AR-KAICS: Live in the Shit: LP
I read the review of this album in Razorcake, and bought it without a preview listen. I’ve been wanting to start a blog on this site where I review other live records both new and old, but I hadn’t decided where to start. After reading the review I thought that this would be a cool record to start with about a band that I had no knowledge of.
They play a fun punkified garage rock that hooked me from the first song “Sick and Tired”. My first thought was that this sounds like The Wonders from the movie “That Thing You Do” followed by they would have fit great on a tour with The Jam, The Buzzcocks and The Adverts or playing CBGB with The New York Dolls or Velvet Underground.
Since I know nothing about them, I went back and reviewed their studio catalog, and all the songs have been released before except “Outsider” which they announce as a new song about “the war”. I’m not sure which war, but I’m going to assume they are referring to Afghanistan.. Regardless it was a dope song that helped show the band’s progression within their soundscape. But back to the studio tracks. I enjoyed them, but I definitely prefer the live record in the same way Circle Jerks “Gig” is better than any other Circle Jerks album including “Group Sex” (Fight me!). Maybe it’s the rawness that gives it that punkier edge or just the natural energy that can be captured in a live album when bands are playing as one versus laying down individual tracks with overdubs in a studio.
Hailing from Richmond, VA and playing shows in my old stomping grounds of DC, I could see myself booking shows for them 15-20 years ago at The Sidebar or Charm City Artspace in Baltimore or The Kaffa House or Warehouse Nextdoor in DC. I’d most likely expect to see them playing shows with bands at the Corner Kick (RIP) such as The Shakedowns, Ratchet Boys, Alphabet Bombers, The Max Levine Ensemble , The Lexington Arrows (odd how Alex Fine was in three of the bands I mentioned!) or even bigger stages at places like the Black Cat with The Pietasters. If I could book them here in Orlando, I’d fit them bands like Wet Nurse, 2AMature, The Caffiends, and Pangolin. The Sh-booms would be a great fit too.
In closing their take on 60’s garage rock is immediately comforting since I get a vague sense that I recognize the song they are playing since it reminds me of some old garage rock song, but at the same time it’s imbued with enough of a modern sensibility that it’s also engaging because it’s going places I don’t necessarily expect. It’s like when you visit a town you lived in a decade or more ago. It’s got the familiarity that brings comfort, but it also has a newness to it that is exciting.
