(Photo taken from Idiot Genes’ recent article “The Best Places to Drink (in public) in Allston”)
Idiot Genes has garnered the buzz of local punks, musicians and drunk college-kids for little over a year now, and back in February, Allston Pudding’s Christine Varriale called them “the best new punk band in Boston.” So, what’s Idiot Genes been up to since being awarded that superlative? Wednesday’s show at Great Scott suggests a few routines: getting consistently drunk, writing some fast, awesome new material, and generally exploding your still-beating heart with their brand of dirty, slimy punk.
Before Idiot Genes assumed Great Scott’s relatively small stage, local bands CHARLIE and Dirt Naps warmed up a tepid crowd before half of Eyeshock Swelter stifled the show’s momentum. “This shit free,” read a sign at the merch table that indicated a slew of “Dirt Naps Are Rad” buttons, and yes Dirt Naps are rad. By combining some progressive blues and garage rock, the three guitarists, bassist, drummer and keyboard player of Dirt Naps opened the night with some fun, distortion-laden tunes. These Allstonians brought an energetic stage presence that clashed with the cold crowd, which sparsely populated the dance floor. When Dirt Naps took the stage, I counted twelve static crowd members staring at the stage from the dance-floor’s rear, and about twenty-or-so folks at the bar. Dirt Naps called out the crowd’s lethargy, “Are you all at a party you don’t want to be at? No, fuck that. Come up here,” exclaimed one guitarist. The crowd warmed up a degree or two with a few heads beginning to sway or bob. Dirt Naps show a lot of promise with their approachable but gritty sound that could easily see them headlining shows in a few months.
Next up was CHARLIE, a simple, three piece band that impressed me with some fuzzy riffs and explosive yelling. CHARLIE played some no-nonsense (well maybe a little), angry, garage punk, and their frontman had the charismatic energy necessary to liven up the still stagnant crowd. Throughout CHARLIE’s set, the two guitarists swapped out their gear to experiment with some extra distortion, squeals, and extra strings which added some tonal variety to the night’s steady flow of garage rock. For a band that has only been active for a few months, CHARLIE seemed remarkably polished with a good grip on their muddy, distorted sound. I wish the same could be said for the half of Eyeshock Swelter that played on Wednesday night.
Guitarist and vocalist Nick Duval, half of Eyeshock Swelter, took the stage, and bashfully said, “Hey. I’m Eyeshock Swelter, and this is my first show out of Philly, which is pretty cool. Normally Eyeshock Swelter is two of us, but my bandmate and I had a disagreement. Here we go.” Duval launched into dissonant strumming that persisted through his twenty minute set. Without any accompaniment, this half of Eyeshock Swelter pierced my ears without creating any captivating sense of melody or rhythm. Unfortunately, Duval simply wasn’t able to capture the audience’s attention, or sound like anything other than a muddled singer/songwriter recording off bandcamp. And now, the lazy crowd had largely retreated to the bar where they would stay until Idiot Genes took the stage. Honestly, loading up on the liquids was a solid decision, because no one should be sober for an Idiot Genes set.
Idiot Genes consists of Pete Bayko, guitar and vocalist, Tim Ivancic, bassist, Kyle Cartland, guitarist currently credited as playing the “skin flute” on Facebook, and Dana Recker on drums. Their fast, lovably sloppy set pulled songs from both albums we have adored for about the last year, January 2013’s idiot genes and October 2013’s Lousey, as well as some new material that was “practiced twice, so it’s gonna be bad” as Bayko put it. Idiot Genes’ muddy, drunken, grungey tone reminds us that this is a band brewed on Friday nights in basements on Linden St. The lyrics of the opening song, “Drunk Consistently,” capture Idiot Genes’ stark interpretation of Allston life while creating a flippant, party-and-pit friendly atmosphere:
“Every morning I wake up fucked up/
I tell myself it’s time to get up shut up/
Bottles breaking already outside my window/
It’s been five years/
It’s just how it goes, it goes it goes
…
I can’t get any rest, because I’m in Allston.”
After Idiot Genes took the stage, the crowd began to show a spark of life, because encouraging the audience to hurl their empties towards the stage reliably gets the blood flowing, “Can you guys get better at throwing beer you drunk assholes?” said Ivancic before diving into the stoner anthem “Partaker.”
Look, you have no excuse for not grabbing a six pack and heading out to Idiot Genes’ next show. If their set is anything like what I saw on Wednesday then you’re guaranteed a fast, fun, sloppy, good-ole-fashioned garage punk time. Like we’ve said before, Idiot Genes is the best new punk band in Boston.
Drink Heavily to Idiot Genes at: http://stupidpants.bandcamp.com/
Punch Things to CHARLIE at: https://soundcloud.com/ciadrugwizard/sets/charlie-music
Run Around with Dirt Naps at: http://dirtnapszzz.bandcamp.com/
Check Out Eyeshock Swelter at: http://eyeshockswelter.bandcamp.com/