Seeing them on their first East Coast tour last May gave me something to blog about and the kick I needed to actually start blogging. I originally started on Tumblr and moved/expanded here within a couple of months. So if you've been enjoying the blog, give Calabrese a listen as I don't know where this would be without them!
On to the show!
I got to the venue at 8 when the doors opened. In my post last year, I mentioned I met some cool people after that show while hanging around and talking to the band. I connected to some of them through Facebook and it was good to see them again, kinda like going back to summer camp. One of the greatest things about Calabrese is that they're regular guys. The were out in the club before the show talking to fans, taking photos and signing whatever. It was a very social atomosphere.
I was surprised that Bobby Calabrese remembered me because he asked where my "big ass" camera was. (I now have one that fits in my pocket.) The club had some very strong colored spotlights above the stage which made taking color photos challenging. The flash on my camera wasn't strong enough to blow out the colored lighting in most cases, resulting in performers being blurry and/or pink hued. After much frustration, I ended up switching over to b&w and I think it actually gives some of the pics an old school punk look.
First on stage were Tony Jones and The Cretin 3. I wasn't familiar with them but they were very good. Their music fits into the Punk/Garage/Psychobilly area, which is what you'd expect if you're familiar with Calabrese.
Next up were The Evil Streaks. I caught some of their set last year so I was excited to get to see them this time. They're sort of a local super-group with their members coming from other bands I've enjoyed over the years.
They describe themselves as "dipping The Cramps, into a pot of The Sonics and adding a pinch of sweetness of the Go-Gos." The band's front woman, Myra, is fantastic. One moment she can be singing sweetly, then seductively psychotic, then wailing like a demonic force is possessing her because those sounds should not be coming out of her petite form.
The next go-round featured The Arkhams from NY. They had a banner that proclaimed them as a Rockab'lyeh band. There's one for the Lovecraft fans, hehe. A bass presence is something front and center in all -billy bands but I'd never seen one live before that had a stand-up bass.
Matt "The Knife" Goldpaugh delivered a hopped-up, manic performance, as did the entire band, that you'd expect when an upright bass is on-stage. At one point he propped the bass on its side, climbed it and continued to play while balancing on it! It was pretty amazing!
And then, around 12:30am, it was time for Calabrese to come alive.
They say they're not the next Misfits, but the first Calabrese!
These three brothers crank out the sound and they know how to start a set...
You can tell they love performing. They have a blast on stage and with the crowd. Even though Davey is behind his drum set, he's frequently connecting with the crowd through smiles, goofy looks and drumstick pointing. Not to mention taking center stage at various points to rile the crowd and introduce the band...
At one point, Bobby dons a space helmet and begins plucking his guitar, "blasting" people in front of the stage.
After a blistering, high-energy set they left the stage but the crowd demanded an encore! They came back and since it's "that time of year" invited everyone that could fit to join them on the small stage for a cover of Halloween by The Misfits.
After all was said and done, I ended up leaving around 2am with a 90 minute drive ahead. But that's when the storm started kicking in! Lightning flashes lighting up the entire sky, on and off torrential rains reducing vision on the highway to 20 feet at times...it was a good end to the night.
There's plenty more pics over on Flickr. And you should head over to CalabreseRock.com to snag some free downloads. I'll leave you with one of my favorite shots from the night...
They describe themselves as "dipping The Cramps, into a pot of The Sonics and adding a pinch of sweetness of the Go-Gos." The band's front woman, Myra, is fantastic. One moment she can be singing sweetly, then seductively psychotic, then wailing like a demonic force is possessing her because those sounds should not be coming out of her petite form.
The next go-round featured The Arkhams from NY. They had a banner that proclaimed them as a Rockab'lyeh band. There's one for the Lovecraft fans, hehe. A bass presence is something front and center in all -billy bands but I'd never seen one live before that had a stand-up bass.
Matt "The Knife" Goldpaugh delivered a hopped-up, manic performance, as did the entire band, that you'd expect when an upright bass is on-stage. At one point he propped the bass on its side, climbed it and continued to play while balancing on it! It was pretty amazing!
And then, around 12:30am, it was time for Calabrese to come alive.
They say they're not the next Misfits, but the first Calabrese!
These three brothers crank out the sound and they know how to start a set...
 |
| Jimmy, Davey and Bobby Calabrese (l to r) |
 |
| Behold the six string samurai, Bobby Calabrese! |
 |
| Jimmy Calabrese on bass |
After a blistering, high-energy set they left the stage but the crowd demanded an encore! They came back and since it's "that time of year" invited everyone that could fit to join them on the small stage for a cover of Halloween by The Misfits.
After all was said and done, I ended up leaving around 2am with a 90 minute drive ahead. But that's when the storm started kicking in! Lightning flashes lighting up the entire sky, on and off torrential rains reducing vision on the highway to 20 feet at times...it was a good end to the night.
There's plenty more pics over on Flickr. And you should head over to CalabreseRock.com to snag some free downloads. I'll leave you with one of my favorite shots from the night...
Be sure to visit the other bloggers that have their porch lights on by clicking below.
They're waiting for you!
Cool photos! I think even the color photos turned out well. I know how difficult it can be to get non-blurry shots of a band.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun time! I guess you had a fitting, if frightening ride home. You must be a dedicated fan to drive that far for the concert!
I only posted the best ones ;-) There's got to be close to the same number, if not more, that didn't make the cut. Compared to the shots I'm used to getting from further away, I was a bit disappointed at getting defeated by a spotlight.
DeleteThe guys are based in AZ and this is only they're second time out this way. Before last year, I never thought I'd get to see them live so I'm taking every chance I get!