I remember a friend telling me, a long time ago, that I should go hear this band called Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains who were playing in a parking lot on Elliot Street that afternoon. I had doubts about the venue and didn’t go. My loss. Last night, Johnny Hobo was back, or at least, his inventor, Pat “the Bunny” Schneeweis, with a new band, Ramshackle Glory. As it turned out, their homecoming show at the Church Saturday night turned out to be the highlight of my weekend if not the whole month of June.
I didn’t expect a lot from this band, but after sampling a few tracks online, I concluded that We Are All Compost In Waiting is the punk rock anthem of our time, and wondered why I’d never heard of them before. Their stage presence was casual, with the ten of them arrayed around the drums at the back of the room. A trio of trumpet, trombone, and clarinet stood up on the riser in the back, no doubt to entertain the short people in the audience (I never did see Pat, who was behind the moshpit at floor level). And while their sound is not exactly traditional punk, it’s definitely punk in spirit.
We had been joking before the show that if they didn’t play We Are All Compost, we were going to have to request it, not realizing that songs that sound like the anthems of our time sometimes are. They played it just three songs in, and to our surprise, the audience knew every word, which says something about the power of this band. The rest of the set had the crowd in a rapture of pogoing, moshing, singing, and crowd-surfing, successful crowd-surfing at that. Only a few guys almost landed (gently) on their heads.
Ramshackle Glory are a loud, chaotic, melodic, heart-rending mess live, and there’s no replacing the energy of a live performance. But their records have the added benefit of clarity, and this is a band that makes you want to listen to the lyrics. Schneeweis has a way with the meaningful non sequitur, and his straight narratives pack a punch. Dark, yes, but hopeful too. Niki Berger’s vocals lighten the mood and her accordion playing gives it all a nostalgic quality as though these are stories that could be told anywhere, anyday.
Luckily for us, Ramshackle Glory have Brattleboro roots, or we might not have gotten to see them. As it is, their east coast tour includes the Middle East in Boston and a club in Brooklyn, so they’ve clearly been noticed. I, for one, hope they carry on with their spirited selves, because the world needs truth-tellers who can make you sing along.
The evening started with Flaming Dragons of Middle Earth, another large band with a variety of instruments and onstage roles for its many participants to manipulate and play. We didn’t catch their whole set but what we did see was fascinating. Whether they were doing high level conceptual art or cultural parody or future music of a type I don’t yet know is up for grabs, but it was definitely interesting.
Future Collectivite and musician Jonas was up next as If Not I Than Who Then, which features Jonas on drums and looped vocals with more vocals on top. Sometimes his looped vocals are ethereal, other times percussive. It depends on what he’s going for and what happens. The audience loved him and cheerfully participated in shoutalongs when asked.
Local metal band Discomfort (are we meant to be discomforted by their awesome sound?) were the middle group, playing to a happy crew of moshers of both sexes, mostly guys but infiltrated by a surprising number of death-defying females who would bounce in, bounce around, and bounce out again without so much as mussing their hair. The music was metallic and loud; we enjoyed the roar.
According to an organizer, The Future Collective have “at least 20 shows coming up,” by their own count. Expect to see them announced throughout the summer, leading up to a big season finale in late August. Yes, Future Fest 3 is coming soon, featuring over 50 acts, a carnival, spontaneous art, joy, amusement, and “fun fun fun.” Support them, thank them, go to their shows. Shows are all ages and substance-free.
