Words and Photos: Yambag / L.I.B. / Rifle Cult / D.Y.E. at 22/32
 |
| Yambag at 22/32. Photo by Aaron Rhodes. |
22/32 - Kansas City, MO
Every month or two since this spring has come another milestone in Kansas City's return to pre-pandemic live music activity. First came outdoor shows, then masked indoor shows in proper venues, and now, finally, a regular old DIY punk rock basement gig. Cleveland's Yambag and Indianapolis' L.I.B. stopped in on their way to Convulse Fest in Denver and were joined by Columbia, Missouri's Rifle Cult, and Kansas City's D.Y.E.
Yambag's set came after a brief delay due to the lone microphone cord calling it quits in the middle of the L.I.B. set. Thankfully, I was given a speedy ride back to my apartment to grab a backup cord. (My car was stuck behind the tour vans parked in the driveway. Thanks for the ride, Tim). The punks patient enough to wait it out were rewarded with one of the speediest and snottiest punk sets I can remember seeing. This Cleveland band means business -- see them live or jam their record ASAP.
L.I.B., despite the microphone mishap, pumped out some potent powerviolence -- blast beats and stop-start riffing a-plenty.
Rifle Cult's set featured the band as a trio. Apparently their guitarist bailed day-of to get some school work done, so vocalist Will Tuckley quickly learned all of the guitar parts. It was clear that we weren't getting the most high caliber version of the group, but Tuckley is still a formidable frontperson, even while wielding an axe. All was forgiven after a solid cover of Wire's "12XU."
D.Y.E.'s opening set was tighter than my first time seeing the band, fresh off the release of its cassette album Rules (my photos from their riverfront show are inside the j-card). Vocalist Austin Fetterolf was as bratty and confrontational as a punk fan could hope. (I missed it, but a friend told me he saw Fetterolf deliver a low blow to a friend in the audience.) After 15 minutes of slam dancing, the set ended in a rain of gleeful and sardonic "fuck you"s from both the band and the crowd. That felt good.
[This show was booked and presented by Shuttlecock.]
No comments: