sheezer / camp radio
05-11-2011
zaphod's, ottawa

it doesn't seem difficult to put together a catchy punk band. there are a few necessary ingredients: proper amp distortion, at least somewhat cute singer, catchy hooks and raw energy when playing live. you get those down and you're ok, right?

no. there's another ingredient, an intangible of sorts.

maybe, for today's kids that have grown up on catchy punk as written post 1997, that's really all you need. after all, the discarding of that intangible through nothing more than the bad taste of a few a&r people is sort of what defined the collapse of catchy punk into mediocrity.

camp radio check off all of the boxes remarkably well. it's everything you'd want from high energy catchy punk, except that that intangible isn't there. luckily, i think it just hasn't been developed yet, that it's still in the womb. there were flashes here and there of noisy guitar parts and extended build-ups that could be signs that it's not far from labour. yet, these things can be difficult to predict...

as it is, i can't recommend this act in any way. however, it may be prudent to keep an eye on them.

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it's really amazing what old weezer songs can do to a group of otherwise well put together adults, even those approaching middle age.

business men drop the charade, revert into their former selves and dance like broken imbeciles. mothers revert to daughters, as they remember every detail of their first boyfriend. old friends embrace, lovers reconnect, enemies remember a simpler time....and everybody in the room is screaming every word at the top of their broken inner child's lungs, even those that are starkly sober, although you won't find many.

such a time machine is a truly magical experience to be a part of. if you're too cool for this, you're a bloody fool; drop your inhibitions and be a part of this while you still can be.

(sheezer weren't dressed as the spice girls tonight, nor were they dressed as sailor moon. i didn't pick up a theme. but, i don't have ottawa footage, so this will have to do.)



here are several pictures of me on that day: