Insubordination Fest ’10 – Ottobar and Sonar – Baltimore, MD
June 24th – 26th, 2010
It’s been a long fucking weekend, starting Thursday and going until Sunday. Most of this is due to Insubordination Fest 2010. It was great, but I’m not sure how I’m still standing. All of this in the great Baltimore, MD. Thursday pre-show happened at the Ottobar, it was fun but I only stayed for half. Friday and Saturday were at the shitty Sonar.
Why is sonar shitty? Well first off it was not the fault of the people that put on the event at all. They fought tooth and nail to get things right so everyone could have a good time and not die but fucking Sonar won out in the end. First off their beer was super expensive, I mean $5 for PBR, and they raised the prices just for the event. Then rumor is some car windows got broke Friday night (people suspect this is the club’s front for ‘we’re mad because we didn’t sell as much beer as we wanted’). So Saturday they lock it down. No re-entry, and to top it off they started charging $3-$4 for water. And a side note the bathroom was a fucking nightmare. So yeah, don’t go to Sonar. On the positive side the event was a total blast. I spent most of my time between the smaller 2nd and 3rd stages because they had the best stuff going on, here’s a little what it looked like. (Pretty sure I got the stages and order right, sorry if I screwed up)
PreShow:
The Quarantines – Your average Quarantines set, and by that I mean they were really great. Solid too, I only have 2 complaints. The set started a few minutes early so I missed a little bit of it, and the vocals could have been better, but that’s no fault of the bands, all sound system.
Firecrackers – I saw them last year at the pre-show, they were pretty good. This year they were really good as well, they were a lot more polished then they were last year.
The Proteens – A great set, super fun, I will see them as many times as I can.
Friday – Day 1
PG-13’s (2nd Stage) – Pretty good set, I’ve never seen these guys before but they were really good, great way to start the day.
PETS (3rd Stage) – I only got to see 2 songs, but it was quite good, they had big blow up PETS letters too.
Old Wives (2nd Stage) – Ruled, I only caught about half the set but they were great.
The Sandworms (3rd Stage) – One of the best sets of the fest, I figured the Sandworms were going to be good but goddamn they blew me away, could have listened to them all night.
The Visitors (2nd Stage) – They were ok, didn’t much care for them but pretty good filler.
Dear Landlord (3rd Stage) – A great set as always, another one of the tops of the fest, everybody was really into it.
Full Of Fancy (3rd Stage) – This was my 3rd time seeing Full of Fancy, and it was the best set I’ve ever seen, they covered Marriage too, fucking awesome.
The Hamiltons (2nd Stage) – The Hamiltons won Insub fest. These guys looked a lot like the Ergs for some reason. They had an opener that told some jokes, played a couple of Ramones covers, all their best stuff and a new song, fucking super amazing set.
Iron Chic (3rd Stage) – Great, another band that was better than I expected, and I expected them to be good. They busted out a great cover of Green Day’s ‘She’ too.
The Prozacs (3rd Stage) – While everybody was watching the copyrights the Prozacs were bringing the fun in full fucking force on the 3rd stage, super fun set.
The Hextalls (2nd Stage) – Ah holy shit the Hextalls rule every time, I wished they’d played Ramones T-shirt, but besides that no complaints, they were fucking great.
The Queers (Main Stage) – I’ve seen the Queers about 5 times, this was the 2nd or 3rd best set I’ve seen them do. Very pop heavy, they skipped out on 2 of my favorite songs but Wimpy was there and Kepi came out and did Rockaway Beach with them, it was great.
Saturday – Day 2
Cell Mates (3rd Stage) – Cell Mates always put on a quality show and this was no exception, these guys are on point.
House Boat (2nd Stage) – Fun set, I wished I could have made it up front for this but it was already jam packed by the time I got there, jerks started a little early too.
The Jetty Boys (Main Stage) – Sounded great, I’d love to see them again, hopefully in a better venue (aka better sound quality).
Dead Mechanical (2nd Stage) – Rocked it like always, jerks also started a few min early.
