Show Reports
Punk fest - Pomona Park Fruitport, MI
The Bandshell
8/25/25
Fruitport, MI
By: Zach
This was a classic bandshell show. the planets aligned for a perfect evening with alot of old friends and great music.
Esther set this show up. he is the bandshell’s keeper now. making sure every summer has some shows there. this one started with the idea to get some of the bands i am recording at the studio first together on one bill. Coyote and Corman’s have a split coming out. Violet scum II and the Sherris first recording are in the works too. unfortunately Mullali broke up before this gig.
A couple weeks before this show i got in contact with my old friend Sock (from Duckbomb, ATO, Ashdance, among many others) and we had a good talk about punk rock. as it happens he was going to be visiting west michigan to see family and could come to the show!
i was very excited for him to see all the new bands the area had to offer and se a show at the bandshell again. It ended up that it became a reunion of so many old friends that i have not seen in years. Generations of Duckbomb members together for the first time for an interview even!
The Show started with Kat Karnage (https://www.instagram.com/kat.karnage/?hl=en). They are a brand new band that has really come on fast. They even already have quality recordings out. They play a poppy style of punk rock. reminds me of Tsunami Bomb. they have some powerfully sung vocals with great hooks and melodies. all of them are obviously talented with their instruments and i hope they continue writing and honing their craft.
Next up was Sherri and the Tomatoes. They have the absolute most fun. They also included a special duckbomb cover for all the former members in attendance. they play Punk rock. They mix all of their influences together and are not trying to be anything. super fast and super slow. upbeat and not. they come at you with a style that is their own and you can choose to come along or not. the way they are one unit and care so much for each other is impressive.
The Cormans were next up to do their thing. They play old school, wild, unchained hardcore. they would have been fine at the Icepick of any era. Ted is unpredictable on the mic and you dont know what he will do next. dumping a water bottle on his head, joining the pit. a madman and great front person.
Coyote. Coyote Continues to impress anyone and everyone that they come in contact with. including a guy on his bike that left a business card for them during their set! This is hardcore. they have a set together that is tight and concise. they play from the heart. it is as bouncy as it is punishing. they mean it. they learn from every show and put it into the next things they do. amazing.
The Violet Scum was up next. this is the band that made me feel i had something left to offer the scene and that punk rock could never die. ive know them for years. and ive learned so much. they play a a style that is hard to describe. as much inspired by west coast riot grrl bands as it is post hardcore and some late 80s east coast hardcore. though i dont think they ruminate on this too much themselves. snappy bass lines. furiously strummed guitar. crisp and fast drums sometimes incorporating jazzy part with some drum break thrown in. and of course vocals that punch hard. sometimes powerfully sung. sometimes screamed. my favorite is when both lilian and esther sing back and forth. always entertaining. always fearless. will forever be on of my favorite west michigan bands. they are an important part of all of this happening.
House of egregious’s set was a suprise from their normal noise set. and this time had an electric drumset and a bass lden with reverb. it was still a noise inspired set. they bass laying down a synth like pad through all the pedals. the drums were big and crisp with huge fills and double bass.
With that the amazing night came to an end. alot of people hung around to chat. it was an amazing community feel. and it was easy to feel inspired that all of this is important. and stress exactly what the bandshell means to me. it is the most accessible venue. as hard as it is to book. anyone can come listen for free. people running by or coming off their boats stop to listen and experience it. you can never know who stops by and gets inspired to start a band and that is amazing.
-z-
The Worden Chamber for Cruel Summer II
The Worden Chamber
09/24/24
Grand Rapids, MI
By: Esther
The highly anticipated cruel summer show started on an unseasonably warm fall equinox and now has passed. Equal parts noise, bands, and barbecue, this is a show I will never miss. Last years cruel summer was the first time I ever saw Levity; Lillian and I went to the show on a whim and walked down a song or two into their set. The PA was quiet, yet the vocals yelled through the wall of sound Levity always promises. Last year was also the first time I ever saw manmoth with their legendary record set. This years cruel summer had a lot to live up to and with it’s stacked lineup it did not disappoint in the least. (Also as a matter of interest I was wearing the same shoes as last year).
The night started off early with two noise acts opening the bill, Internal Creampie and Death Dedication, the latter being one of the most solid noise sets I have heard in a while. Interference Patterns, a band from Indiana played next. They said they started their band when they were 10 and the clear communication between the instruments showcased this. Next was Regression Therapy, a noise staple in the scene. They played a set that sounded and felt like a wrestling match with match bells ringing through to disrupt the attack.
Finally, Levity was up next. I had been waiting for this set since the show was announced in the summer and OH MY GOD it was well worth the wait. It was full of creatively insane basslines, dizzyingly ripping guitar, fresh and textured drums, and the iconic vocals that Levity never misses on. The way Levity plays is like no other; with enough pedals to rival shoe gaze bands and vocals that cycle through even more pedals and noise, their sound is completely different from any of the hardcore the scene is accustomed. My favorite part of the show was when Zach dragged his bass head on the ground in what felt like doomed feedback until the free fall of a breakdown descended to the pit. The set ended with Zach breaking all the strings off his bass and the final pained feedback stung off the guitar. Even the songs that Levity plays as staples sound new each show; it was one of those sets I wish I could live again and again!
