Punk is Dad, Vol. IV

Oi.

There are very few bands out there that I'll make a point of seeing whenever they come even remotely close to my neck of the woods. 

For starters, ticket prices are more expensive now than they've ever been, exacerbated by Ticketmaster, of course, but also though the venues, which have all been swallowed up by some booking company that forces them to pay insane fees in order to host artists on tour. It's completely ruined live music for most people - paying to see a remotely known artist generally will set you back a couple hundred dollars, and I, for one, refuse to pay that much to see a band.

But punk rock bands?

The biggest names in punk music still charge under $50 for a ticket, and that's just my cup of tea. I've seen dozens of shows in my lifetime and I've only paid more than this on one occasion: when BP, Kimmel and I went to see Rancid open up for Green Day on the Saviors Tour back in September. That ticket was like $112, but we knew we'd be paying a higher price because, well, it is Green Day, and they're pretty mainstream.

BP's The Lord of the Rings-inspired garage doormat.

BP and I have an understanding that whenever Rancid or the Bouncing Souls come through Michigan, we have to go check them out. Sometimes we have to drive out to Chicago, and Kimmel gets involved, but most of the time we end up in Detroit. This time around, however, the Bouncing Souls were coming to Grand Rapids, which is even easier for us because it's closer and not such a pain in the ass to get in and out of.

For the low price of $32, we were able to check out one of our favorite bands in a super small venue - 400 people, tops - and even while standing off to the side, halfway back from the stage, BP and I were probably 30 feet from the stage. Pretty damn sweet.

Seems a bit pricey for one beer can, Meijer. . .

I took a quarter day off of work, leaving around 1:30pm, and a two hour drive later I was at BP's place in Rockford. We did a beer run to a local Meijer, grilled out at his place for dinner, and, around 8pm, headed downtown to the venue, The Pyramid Scheme. We missed the entire first opening act, and all but two songs from the second - which we were more than cool with - before H20 took the stage. Then, an hour later, it was time for the Souls.

Not one of the greatest Bouncing Souls shows we've ever seen - it was super hot in the tight confines of the venue, the sound mixing was a little muffled, and standing still on concrete for two and a half hours is straight-up murder on a mid-40s back - but it was awesome nonetheless. We'll continue to make pilgrimages to see this band, whenever they come through our neck of the woods, until they throw in the towel.

But, seeing how they're a punk band, that's not likely to happen any time soon.

So here you go, folks - another adventure into '90s punk rock with a couple of mid-40's dads.

Behold. . . .

BP, being Amish, has yet to upgrade to a propane grill, preferring instead to use charcoal like his ancestors did hundreds of years ago.

Grabbed a tall boy of this while we were out on a beer run to Meijer - perfect choice for sunny, high-70s grilling weather. Hoping to get my hands on more of this once summer breaks out.

The DeBoer fam has this big goose statue that's being painted in their garage. Sam said it's a custom with some folks, somewhere (I forget), and that folks dress it up during the Holidays. Maybe it's a southern thing, who knows.

Couple hours later, BP and I hit the road for downtown Grand Rapids, about a twenty-minute drive from his house in Rockford.

Took a hot minute to find available parking, but after being turned away from a few parking garages - like Joseph and the Virgin Mary in the Nativity - we finally found one that had spots available.

We had to drive up to the second-highest level of the garage before we found available parking, but fortunately there was an elevator nearby to take us down to street level.

It was a quick, two-block walk to the venue from there, and as we approached The Pyramid Scheme (shown here with the mural along the side), we saw that the band unloading out front was none other than H20. We walked right through them on our way into the show, which is pretty crazy - you can do that with mainstream artists without getting body-checked by their security detail.

The front half of this place looks like any normal dive bar, but after you walk through this front section you approach the bouncers and a closed door. Through that check point, it opens up into the concert area, which had two raised balconies on either side and a main floor. They had a merch table set off on the right, next to the bar, and some bench seating off the left.

I forget the name of this second band that was opening up for the Souls - something like '***** Hause & The Mermaid,' I forget it all - they were only 'meh.' We caught the last two songs, which sounded like general rock, and the overall vibe they gave off was that of an older band that had never managed to gain traction but was still trying to be relevant and controversial (lots of anti-government stuff, which is fine but when your sound doesn't match your message, it comes across pretty cringe.) We were less than impressed.

