The more bands on a bill, the better the chances you'll wind up seeing 1 or 2 that are not up to snuff or at the very least are not as good as the rest of them.Its just law of averages.Even if your a loyal see the whole show no matter what kind of person like I usually am. This Saturday night, the stars all aligned,the music Gods were fat & happy because all four bands were excellent. Encouraged I'm sure by a large crowd who were vocal,animated and enthusiastic.Its always so much easier for a band to "on"when the crowd is like they were Saturday.


The Deadbeat Moms ( gotta love the name,even though their is not a mom among them)stared the night off with what I can only say was pure rock n roll.Yes it had some punk aspects to it but I would be lying if I went any further with that comparison. They had this Rose Tattoo kind of sound music wise, and vocally I heard some Replacements and Stones influences mixed with some white boy soul. The song writing was what really grabbed me,catchy melodies without losing grit n balls.The twins guitars complimented one another well and at times they played dual leads which just added to the bands whole sound. My favorite tunes of the night were their dead on version of Ace Of Spades and I Make F&^% Beserker ( love the line in the song ( "So pretty but she never shut up')

Up next was General Bastard out of Detroit Mi. This three piece band made up of General Bastard on lead Vox & guitar, Pvt Nick Smut on bass a backing vox, and Sargent Tank on drums. They were playing Toledo for the first time as band and received a warm welcome from the packed house. Overcoming sound issues at the start of the set General Bastard started the set off with a sonic display a guitar pyrotechnics like I have not seen nor heard in quite some time.This didn't end really pretty much every song,whether it was a surf -thrash, metallic n speedy, or a good ole punk rave up was a display is guitar skills and best of they didn't take away from the songs. The played the new song You Cant Touch Me( which has a killer video on youtube) from their upcoming CD Your Not Special, the theme from the movie "Thankskilling" in which the General stars in and is a host of others also. My favorites on the night were "Surf Bitch Surf", "General Bastard Boogie" and especially "Liquor & Whores." General Bastard is a band with a mission,they are waging a war on crappy music and they certainly won a battle that night,winning over this audience.

The much anticipated "re-debut" of Toledo hard rockers Downspeed was next to hit the stage, or rather blow up the stage I should say. Burn on vocals and axe, J The Janitor on drums, and The Kid on bass hit the audience with a loud ass barrage of rock. Now some bands use loud to cover up, this was not the case it was who they are. Now this is the first time Ive seen these Toledo natives live and now that they have their line up issues out of the way I'll become more familiar with their songs and be able to tell you about them in better detail. I was in enjoyment mode ,egged on by the 5th of Jack Daniels that Burn passed down to me. So by this time I'm not sure if I would have remember the names of the songs. I can say this , they laid down a slab of steel,rock reminiscent of early Motely Crue ( you know when they were good n hungry, not fat stoned n lazy). Brash, cocky and backing it up with kick ass music n attitude. Way to bring it Downspeed.

Closing out the evening was Toledo punk rock stalwarts the Infernal Names. Nick, Ben, Mark, and Jake all gel and have a punk sound that deifies logic. Each member seems to have their own sound & influences at play. But this gel I speak of comes into play in a live setting that gives off this Black Flag sort of sound and vibe.This even extend to their couple of Misfits covers . Infernal Names set was super cool to listen too and see.Not so much a formal "set" with these guys ,at least so it seems. more like a punk rock jam session after drinking and watching other bands play all night. It suits them though, loose , fun and full of shit just the way Toledo punk rock should be.


What can I say expect this show was super fun and form what I saw and heard the audience had a blast too.Toledo should be proud of The Deadbeat Moms.Downspeed, & the Infernal Names. Thanks to General Bastard for bring some Motor City bad ass to town too.