The nondescript and amiable Kalamazoo, Michigan based webzine, UFO Dictator will celebrate its third anniversary this Saturday with a festival at the Kraftbrau Brewery. Featuring everything from a requisite pre-show BBQ (I'll bet there will be hotdogs served), an exclusory list of djs and an excellent line up of bands to perform. Headlining the event are Kalamazoo expat brothers' Erin and Sean Wood, better known as The Spits, who spent their formative years there probably eluding trouble with their charm, somewhat intimidating statures and infectious sweet-natured personalities. As a band, there's simply no denying the impact they've had on the collective punk arena over the past decade. Taking the vacuous landscape of late-nineties rock'n'roll, filled with rehash after rehash of loosely defined “garage rock,” The Spits besotted the terrain with their ingenious concoction of humorous, dark and anthemic songs. Like a breath of fresh air in a stuffy, smothering fart chamber, The Spits breathed life back into the hamlet of salivating punksters the world over, and simultaneously caused a salvo that underground music hasn't seen since the culmination of first-wave punk 30 years prior. They were instantly quintessential, and permanently set at the throne of the “must see” bands for years to come.
As a live act, The Spits are unrivaled. Their stage presence is the equivalent of a warm and thoughtful wedgie from your older brother. Bringing the fun and showmanship back to the punk stage for the first time since The Mummies, The Spits have adorned themselves with everything from Reagan masks to Druid robes, all the while plowing through a set that included not only their perfect canon of hits, but also offering surprises with the inclusion of left-field covers, that willfully forced to you reevaluate your record collection. Their stage personae often would poke fun at the idea of sibling rivalry from a couple of prima donna punk rock stars, even occasionally ending their sets with a fistfight that would cause confusion, excitement, and chatter like no other act before or since.
The rest of the bill is equally impressive. The Chrome Spiders, the newest venture from Detroit's Tom Potter, will also be performing. After his impressive curriculum vitae that includes such big hitters as Bantam Rooster, Dirtbombs, and Detroit City Council, it's not surprising The Chrome Spiders are kicking out the same infectious, soulfully fun-loving gruffness Potter is known for. Also on the bill is are The Oscars from Memphis and Kalamazoo 80s hardcore act, Violent Apathy.
