At The Show

This past weekend I had the chance to go see MxPx and Lagwagon in Salt Lake City for their "We're Kind Of A Big Deal Tour" which they were co-headlining. They were accompanied by two other bands TAT and Only Crime which opened for them. The show was at "In The Venue" which is a very small and personal venue in downtown Salt Lake. It was my first time at the venue and I was initially surprised by how small it was but it made for a great punk show.

The night started off with TAT playing about a thirty minute set. I wasn't really familiar with any of TAT's songs but I was impressed by their overall performance. They are a band from London England and they are fronted by a female lead vocalist and guitarist. I felt bad for the band because there were only about 25 people there to watch them play.

Only Crime played next and they put on another good performance. They played a very energetic set but again, there was still very little people there to see them. They played songs off of both their records and they also had a replacement for Bill Stevenson, their usual drummer.

Once MxPx took the stage, the whole venue seemed to change with energy and excitement. The lights dimmed and the introduction to "Baba O'Riley" by The Who played as Mike, Tom and Yuri stormed the stage. MxPx was easily the best act of the night and they really got the crowed going. They played a lot of songs off of their older albums. Half of their set was filled with requests from the crowd which included "Buildings Tumble," "Andrea," and "Broken Bones." I was a little disappointed that MxPx only played about 50 minutes, you could tell that everyone wanted them to keep playing all night. MxPx is one of the best bands that I have seen live and I seemed to fall in love with the band all over again.

Lagwagon was the closing act of the night. They also played an awesome set and pulled out a lot of older classic songs. Some of the memorable songs played were "Island of Shame," "Making Friends," "Violins," and "Automatic." Joey Cape displayed his playful personality as he would crack jokes in between songs.

There are only a couple of dates left on this tour and if you are even remotely close to the shows, you better go. I wouldn't miss this tour for anything, its worth every penny.

TAT- Bloodstain (MP3)

Only Crime- Tenebrae (MP3)
From the album "To The Nines" (Amazon.com)

MxPx- Let It Happen (MP3)
From the album "Let It Happen" (Amazon.com)

Lagwagon- Island of Shame (MP3)
From the album "Trashed" (Amazon.com)