Be My Doppelganger (Main Stage) – One of the most fun sets of the day maybe. They had a beach theme complete with backdrops and blow up beach balls and palm trees (which were going around in the crowd)
Head Home (3rd Stage) – Quality set from these guy, solid as fuck.
Deep Sleep (3rd Stage) – One of the best Deep Sleep sets I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot). I was glad to see a good crowd for them finally.
The Dopamines (2nd Stage) – Holy shit, one of the best sets of the weekend, no surprise. I was so wore out after this. Also they were awesome and took their money they made from the fest and bought everyone beers (until it ran out, which was probably quick because beers were expensive as fuck).
The Beatnik Termites (Main Stage) – Solid set as always, played some new stuff, the album is gonna rule.
Baracuda McMurder/Steinways (2nd Stage) – Baracuda McMurder had this spot, I got to stage, see Michelle up there and I think “hm that looks like Michelle, she’s not in this band” about that time they say “We’re the Steinways” SUPRISE STEINWAYS REUNION SET! Another of the most fun, best, ware me the fuck out sets of the weekend. I’m not sure how I was still standing after this was over. And it was hilarious.
The Side Project (3rd Stage) – Threw in a solid set here, so glad they got added, they deserved it. Anyone who was watching OWTH during this missed the fuck out.
Sick Sick Birds (3rd Stage) – One of the best SSB set’s I’ve seen, (another band I’ve seen a lot), they were great and played their asses off.
The Slow Death (3rd Stage) – I would have never guessed this was the same band I was hearing from their CD. Dropped was all the country sound from their songs and replaced with good old punk. Great set by these dudes too, way too many people missed out.
Teenage Bottlerocket (Main Stage) – A little underwhelming, but maybe because I’ve seen them a bunch too. But a good set, average for them, which is still good. It was fun.
The Tattle Tales (2nd Stage) – I was really really surprised by how good the Tattle Tales were. Not that they’re a bad band at all (in fact they’re quite good), but wow, they were good live.
Like Bats (2nd Stage) – Maybe the biggest injustice of Insub Fest (band wise). Like Bats jumped on last minute to fill a spot for the Sidekicks. They played the same time as the Smoking Popes. There were not many people watching. Still they brought it like a headlining act. And I mean fucking brought it, they were fucking great, one of the best sets of the weekend. They’re weren’t many people there but that didn’t stop a few from attempting to crowd surf.
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Filed under: Reviews, Shows/Concerts | Tagged: Baltimore, Baracuda McMurder, Be My Doppelganger, Beatnik Termites, cell mates, Dead Mechanical, Dear Landlord, Deep Sleep, Firecrackers, full of fancy, head home, house boat, Insubordination Fest, iron chic, like bats, Old Wives, Ottobar, PETS, pop punk, poppunk, punk, Sick Sick Birds, sonar, Steinways, Teenage Bottlerocket, the dopamines, The Hamiltons, the hextalls, The Jetty Boys, The Proteens PG-13’s, The Prozacs, the quarantines, The Quartines, The Queers, The Sandworms, The Side Project, The Slow Death, The Tattle Tales, The Visitors | 1 Comment »
Bloated Kat Records continues on their attempt at ruling the pop punk world with another great release, this time it’s the debut EP of Science Police a band that features Grath Madden (Steinways, House Boat, Barrakuda McMurder), Marisa (Besties, Ergquist), Andy (Panther Moderns), Joe Evans (Joe Evans), Ace and Grivet (both Steinways). That’s a pretty large band, especially for a pop punk band but they make it work. As with most bands that have Grath Madden in them you probably have a basic idea of what this sounds like, and that idea is pretty much right. The main difference is the addition of some vocals from Marisa and the keyboard (also Marisa). Personally I think they’re both great additions to a Grath band, not only do I really like both Besties and Ergquist but this really keeps the band from sounding like just another version of the Steinways (though yeah that sound is totally in there). It’s pretty simple, if you liked Ergquist and you like the Steinways or House Boat or Barrakuda McMurder there’s a very good chance that you’re going to like this band. They’re great songs by people that know how to make them sound great.
