Bouncing Souls -- Thursday, December 28, 2006 - Webster Hall, NYC
Posted by Jes Tones on 01.05.2007
The band that never grows old. I kicked on my favorite bouncing soles to carry me to my favorite Bouncing Souls once again, this time at Webster Hall in NYC as they wrapped up their Gold Tour before their final show in -- you guessed it -- Jersey.
So I saw the Souls back in June at the beginning of the Gold Tour when they did six straight sold out nights at the Knitting Factory for the release of The Gold Record (on 6/6/06). It was great to catch them full circle again at the end of this tour, this time at Webster Hall with slightly more breathing room, less fighting, roughly the same amount of technical difficulties and surprisingly more speed and energy than the first time around. Rather than being worn down from months of steady touring, the songs were played faster, lead singer Greg Attonito bounced higher, the pit was friendlier and overall it was just a better show than what I saw six months ago. With almost 20 years of playing and touring, don’t these guys ever get tired?!
The crowd devoured the Souls’ classic East Coast! Fuck you! (although we could hardly keep up with it) as well as several tracks from Maniacal Laughter (celebrating the album’s 10 year anniversary), of course all the crowd favorites (Hopeless Romantic, Gone, Fight To Live, Private Radio, True Believers, etc., etc. -- but conspicuously absent was ¡OLE!, thank god, as the crowd always sings enough of it on its own), and the very best from 2006’s The Gold Record (The Gold Song, Lean On Sheena, The Pizza Song, Sarah Saturday, Letter From Iraq), which, by this point, those of us on the south end of the stage had had time to digest. We also begged for (of course to the tune of Ole, ole, ole, ole, oooollleeeeee, ollleeeee…[repeat]), and were treated to, two encores (one featuring an acoustic Say Anything with just Greg on guitar) before the main lights stole the show.
This was a 16+ show which, as much as it annoys some of us older folk (and I was nowhere near the oldest lass at this show), is something I admire about my favorite punk bands. Not only do they continue to speak to the younger generations, but they actually have something to say -- whether it’s a political statement (Letter From Iraq) or simply ‘keep ya head up’ (Gone) -- these are things I needed to hear at 16 and yet still appreciate 10 years later as well. So, like I told my friend at the Knitting Factory show in June when he rolled his eyes after the same 16-ish kid in a Descendents T landed on the stage for about the 10th time: Come on, give the kid a break -- he could be at Backstreet Boys concert right now, but he’s here. Seriously, were YOU that cool at 16?? Apparently Mr. Attonito agreed -- the next time the kid landed on stage, after confirming he knew the lyrics, our leading man passed said kid the mic for Argyle while Greg himself dove into the crowd. Rock.
Next up: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at Hiro Ballroom, NYC
The 411: What's not to love about the Bouncing Souls? 2003's Anchors Aweigh maybe wasn't something to come out for, but 2006's The Gold Record definitely is. I'm not saying it's their best album or that this was the best show I've seen, but these guys are consistently great, even when they're not (this show, for example, was riddled with technical difficulties -- no one cared).
