Murphys
The Murphys were hot last night. I was running late to the show, waited over 45 minutes for a bus to downtown, which, when it came was packed because the previously scheduled bus hadn't come. When you're waiting for a bus that only runs every 30 minutes anyway and you're out there long enough to see two going in the wrong direction, things aren't good. I missed the first opening band (which I gather was some sort of 80s hardcore sort of group that wasn't very popular with the crowd) but got there in time to catch all of The Briefs, who I hadn't realized were on the bill. I'm beginning to feel hooked into the Seattle scene a bit now: I not only recognized the band and some of their songs but I caught when they were doing a couple of covers (they did Angry Samoans' Todd Killings, for example).
The crowd for the show was an uncomfortable (for me) mix of punks, skinheads, frat boys, and regular joes. The skinheads in full regalia are a little intense for me (and boy did they go nuts when the Murphys played Skinhead on the MTBA and Never Alone) and I had the unfortunate luck to be up in the old punks lounge with what I at first took to be drunken frat boys (complete with baseball caps and sports jerseys). As the night went on, it became clear that these weren't just any frat boys, they were Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums fans and members. The Seattle Firefighters pipers and drummers opened the Murphys' set and then changed out of their gear and spent the rest of the night enjoying the show from the lounge. Those guys were forever pushing back and forth in the crowd for more beer, carrying four or six cups each for their buddies. They were also constantly jostling each other, high-fiving, hugging, and jumping around singing. As the night went on, their circle of chaos grew wider until I found myself between two guys who really, really needed to high-five again (while holding full cups of beer, natch). Unsurprisingly, it was one of those guys who slopped beer down my leg late in the show. Rick found it hard to be too annoyed with them, as they're public servants and all but they were indistinguishable from drunken frat boys to me.
If I sound cranky, I'm not really. Well, except over getting beer dumped on me. It was a good time and they played all the hits except for Which Side Are You On, which I would have liked to hear. Next up: The Bouncing Souls at the end of the month.
The crowd for the show was an uncomfortable (for me) mix of punks, skinheads, frat boys, and regular joes. The skinheads in full regalia are a little intense for me (and boy did they go nuts when the Murphys played Skinhead on the MTBA and Never Alone) and I had the unfortunate luck to be up in the old punks lounge with what I at first took to be drunken frat boys (complete with baseball caps and sports jerseys). As the night went on, it became clear that these weren't just any frat boys, they were Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums fans and members. The Seattle Firefighters pipers and drummers opened the Murphys' set and then changed out of their gear and spent the rest of the night enjoying the show from the lounge. Those guys were forever pushing back and forth in the crowd for more beer, carrying four or six cups each for their buddies. They were also constantly jostling each other, high-fiving, hugging, and jumping around singing. As the night went on, their circle of chaos grew wider until I found myself between two guys who really, really needed to high-five again (while holding full cups of beer, natch). Unsurprisingly, it was one of those guys who slopped beer down my leg late in the show. Rick found it hard to be too annoyed with them, as they're public servants and all but they were indistinguishable from drunken frat boys to me.
If I sound cranky, I'm not really. Well, except over getting beer dumped on me. It was a good time and they played all the hits except for Which Side Are You On, which I would have liked to hear. Next up: The Bouncing Souls at the end of the month.
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