As always, neither BP nor myself took any pics or video of the concert itself - I've always found that tacky in a punk setting like this (granted, I took lots of pics and video at Green Day/Rancid, but there was literally nobody sitting behind us at that concert.) Instead, I did what I usually do and screenshot a bunch of pics and video (off of Instagram) that other concert-goers and professional photographers took during the show. They almost always turn out better than what I'd take anyway. 

H20 have never been one of my favorite punk groups. I used to have one or two of their CDs, and there songs were usually featured on the Fat Wreck Chords or Epitaph compilation CDs back in the day, but I haven't listened to them all since college. Not a big fan of that 'pogo' hardcore sound, it comes off kinda cheesy.

It felt like it was 130 degrees in this place, considering the size of the venue and the hundreds of sweaty people crammed in. I have no frickin' clue how the singer didn't pass out on stage in that frickin' hoodie.

That's probably the coolest handlebar mustache in punk rock, folks.

Some younger, replacement bassist they picked up somewhere along the way (all the original guys are pushing 60.) They made a joke about how he just got his Green Card, so he must be Scandinavian (or German) or something - definitely has that look.

Various angles of pics here - I pulled these off various Instagram accounts (you're welcome.)

(I wish there was a way to remove those annoying slideshow buttons while taking a screenshot.)

The Bouncing Souls took the stage around 9:30pm, and the crowd was HYPED.

(That lit area in the back off to the right is where the merch booth was set up.)

LOTS of crowd-surfing tonight (which you'll see in a later video I've included.) Some moshing, too, but the Souls have a lot of songs that don't really trigger impromptu pits.

Some solo shots of dudes in the band. . .

This guy posted like six different videos, so screen recording it off Instragram while trying to swipe to the next video was a pain in the ass. I tried to pause at the end of each one, swipe to the next video, then resume my screen recording, but it's a bit rough. You get what you get, folks.

Since the song was released years ago, 'Ghosts on the Boardwalk' has turned into a nightly acoustic performance. Now, when we last saw the Souls a couple years ago in Chicago - during the height of Covid - their drummer had contracted the virus and they were forced to rely on three, different drummers (from the opening bands, local musicians, etc. instead. Each 'guest' drummer took three songs of theirs throughout the night, because learning the drum parts and entire set's worth of songs would be impossible with such short notice. To fill even more concert time, the singer did a couple acoustic songs in the middle of the set, which, at the time, was pretty awesome. Still, this was during Covid and, well, the world was different back then - folks needed that sorta vibe. Today, in the middle of a high-energy concert, the singer again broke out an acoustic guitar and the rest of the band retreated backstage for a break. But this time it felt jarring. 

I think it was out of place this time around. Last time, the audience knew that the band was without a drummer and trying to fight through the show at any cost, so an acoustic 'mini-set' in the middle to fill time was understandable (and appreciated.) This time, though, coming on the tail-end of an opening burst of eight or nine, fast, intense songs, to stop everything all at once for some slow, melancholy song just felt forced.

After that minor gripe, they were back to business for the rest of the show, playing all the favorites (and a handful of deep tracks and new numbers.) With one or two songs remaining in their set list (which BP had pulled up on his phone from the tour's previous show in Detroit), BP and I fought our way over to the merch table where we each bought a limited edition art print (numbered and signed) of the tour (the East Coast, F*** You tour.) They had vinyl, too - BP bought one - but I already own copies of all their albums that I want, and their pricing wasn't awesome.

We ended up walking out just as the band was closing up, around 10:30pm or so. Got one last show of the venue on our way back to the parking garage, and then from there we headed back to his house for a couple nightcaps before turning in around 1am. See Ya in the Pit, kids.

- Brian

Across a Slower April

Morning stop at Grove Tea on the way to school with Ella.

Hey gang.

Continuing 2024's kinda-creepy trend of us not being nearly as busy as we usually are, April slipped by us like a ship in the night. Sure, we had a couple kid obligations here and there, but for the most part our calendars were wide-open - we even had a couple weekends where we didn't have anything going on, which almost never happens.

I don't mind a change of pace once and awhile, but we're going on, like, a few months now where we've been practically dead. Hopefully next month things pick up a bit as summer returns and it starts getting awesome outside.

Anyway, here you go, folks - this month's installment of random pictures and updates. 

Enjoy. . .

I'm not sure why she recorded this (or why it's sped up the way it is), but just watching this makes me feel like lying down and fricking dying.

So I'm not sure if I've mentioned these before or not, but I've been collecting a few of these Weta Workshop figurines for the last year or two. One of those things that I keep an eye on for awhile and when they drop in price I pounce on them (they're usually $50 apiece, but I won't spend more than $30 on one.) Anyway, Weta is the production company behind The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and so they have everything from the franchise licensed for use. . . including the actors' likenesses (check it out.) I picked up Elijah Woods' Frodo Baggins towards the beginning of the month - just two more to go now.

