Entries Tagged as 'Modern Machines'

The Fest VI: Day Two Recap


Ladies and gentleman, the wait is over. It’s time now for part two of our Fest VI day-to-day coverage special feature. Onwards my bearded friends!

Saturday was the most action packed day of the weekend in terms of the large volume of bands that were scheduled to play. A full day of music was at hand, with bands playing from 1 p.m. to nearly 2 a.m. There was even an early bird gathering at DIY record shop Wayward Council at 6 a.m. Well, I wasn’t mentally or physically prepared to wake up that early even though I wanted to see just how many people would actually show up. I did, however, get up early enough to hit up the annual No Idea Records yard sale at the label’s headquarters. The event was a little bit different than last year but the hour and a half wait was well worth it. An mindblowing amount of Hot Water Music and Against Me! test pressings and various rare and out-of-print records could be purchased. I could have easily spent all of my money in no more than five minutes but after dropping eighty bucks on some wax, I was ready to see some bands.

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Band Spotlight: The Modern Machines

Next up to grace the spotlight stage is Milwaukee’s (best?) beloved punk n’ roll act The Modern Machines. The boys released “Take It, Somebody!” on Dirtnap Records in ‘06 and were yet another amazing and incredibly talented band that I somehow missed at Fest V.

The thing I love about “Take It…” and what makes it so endearing in my mind is that it is an unpolished, dirty, beer-soaked and strikingly compassionate ode to punk rock yesteryear.

Driving home from NY today while listening to the album, I concluded that all the Replacements comparisons are definitely dead on. From the vocals to the often-unpredictable tempo shifts, the album has Sorry Ma-era Mats written all over it.

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