The Rise Of Punk — Concert Review: Punk Standard 19-12-2024
Over the past few months, the Punk Standard shows have become a regular fixture in the Boulder music scene. In stark contrast to many of Boulder’s bands, which gravitate towards indie rock, Chair Bomb, the band that organizes these shows, is working to put more extreme music onto the map. Given the crowds at these shows, this mission could be said to be a success, despite the fact that punk music can be seen as abrasive and most bands are indie with little space for other genres. In addition, many punk purists do have a reason to be alarmed by the bands on the lineup for the so called “Punk Standard,” which raises the question of whether or not Chair Bomb’s mission to advance punk is really a success story in Boulder.
No Fauna, the first band of this show, immediately became an example of such concerns. Even before the first song, hints of their divergence from what is typically considered punk appeared in the form of the band’s having two guitarists. Usually, punk bands only have none. After all, if the aim of punk is achieved through fast, aggressive riffs, what would a second guitarist be needed for?
As it turns out, No Fauna was apparently asking the same question, because when both guitarists were playing, they both played different chords, but there really was little difference between the two of them, aside from the notes. While many bands with multiple players have the players do completely different riffs, that was not the case here. Nor were there many solos, although on two songs, one of the guitarists did some tapping. Also notable is the fact that the other guitarist was the singer, and unlike in other bands, he did not play when singing. Might that be enough to justify having two guitarists when others could see it as not adding much to the band’s sound?
As for the songs themselves, No Fauna followed a patttern that is reminiscent of Nirvana, with switches between sections that are softer, and sections that embody punk’s aggression. Many of their songs had few instrumental momemnts, which plcaed the focus on the vocals and again raised the question of why the band had two guitar players, especially considering how simple the band’s songs are. Apart from those previously mentioned two tapping solos, there were never any distinct one-note-at-a-time riffs. Multiple guitarists leads to complexity, No Fauna should fully explore the options their lineup offers.
One of the later songs was more punk than the rest, especially in terms of speed. However, as the next song saw them go back to their usual structure. What was also notable about the genres was an atomspheric intro on an earlier song, and then for the final song, the band combined all the ideas of the previous songs into a single one, highlighting their range of influences but leaving listeners unsure of what their style is, or even if it was the punk that Chair Bomb was going for when they organized this show.
On the issue of whether or not No Fauna can be considered punk or not, Zip, No Fauna’s bass player, said “In my view, we emerge from the spirit of punk — we speak from the heart, play loud, and play DIY punk shows like the one here tonight at the Punk Standard church. In terms of the punk genre, we have a few songs that have that classic simple structure and honest lyrics, but some of our other music strays into more math rock, emo, and alternative territory.” The fact that the band considers its ideals to be punk even though its music always isn’t raiss the question of whether punk, originally based on rebellion, has, due to its established definition, become the very thing it swore to destroy.
Following them was Feed Lot, who had their own deviations from the definition of punk. In contrast to No Fauna, they only had one guitarist, which allowed and encouraged their songs to be more simplified. However, this band did not follow the traditional punk definition either. Like No Fauna, they went in their own direction. One aspect of this direction was that unlike with a lot of bands, the bass guitar was very audible in their mix.
Feed Lot predominantly used punk riffs in their songwriting, but added a juxtaposition in the earlier songs in the fact that the vocals were not as intense as the riffs, not what one would expect in a punk band. So while Feed Lot does get closer to punk than No Fauna did, they still blur the line between punk and other genres, and the way they do so creates a sense of dissonance.
They got more aggressive, more punk-like, as the night went on, but the final song was a reversion to their usual style of genre-blending. With two bands of the night having combined different ideas, there is the question of whether or blending genres is inevitable in music making, along with the implications it has for music in general and Boulder’s punk scene in particular. In addition, the emphasis on bass in this band raises the question of which instruments, if any, should be the driving force behind a song. Erich, the vocalist and guitar player, believes that “if I just play instrumentals of some songs, we realize the vocals drive them, but some songs could be instrumental without vocals because of the complicated riffs we choose.” Vocals can be too repetitive of a song, but Erich leaves the door open for debating whether or not they’re necessary when the song is complex enough. However, none of the bands of this show were able to offer any material to either side of this debate.
