Libyans, State Violence, Hot Mess

Slow to post - been so busy lately. Anyway, a show that is a definite highlight of the last month - Libyans, State Violence, Cell Graft, Gash and Hot Mess at the Hole in the Sky. Zack tried to record the whole thing and succeeded with Hot Mess and The Libyans.

OK... I got to Hole in the Sky late and missed Cell Graft, who are from Tampa, and Gash, from Philadelphia. They are nice guys and I heard they were great. Cell Graft was described as Assuck-style grindcore.

I like KC's voice in Hot Mess, which is a DC band that started playing shows this summer. They offer simple, fun, punk songs. They seem to be enjoying themselves and I hope to see them play again soon.

The Libyans are a punk band from Boston. They were touring after the release of their new album, A Common Place. They sounded amazing live. I love how Liz's vocals come across as forceful and aggressive, but still melodic. The bassist played some impressive, complex rhythms. The guitarist raced his fingers across his fretboard, producing a whirlwind of notes. Somehow, the band is catchy without sacrificing speed and intensity. To top things off at the show, they played a Descendent's cover. Very cool, in my opinion.

The Libyans spent the night at the Chill Factory and we talked some there after the show. Such friendly people. So open to eating vegan jumbo slice pizza from Duccini's.
Offbeat side note - one of the members of the Libyans posted an ad on Craigslist in which he pretended to be a ridiculously wealthy, shallow, self-involved misogynist looking for a girlfriend to wait on him as a maid and cook. He listed his interests as diamonds, stocks (I believe? - I should look at the book to verify that "interest.") and himself. He got a ton of responses. Some of the messages were written as applications with pictures and measurements. I read one message in which the girl promised him that her hair never gets messed up and that she knows how to dress for society functions. Other messages amounted to a pile of venom catapulted across computer screens in a Times New Roman format. One woman offered to yank the silver spoon from his ass. Also, I read several messages in which women cajoled him for placing too much emphasis on money, suggesting that he should try to get a woman to love him for who he is and not for his net worth. The guy put his original solicitation with all of the responses into a book and published it. The last I saw, the book adorned a coffee table at the Chill Factory. (Chris Moore goes on cleaning rampages, so I doubt the book will remain on the table long enough to collect dust. They have some big bookcases...)