 This is a pic of the sign, not my shitty-ass yard. Alayna auditioned for and won a spot in the pit orchestra for Midland High's upcoming drama presentation, Fiddler on the Roof (towards the end of the month.) She'll be rehearsing after school just about every day this month.

As you can see here by our trusty, ol' calendar, our weekends are pretty wide open, while our after-school, weekday slots are jam-packed with not-photo-worthy obligations (orchestra practices, drama practices, gym sessions, Masonic crap, etc.) This has been the case for the last few months, it's been super weird.

One day Kris and the girls drove to Clare to visit her mom, who recently moved into a new place in town. While we were there, Alayna tried on some old dress Marcy had stored away in a closet, and it's kinda hipster-ish now.

(Pretty safe to say Abby doesn't get her height from her mom's side of the family. . .)

Some group selfie took with some friends one day at school. I'd complain about shit like this, but the girl has pulled straight A's (not even an A-) all year, so I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

On the 8th, as you know, we Americans were treated with a rare solar eclipse, the kind that we haven't seen in our country since Thomas Jefferson was in office (1803, for those of you not historically inclined - same year we purchased the Louisiana Territory and sent Lewis and Clark to explore it.) My team, shown here, took kids outside for the afternoon to witness the momentous occasion. . . which is obviously more fun than teaching. From left to right: Yours Truly (Social Studies), Shelly (Science), Rachel (ELA), Steve (Math), and Carrie (Special Ed.)

Meanwhile, back in Midland, Abby and her class was outside doing the exact same thing (not surprisingly.)

. . . aaaaaand so was Kris at her work.

I was focused on filming my students for an upcoming 8th Grade Graduation video (something I edit every year to play at their recognition ceremony), but Alayna managed to get this shot.

Abby and Nica (from the pom team.)

Umm. . . feet?

A Facebook post Kris' boss put up the next day.

That Friday, some of us went over to the Collier residence for some drinks and cards. Bourbon and Euchre, of course. Steven, Collier, Mitch, and Erik shown here.

This was a pretty solid beer, I've been sitting on it for a couple years and finally said 'screw it.'

Lonnie Big Balls shows up and joins in.

One of my students, who is Chinese, visits China for a few weeks every year with her family, and brought back all of her teachers (myself included) a little stationary set from over there, which was pretty awesome of her.

Later that morning, Kris took the girls back up to Clare to drop off some stuff for her mom that they had forgotten to do the last time they went up the week before. Alayna logged some more drive time in (in her Impala), which wasn't really necessary since she's already over the thirty-some hours she needs in order to take the second stage of driver's training.

With all the womenfolk out of the house, I was free to thoroughly clean out the garage from top to bottom. It took six hours, but there's not a speck of dust anywhere to be seen here.

Meanwhile, in Clare, the girls all hit up the Dairy Phil, a Clare institution.

Holiday lights are used everywhere in this house, folks. Don't judge.

When the rest of the fam returned, I helped Alayna remove an old Michigan State emblem off the back of her car (I wanted to do it so she didn't end up removing any of the paint job - mission accomplished.) I let her scrub away the leftover residue, though - that's peasant work.

That evening, Abby stayed over at Ella's house and Alayna hung out with Kris and I in the Study while they did nails and we had drinks and spun vinyl for a few hours. Far shittier way to spend one's evening, folks.

The next morning, with the weather sunny and in the high-70s, I decided to break out our new power-washer. It works incredibly well, but being consumer-grade it has a thinner spray radius. . . which means it takes awhile if you want to do it right. I cleaned up the sidewalk, our front walkway, the front patio, and the driveway in about five hours. I was an idiot and was in flip-flops for the entire time (because I didn't want my shoes getting gross), but now I'm at that age where you need arch support and shoes are important. Consequently, everything from my waist down was incredibly sore for about four days afterwards. Lesson learned.

Alayna filmed Watson eating grass in the backyard, which was funny to her at the time, but Yours Truly ended up scrubbing up six, green puke piles in the living room later on that evening. . .

Our Magnolia Tree, in the far reaches of the backyard, is currently starting that two-week period of the year where it's in bloom and actually pretty (so of course we take a crap-ton of pics of it when it starts this.)

After all these flowers die, it just sprouts regular-ass, green leaves.

