The third annual Pain in the Big Neck festival will be underway this Friday in Buffalo, New York. Curated by and in celebration of the record label, Big Neck, the event is packed with a roster that boasts their excellent catalog of guttural rock'n'roll. Throughout the 90s, Big Neck was responsible for releasing debuts from some of the era's most puissant acts. The Mistreaters, Baseball Furies, Lost Sounds, Tyrades, and the Ponys have all had spots in the label's canon and all have left deep and undeniable pocks on the world of underground music. This year's line up features an astute collection of bands that have at one time called Big Neck home, plus a battery of other acts all set to destroy your mettle for a lifestyle your parents would approve.
Friday night at the Mohawk Place, the line up features the Test Patterns, a sunny and gummy power-pop outfit from Pittsburgh who bang out rollicking songs that are built around the dreamy, treble-snapped vocals of Yago, a Tokyo-based jet setter, who also fronts the all-girl pop troupe, Gito Gito Hustler. The Test Patterns have an new EP out this week on Chicago's illustrious Shit Sandwich Records, and the rest of Gito Gito Hustler took the long journey from Japan to join Yago in performing on the bill opening night and fall in line sonically seamless with the Test Patterns. Playing two sets back to back with the sort of energy both bands require is a feat in itself, and I'm sure by the time Gito Gito close their set little Yago will need a drink, so get her one. The headlining act, Bantam Rooster have released a number of classics on Big Neck, along with Crypt Records and Sympathy For the Record Industry, and without a doubt, they are truly something special. The two-piece drum/guitar act from Detroit that features none other than the godfather of white soulfulness, Tom Potter was hitting on the sparse, minimalist rock'n'roll thuggery way before the minions of two-piecers picked it up from the White Stripes. Mr. Potter's righteous and often humorous stage demeanor could turn the coldest of crowds into a collection of batty party favors ready to lap up anything he feeds them. Having not played as a band in a good number of years, this is a welcomed return for Bantam Rooster.
Saturday is set with a matinée show at Staples and features a headlining performance from one of the world's most amiable wonderboys, Tony Sagger, whose one-man band act falls somewhere between grunting paleolithic rock'n'roll and respectable facial hair. Always at the nucleus of any respectable party, you can bet Saturday will be filled with the sort of gelastic mood that makes these sort of festivals so fun and makes Sagger the type of guy you want on the bill. Later that night at the Mohawk, you'll get a couple of special treats. First there's Cheap Time, the Nashville glam squad whose concoction of nasal-centric, almost Sparks-ish vocals, and ambidextrous song stylings has landed them on the In The Red roster, play a set that will surely be hard to follow. And then Detroit's loose canon, Terrible Twos spit their noisy bile all over the stage only to be covered up with Homo Stupids' inimical and catastrophic assault later in the evening. Lucky though, Chicago's best genital problem, Vee Dee, will be there to wipe up the mess with their gloomy psychedelic racket. With their first release in a couple of years out this week on Criminal IQ, they should have an entire spell of new tunes under their cloaks. Headliners Saturday are Philly three-piece, Clockcleaner, who straddle the metal edge of hardcore with slow building songs that erupt with a night sweat-inducing accession of sound. Check our Buffalo listings for the entire line-up for the Pain in the Big Neck weekend.
check out a Clockcleaner video from sxsw courtesy of punktv right here...
and check out Cheap Time's video for "Glitter And Gold" directed by The Wax Museums' very own TV's Daniel...
