Sunday night shows in Toledo are rare at most places,add in that its a punk show even rarer.Plus the fact that it was a free show,well now your just looking to spot unicorns in the meadow. I get the logic though make the show free more folks come out ,the band that has not played Toledo before( The Bloody Muffs) might get a few more people in the door and people in the door is the name of the game. Well sorta... by the time the show stared 75% was kids under 21 which will make it a rough night for the bar. But hey we ain't about business are we? We about the music so on with the news.....

The night started out with Toledo's own The Shame Game. Now if you read my reviews before you may be familiar. This bands made up of three guys and a gal and they play punk with a pop appeal to it. They've garnered enough local attention while still being high schoolers to win a best new band award from a Toledo newspaper,and open for some very well known acts.Ive caught them live at least a half dozen times or more . Sundays set was as strong as Ive seen them and that saying something, they brought a decent size crowd in the door who stood right up front,sang along and inspired the Shame Game onward . No cheese, no filler, no antics... just good loud ,well written rock n roll songs like Headstrong for Josie, and I Don't Wanna Be on MTV( an Ode to orange,plastic beeeyatchs everywhere) One other thing I want to point out because its worth mentioning. In the past this band always had a issue with the bass sound. Always seemed to be just a bit off. Not an issue any longer and wow what a difference it made to have the whole rhythm section pounding it out and driving the songs home. Kudos for the band for fixing that and making a damn good sound even better.

Next up were The Bloody Muffs from New York city. Jonesy on guitar and vocals,Jessica on bass and vocals and Erin filling in on drums and vocals for the Choke the Chicken tour. The band name is a bit deceiving here. Yeah the lyrical content is pretty R rated, but the delivery is totally tongue in cheek and comes off like ruckus fun with your pals. The music swings back n forth through several old school punk and rock influences, most notably I heard alot of harmonies and melodies that reminded me of X. Jessica's vocals really echoed Exene's in some spots. Not like it was copied or anything like that, just one of those Oh...moments. Jessica's energy on stage makes her fun to watch play too.Jonesy was great master of ceremonies, joke teller, vocalist and no slouch on the axe either. Im not sure how their regular drummer usually fits in with their live show but Erin Mellirick ( of Out Of Order) really fit with them well and if you were not familiar with The Bloody Muffs you might not even know she is not the full time drummer. The Bloody Muffs turned in great set set for a decent Sunday night crowd and the appreciation was given right back,I think they made quite few new fans that night too . Videos of the band Ive seen around do not do the band justice, their sound is alot fuller when your right in from of them, I recommend catching them live if they pop up at your local pub. My favorite songs from them that night were Fireworks n Beer,Drunk Tank, and Lets get Drunk & Fuck.

Greyline had the final set of the night and had a job cut out to hold folks there that might be thinking about work in the morning. Greyline from Toledo features three guys with female vocals. Katie the singer has a voice that displays confidence and strength, Tom on bass,Sean on drums and Brandon on guitar serve up a bowl of rock n roll soup that pairs well with her vocals too. While I'm not familiar enough with the band having only seen them this once to name songs, compare performances ext... I can say this.These kids shows some balls and originality,not relying on anyone person or instrument to carrying the band,its truly a group show.the ride a fine line not too many bands can do successfully, they play solid rock music which pair well with metal,pop punk, and other rock acts. Definite broad appeal with out the sell out banner to raise these kids are just playing what they dig and it shows.Great set and next time I wanna be able to catch them with an enthusiastic crowd of the band supporters to see how the performance changes when playing for more folks.

Great night of music,with all the bands making the best of a Sunday night show. Toledo could get use to hosting more New York acts.

Check out The Shame Game here--
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shame-Game/131875003524142?sk=info
Your can find out more about The Bloody Muffs here--
www.thebloodymuffs.com
Greyline has a page to check out here-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shame-Game/131875003524142?sk=info#!/greylinex