Abby and Ella used to play in this tree all the time when they were in elementary school, so while Kris and I were hanging out on the back patio enjoying the sun (once I had finished power-washing), Abby ran back there to relive her younger days.

Lexi swung by and picked up Alayna to do some shopping up by the mall for the afternoon/evening (Lexi already has her license, so it's pretty damn sweet for us adults not having to worry about dropping off and picking up for stuff like this.)

I can say with 100% certainty that whenever I went out shopping for clothes with friends when I was in high school, we never once dressed in the same dressing room, nor did we take pictures of ourselves doing so. This generation is weird.

The girls later that night, hanging out in the Cannonball's room . . . 

Trying out lipstick, I guess. . . ?

Added a second figure - Sean Astin's Samwise Gamgee - to my collection this month (couldn't pass it up, it was on sale.)

The Fellowship of the Ring. . . minus Orlando Bloom's Legolas, just have to keep an eye on that one and pick it up if it ever goes on sale.

Every Friday, I post a reference to this music video in my class Google Slides, and the kids always ask me about it. Today I finally told them to look up the infamous video on Youtube (just be forewarned, if you end up clicking that link, it's notorious for a reason - it might be the shittiest music video ever made.)

That evening, we went to Central Auditorium for a play. Like I said earlier, Alayna auditioned for and won a spot in the Midland High Pit Orchestra, and their first combined performance was The Fiddler on the Roof, which, as I later found out, was kind of a misleading title (I had never seen the play before, so I thought it'd be a bunch of violinists, like, playing on top of buildings. . . and it wasn't.)

The Cannonball flashes a thumbs up before the show starts (her friend Amelia is the violinist at her right, while Lexi is the cellist standing up behind her.)

So we weren't allowed to have phones out during the three-hour (seriously, it was ridiculous) production, but afterwards, as people were beginning to file out of the auditorium, the orchestra teacher had the Pit play one of the production's songs as a kind of a send-off (which was cool, because then I was able to get a video of something this evening.)

(And a closer-up shot, for good measure.)

Afterwards, in what I guess you could call the 'Green Room,' families intermingled with the cast and crew. Kris and Mom got the Cannonball flowers for her efforts (she usually requests someone buy her flowers, she's a big fan of it.) No idea what's going on with the crown, she wasn't wearing it throughout the night. . . 

With Grandma and Papa John.

The Houghs (Abby got her flowers, too.)

And now for a couple with Lexi . . .

Aaaaaand one with Ms. Mammassian, the Orchestra teacher.

The next morning, Samson smooshed Kris into a chair while we had our morning coffee and listened to records. The dude has no self-awareness.

Speaking of records, today was Record Store Day. Alas, like the previous six or seven years, I chose not to participate (folks like up over 24 hours in advance outside Radio Wasteland in order to drop $40 on a single-LP, and that's just not my jam - that's a rookie move.) Instead, a colored, double-LP (that I spent $20 on, by the way) that I ordered from Pirates Press showed up today - perfect timing, really - and the company threw in three, free FlexiDisc singles. So that's how I spent my Saturday afternoon, folks.

That night, Kris and I headed back over to the Collier residence for more cards and drinks. . . and (apparently) bananas.

Erik, Courtney, Mees, Kris and Collier.

Our Magnolia Tree, now in full bloom (the week before it wasn't quite there, so I had to take more pics this weekend.)

Kris posted a fundraising link to Facebook for Abby's summer Pom Camp, seeing how she tried out for and won a spot on next year's Midland High JV Pom Team. The camp's basically mandatory, and costs something stupid like $500 (plus the already $200 we had to fork out for outfits, equipment, etc.), so she's selling candles now to help cover the cost.

Speaking of Midland High, the last week for the month Kris and I took Abby up there so she could go through her Freshman Orientation Night. The school administrators and teachers basically give kids a crash course about the school's layout, procedures, and what-not, and all the student clubs and organizations set out informational booths. Kris of course dropped $50 in the shirt store, because everyone needs more MHS swag I guess.

We spotted Alayna's locker while walking in the upper hallways with the Johnsons (both Abby and Ella ditched us almost immediately upon arrival, so we spent the next hour or so just walking around and checking out shit on our own.)

Alayna has been looking around town for a summer job the last couple of weeks, but it's been difficult due to her not being able to drive yet, and the fact that a lot of places are being bombarded by dozens of high school applicants right now. One of Kris' patients at her work owns Grand Traverse Pie Company, and offered to give her an interview, so Kris drove her over there towards the end of the month in order to pick up a job application. Cross your fingers, folks. . .

- Brian