"Shout Above the Noise" Radio Show

Radio Heartbeat Powerpop Festival:
Nights Two and Three at The Southpaw, Brooklyn, New York (March 30-31, 2007)
(REVIEW BY DAVE GETZOFF)

Josh Rutledge and I recently attended two of the four shows of the Radio Heartbeat Powepop Festival. We had a great time. Here is a review on the great bands we saw over the weekend.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Baby Shakes
Josh and I stopped to eat at a Chinese restauraunt across the street from the Southpaw, so we arrived a little late and I think we missed the first band, The Boys Club. We entered the club and Josh bought us the first round of drinks. At that moment the stage curtains opened, and the Baby Shakes were on. I have heard a few songs by the Baby Shakes before and really liked them a lot. The three young women dressed identically and played a high energy set of rock 'n' roll inspired powerpop. A great start for a great night!

Tina & The Total Babes
Although I had never heard any music by Tina and the Total Babes before this show, I was blown away by their live performance. The band played a really great set. Tina is an incredible performer; she has an amazing voice and really belts the songs out. She looked very confident and comfortable on stage. They played two cover songs that I was very much familiar with, "She's So Tuff" by the Demons and "Tell That Girl to Shut Up" by Holly and the Italians. The rest of the songs in their set sounded as if they could have been written in the late '70s. This band was absolutely incredible, and I am very pleased to have had such a great introduction to them. I bought their CD after the show and the first time I listened to it I distinctly remember every song from the show. Josh told me about the other bands that Tina has been in. I would love to hear more.

The Busy Signals
I have only heard a few songs by the Busy Signals before this show. I really liked their live performance. They played a highly energetic set and really delivered the song one right after another with no bullshit. The Ramones would have been proud.

Neighborhoods
Sadly, the Neighborhoods only released one single during their early years as a band. ("No Place Like Home"/"Prettiest Girl", 1979). The band didn't release a full-length album until 1984. The only studio songs I have heard were the two songs from the first single. I also heard some songs from live bootleg tapes, three shows from the 1979-80 era. These songs were very good and as far as I know most of the songs on the live bootlegs were never properly recorded in the studio. "No Place Like Home" is definitely one of my favorite 1979 American powerpop songs. This is a real gem that captures what it's like growing up with overbearing parents, it just makes you want to go in your room and crank up some records on the turntable.
As Josh and I were walking to the show, I mentioned to him: "Hey, I checked out some of the Neighborhoods recent live set lists on the internet and it looks like they don't always play 'No Place Like Home'." We both agreed that we could only hope for the best. That night at the show, I remember the band being introduced and then the stage curtains opened. To my amazement the band kicks right into "No Place Like Home". I was blown away; I instantly started pogoing in the air as soon as I heard those opening chords. It sounded so loud and powerful; the sound in the club was fantastic. I was kinda surprised that they opened with that song, but let me tell ya, great music certainly didn't end there. The band played a very powerful and energetic set of their material. Besides the two songs from the single, I also recognized the song "Monday Morning", which I heard on the live bootlegs. The band also covered "Ready Steady Go" by Generation X. The rest of the songs I wasn't familiar with. However, I was glad to be introduced to them. I would definitely like to get some more Neighborhoods records now. The band looked like they were having a blast during their entire set, just like I was.

Speedies
I have heard a few tracks by the Speedies before from various compilations. I really like their songs a lot. I was really pleasantly surprised to hear their song "Let Me Take Your Photo" in a recent Hewlett Packard commercial. It has been a very long time since the Speedies have played live. They were not quite as tight as the other bands. However, they did put on an entertaining show and it was great to hear more music from them as well as the songs I was already familiar with. The band had several boxes of Pops cereal on stage, which they threw out in the audience. It was quite a sight to see the Speedies getting rained on with yellow corn Pops cereal during their set.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Suspicions
We arrived a little late Saturday night and missed the first two bands, The Felt Ups and Beat Beat Beat. The first band we saw that night was the Suspicions. This was the first time that I have seen or heard any music by the Suspicions. It's kinda hard to base on opinion on them after only seeing one show. They did seem to play a good set of what seemed to be great pop music with garage overtones. It was also cool to hear an unexpected cover version of "Looking After Number One" by the Boomtown Rats.

Yum-Yums
I have never heard any music up until this point by the Yum Yums. They were a blast to see live. They played an entire set of instantly likeable pop punk classics. They were the kind of songs that are so catchy you can sing along with the choruses the first time you hear the songs. It was also an unexpected pleasant surprise to see the Little Girls come out on stage and sing their early eighties classic song "The Earthquake Song" with the Yum Yums as their backing band.

Fevers
I have only heard a few songs by the Fevers before this show. I liked their set a lot. They played a nice set of their originals as well as great cover versions of "All Or Nothing" by the Small Faces and "Roll Over Beethoven" by Chuck Berry.

Pointed Sticks
I am a huge Pointed Sticks fan. There was a rather long wait before their set as there usually is when seeing a great band. The curtains were closed and there was a construction barrier on the stage as a teaser, it said, "City Of Vancouver". After about an hour wait, the curtains opened and the band kicked right into a song off their first single, "What Do You Want Me To Do?". I immediately started pogoing upon hearing the opening chords. The Pointed Sticks played a great set of nearly all of their songs. They were absolutely incredible. They haven't lost a thing and they received a very good response from the highly energetic crowd. I had the time of my life.
Dave Getzoff April 5, 2007

(originally posted on Now Wave Webzine on April 5, 2007)