on stage and rocking. The four-piece, two guitars, bass, drum rocked hard with pop sensibilities. They reminded me a bit of a heavy Longwave mixed with punk pacing. They played fast and hard, yet let the songs sprawl a bit, and play out however they needed to. The guitar player who sang had a pretty good voice, and the two guitars played through Marshall amps just rocked the place. I really enjoyed their set. I ended up buying a cassette (easier then carrying an LP for the rest of the night), so I will need to check about buying something in listenable form.

After their set I headed to Finnegan’s to see if EFIDSB were getting ready, but there was an empty stage. I found out they were supposed to go on at 10ish, so I headed back to 242 and walked in with Boston’s Choke Up on the stage. Also a 4 piece with 2 guitars, bass, drums, Choke Up played classic punk. It was loud, fast, aggressive and had screamed vocals. The band were super tight and took the songs through tons of changes. They were very comfortable switching speeds in the songs and had some nice harmony guitar action going in a couple of them. They played beautifully and had the small crowd bouncing around a bit.

When they wrapped up, I just stayed. The bands sets had been pretty short and the switchovers pretty quick. It was not long until Burlington’s Dented Personality hit the stage. With two guitars, bass, and drums, the four-piece played more straight forward rock songs with nice melodies. They were not as intense as the bands before them, but still rocked hard. While the songs could use a bit more complexity, they were fun and had me rocking for most of the set. The guitar player in the middle sang most of the songs, but the guitar player on the left sang one. It would have been better if the sound guy was at the desk to turn up his mic, but the place is small enough that you could hear him a little. After several cool songs, they got up from their instruments and sat on the front of the stage. They had us sit on the floor and one of the guys grabbed an acoustic guitar. The singer began singing, then the drummer sang the next part. All four alternated verses and choruses, and it really highlighted their talent. After that we all got up, they put the electric guitars back on and rocked the place hard two more times.

As the last note rang out, I headed back to Finnegan’s and Everybody’s Favorite Irish Drinking Songs Band were on stage. This version of the band was pretty stripped down. There was an electric guitar player that I did not know, Matt Thorsen on harmonica, Matthew Stephen Perry on acoustic guitar, Buck on banjo, and the mighty duo of Diane Sullivan and Rebecca Rogers on lead vocals. I grabbed a Harp, not the instrument, and a songbook and joined in the singalong. They played the classics like Wild Rover, Bugger Off, and Jackie Wilson Said. Matt did a nice job singing One. Buck was in fine voice for Dirty Old Town. The whole show was pretty loose, but nothing but fun. They tossed lots of stuff to the audience and I ended up with a leprechaun statue, because apparently always showing up has some benefits. The bar was fairly empty, so most of the people that were there were there for the band, so there was a good spirit for the show. They wrapped the night with O’Paranoid and Beer Beer Beer, and a good time was had by all.

The walk home was cold and quick and I was asleep not long after arriving. Today is a 10 hour work day, but I will have lots of great music running through my head to keep me going. Thanks guys and girls!!

This post was originally published by Tim Lewis at his personal blog, https://timstriangletribune.wordpress.com.