The Spits – Estrogen Highs – Brimstone Howl – at Cafe Nine – New Haven, CT

Seattle garage-punks The Spits concluded their recent North American tour with a date at Café Nine in New Haven, CT. The tour was in support of their new eponymous album, AKA “Spits IV” available now on Recess Records. Supporting acts were Connecticut locals Estrogen Highs whose new LP “Tell It To Them” was released for the show, as well as Omaha, NE’s Brimstone Howl.

Brimstone Howl started things off with their brand of twangy garage rock akin to a mix between Nuggets/Pebbles-era rock n roll and the dirty and lo-fi sleaze of a primitive pre-punk band. The band are a three piece and were able to whip through a series of originals and maybe a cover or two, though that could have just been a recycled riff here and there. I can’t exactly pin down their sound to one direct comparison, but I’d say it was a good balance of straightforward garage and early pop rock n roll with a slightly punk edge. Interested parties can track down their newest release “We Came In Peace” for an idea of their sound (on Alive Records) or check out the band’s Myspace page www.mypsace.com/brimstonehowl

Next to the stage were Connecticut’s own Estrogen Highs. The Highs have been a band for a little over two years and have released several singles/EPs and cassettes on various labels, with “Tell It To Them”, their debut for the Dead Beat label. Estrogen Highs sound is a very palatable amalgam of 60’s garage and frat rock, 70’s proto punk, and the sneering, downplayed quality of many great Killed By Death bands. Though their recordings do give a good representation of this, I feel their live set may be the best way to catch them. Though that’s no detriment to the new LP, which is quite above par and a rocking slab of wax from open to close, they really bring the roof down at their shows. Along with a cover of the Big Boys’ “Red/Green”, the e-highs pound out their jangly shouted opuses of drug abuse and failed romances, among other things, without much time to catch your breath.

Another great aspect of the band, besides the hook-laden riffs and powerful but characteristically smooth rhythms are their dynamic vocals. Between guitarist/singer Stefan’s main shouted pleas and the tuneful back-ups of bassist Wes the group really grabs your focus. The set Sunday was no exception to this with a mass of drinking, dancing, shouting and shaking at the front of the stage. Though the group has not ventured past the south and Midwest, hopefully for listeners on the west coast they will make the trek some time soon. In the meantime, listeners are encouraged to check out the group’s Myspace (myspace.com/EstrogenHighs) and pick up their new EP “Luxury is God” on the band’s own Never Heard of It label, or the previously LP on Dead Beat Records.

The final act for the evening were The Spits who took the stage in hooded black capes with a fog machine filling the crowded venue and a large skull with light up eyes propped up behind the drummer. From the instant they dropped into their first song, which may have been “Drop Out” or may have been “Black Car” (I was pretty wasted at this point) the crowd started going ape and pogo-ing, slamming and even crowd surfing as the band blazed there a series of older tunes, covers and material from the new LP. Though they remarked several times they were playing their “last song”, the mayhem ensued for well past half an hour. The Spits, for those out of the loop, play catchy, mid-packed punk complete with keyboards, snotty vocals, sometimes juvenile, often humorous lyrics and a blown-out, sound that hits you like a wild party.

The group has been active for most or all of the last decade and has released four LPs that are now mostly available on CD as well or digitally. The new LP stands up there with their older material as simply wonderful and relentless partying punk that blends the sound of Wimpy-era Queers, Jabbers-era GG Allin, The Ramones, and comes out comparable at times to The Reatards, The Briefs, or Clone Defects.

Back to the show though, it should be mentioned that for a band twice the age of most up and coming hardcore punk groups, these guys can still rock the fucking house to pieces and carry the whole evening with three chords and a good-spirited bad attitude.
Overall the night was probably the best show I’ve caught in a while and left me sweaty, drunk and wanting to stay up all night listening to records drinking the warm beer at someone’s nearby house (p.s.- mission accomplished). By the way, Café Nine, as always, remains one of the best places to see shows in CT, one of the best to play, and has one of the best sounds, too.

-Tommy H. Perkins
Big Wheel Staff Writer

 

 
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