Cheap Gas from Dayton, Ohio followed telling tales of a quest for ranch in between catchy grind/metal songs. Still, I am yet to see a band from Ohio I haven’t loved. I bought a mug from them after their set and they gave me a homemade ranch recipe (equal parts mayo and buttermilk with coursely ground black pepper and/or hidden valley ranch mix). Cheap Gas are a really nice and funny band with awesome music that you can find on bandcamp if you missed their show.
The heavily rumored Manmoth set was up next. A week or two before, the rumors began to circle that they would have three different drum sets for the show. When I talked to Terner after the Levity set, he unveiled that not only would there be three drums sets but that him and Monty would be on two drum machines as well. Once all was set and done I think there was four drummers on kits of varying drums and kit styles as well as the two drum machines. Before the noise even started, the set promised to be legendary. Each drummer did their own thing but somehow fit the rhythm of the rest. It went on for about twenty minutes despite Monty’s attempts at stopping it twice and sonically was more than anything I could describe. It was like pure joy for the weird noise freak in me that likes to dance during noise sets and something I am sure we all will be talking about at cruel summers to come.
The last band of the night was Flux Capacitor from Indiana! With high and low screeching vocals, classic hard-hitting drums, and guitar riffs that never miss, Flux Capacitor is everything and more that you could ask for in a grind band. Fast, two piece grind is always my fav and I feel bad for anyone that missed their set.
(p.s. all the sets are on the west mi punk bandcamp)
Credit Union 5/16/24
The Credit Union
5/16/24
Muskegon, MI
By: Esther
The 16th of May teetered on the edge of late spring and early summer as mosquitos busied themselves in the air around us and warm weather hung around even once the sun set. The show for the night ran on true punk time with the music starting long after the aforementioned scheduling of 8pm.
When it did start, the crowd filed down the basement steps to be met with a two piece noise band sporting an upright bass and an eclectic drum kit. “Source of Light and Power” and their music is almost completely inexplicable yet completely compelling and absorbing. Their set was extremely percussive and technically advanced. The drummer played a kit with the tom placed where the high tom typically is; he says that that set up forces him to play differently and in new ways. This attitude of experimentation and interest in the music that they are playing comes across in the intricate final performance. The music and performance of Source of Light and Power can be enjoyed by both non-noise enjoyers and noise enjoyers alike and it is a pleasure to see if you ever get the chance!
The next act of the night was “Man.moth”. Man.moth was the initial reason I came to the show and are also the band that first introduced and interested me in noise music. Every member is kind, have a good sense of humor, and are musically talented in their own way. Every set they play is different; whether they are using different gear or a different approach to the same gear, it is always unexpected what the next manmoth set might look like. On May 16 they played an almost ambient, dreamy, and jazzy set with Monty twisting intricate melodies on guitar. Terner used an omnichord as well as a sound board to add a droaning back drop, and Dylan added rhythm and structure with intrinsically placed drums. Man.moth is always noisy and will always be one of my favorite bands to see play.
The last set was the much anticipated Jack Wright. From what I heard around the venue, the saxophone player is considered a legend in his circles and among the noise community in the area. His playing is abrasive, skilled, uncomfortable and forces you to digest it in its entirety. I was fighting off a bacterial infection at the time of the show and was mostly in pain and ill at ease near the end of the night for his set. Oddly enough, this seemed to add to my total understanding of the music he played and allowed me to come to it with a different perspective. I guess I am trying to say Jack Wright’s performance was transcendent in this way and can be interpreted in as many ways as there are people to listen and interpret it.
The youtube channel “Impact Media1” has video recordings of every set from that night in case you missed it! If you are half the noise nerd I am, I would feel sorry if you did.
Credit Union 5/3/24
The Credit Union
5/3/24
Muskegon, MI
By: Esther
Walking in there was already buzz surrounding the night’s stacked lineup and it proved to not disappoint.
Targeted opened the show with a set packed with midwest emo math rock songs about planes crashing and sinking. I have heard about the Ryan Gosling infatuated band from Grand Rapids at shows and around the scene. Unfortunately, I was never able to make it out to hear them play until this show changed that. With stringing musicianship and unique songwriting, Tagetes deserve applause.
Niboowin, the second band of the night, brought energy, passion and screamo from Mt Pleasant, Michigan to the coast. Their live show was dynamic and inebriating. I bought a CD of their album that was unreleased at the time of the show; it is packed with guitar fuzz, penetrating and explosive drum hits, head pounding bass, and exceptional screaming vocals. Niboowin is not a band to mess around and they are so worth listening to and supporting.
Zmar, blackened emo hardcore all the way from prague, has been circulating scene conversations since the lineup came out for the show. May 3rd in Muskegon was their first show in America and I am more than grateful they were able to stop in on their way. I got a tape of their most recent album as a sort of memorabilia and the front man was friendly and open. He said that the basement of the credit union was not too different than the venues and shows they play at in Prague. Their set was dark and consuming and something you would not want to have missed. Their album is just as interesting and addicting as the music they played live.
Norfair played last and I believe The Sissy Boys played a secret set, but I was not able to make it down to see it myself sadly. The Art of B was there recording each band and there should be an audio recording out on West Mi Punk soon. If you missed the show or if you were there and just want to revisit the amazing bands that played, these dedications to local music are worth your time!