Beep Repaired Throws Thxgiving Bash, I Show Up

Local label Beep Repaired hosted a Turkey Day concert at the Crocodile this past Wednesday (11/21), featuring four solid Seattle rock bands: Juhu Beach, Lake of Falcons, Unlearn, and the Bismarck. Only two of the four bands are currently signed to BR, but they’re cool like that, and asked a couple of their friends to round out the lineup. Admittedly, I was there mainly to see Lake of Falcons, whose old-school melodic-punk style has intrigued me ever since my sister introduced me to them a few years back while she was still actively affiliated with the BR family. But the whole show ended up being well worth the six bucks I paid to get in. Juhu Beach opened the show, and, having never heard them before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. They answered the bell with flying colors. This four-piece played with a lot of energy, featured some notable song writing, and even threw in a flurry of non-annoying intersong banter. AMAZING! My friend and I were doubly impressed with the unconventional structure of many of their songs, the guitarists changing directions multiple times within each, yet still able to round them out with some catchy riffs and creative mantra-like vocals from all but the drummer. I couldn’t help but notice some obvious late-90s local influences with the urgent yelping and experimental guitar work. If you see them playing around town (at the Blue Moon on 12/8), I would HIGHLY recommend checking them out. The bassist even looks a bit like a pygmy Elton John.

LoF was up next, and although the previous band was a tough act to follow, the three dudes in this Fugazi-style outfit checked in with an unyielding wall of bass, guitar, and impassioned singing. Nate Ellis plays lead guitar with a controlled zeal, and his more-refined vocals are offset by the coarser shouting of bassist Josh Engelhardt. Along with relentless drummer Josh Williams, the result is sweet, sweet noise. While the shiftier tempo of their self-titled debut is often interrupted by slower, less punk-sounding songs, it was the rapid fire of new material that defined this set. It sounded as if many of the songs played were fresh even to die-hard fans (I recognized only one from their newest EP The Panic Solution, and they claim to be writing material for a new full-length); the best, in my opinion, was a fervent punk track endearingly—yet temporarily—entitled, “The NEW New One”. If you like awesome power trios without frills, gimmicks, or fluff it would behoove you to make your way to their next performance: an all-ages show 12/7 at the Healthy Times Fun Club (I have no idea where that is) with Victory Smokes and the Whore Moans. Sure to be good times.

The next two bands completed the show. Unlearn, an experimental electronic group that seemed musically the odd man out, played a set of their twinkling keyboard atmospherics. Theirs is the kind of music that makes one long for wispy cirrus clouds and serene alpine lakes; it’s very minimal stuff, without vocals, and a penchant for the drum machine (despite performing with an actual drum kit). I thought they were a talented group that broke up the steady influx of guitar squalls from the other three bands. And while I’ve heard good things about the Bismarck, their set seemed more like a practice session than a show from band that had recently released a full-length together. Their consistency appeared fractured and unfortunately their set suffered. Given the quality of their recordings, I’d suspect these transplanted North Dakotans to rebound.

Well played Beep Repaired, well played.

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