Despite being the organizers of the show, Chair Bomb went third, being the second to last band instead of the last one. If there is any band at this show that is unambigously punk, it is this one. There were not many differences between this show and the last Chair Bomb show that was reviewed here, but some additional details were noted for this show.
While Chair Bomb does not have a guitar player, at times, the bass player uses a pedal that is likely distortion to get a guitar sound for some songs, comparable to the intro of For Whom The Bell Tolls by Metallica. He even refers to himself as a foot guitarist at times. While his ability to get a guitar-like sound is impressive and allows the band to feature only two members, there is a necessary trade-off that needs to be discussed: the fact that Chair Bomb cannot have a bass-line when this pedal is in effect.
This trade off makes Chair Bomb the most simplistic band of the night. However, what this band loses in complexity, it makes up for with sheer aggression. Unlike with any of the other bands of this show, there is no ambiguity over whether or not Chair Bomb is punk. Besides being the most aggressive band of the show, they also held the honor of having the shortest songs of the evening. Unlike the other bands, most of their songs were consistent, usually featuring only a couple riffs of similar aggression, which was a nice break. All these other bands who switch between soft and hard riffs appear to be interested in changing things up, and yet, they don’t drop structure to the extent that they should in order to make things interesting.
For such an aggressive band, the turnout was surprisingly large. Cody, the drummer and vocalist, stated that he thinks that punk in Boulder is gaining traction at the rate that it is because “Boulder is a place with a very narrow kind of people. Obviously, there’s hippies and rich people and the Boulder scene has been indie for so long. I think a lot of people have been feeling like they want this kind of music and want this feeling that there’s a lot you gotta get out.” Based on the crowd, his prediction appears to be accurate, and if it is correct, it could spell the end for other genres in Boulder. However, the other Punk Standard bands dabbling in other genres makes this unlikely to happen unless more bands start going for aggressive music themselves.
Gaunt was the final band of the evening. In contrast to all the other bands of the show, they market themselves as hardcore and as metal. Punk Standard’s including them could signify an alliance between the punks and metalheads in the Boulder music scene. Alas, right now, even though the punk scene is a rising force, the metal scene is still latent, and Gaunt can be thought of as Boulder’s sole metal band.
If they can even be considered metal at all, which their set debates. Like with Chair Bomb, Gaunt’s set was similar to their set at their last show, which was also reviewed here. While they did have some heavy riffs that were the most extreme of this show, none of said riffs were played for very long, immediately followed by riffs that were slower and gravitated towards higher notes. The lack of focus on instrumentals is also paramount, and appears to be a theme of the show. Despite being billed as a metal band, Gaunt does lean more towards punk than other metal bands, even those of the crossover thrash and grindcore genres. As the last review mentioned, Gaunt followed a pattern similar to Suicidal Tendencies, a pattern echoed by bands mentioned as influences on their upcoming EP.
However, the band showed signs of other ideas. Like at their last show, their drummer was planning to use a double bass, which could make the drumming faster and more technical, but there was an error with the setup that prevented this. They were able to change things up on their seventh song, which was consistently slower than their others, but featured some louder notes and drum beats on occasion. Even though it didn’t feature much nuance, it was a notable change of pace, and while Gaunt already has its upcoming EP written, and while their next and final song was a return to their orthodox style, this could be a sign of changes for the band to come.
Despite this dabbling in other influences, Gaunt still predominantly played what could ultimately be considered metal that was watered down to appeal to a wider audience, punk or not. On the issue of whether or not bands should be trying to appeal to people, Shay, the drummer, said “I think bands should make what comes from them. I am an extreme metal lover, but the music I usually make is a lot softer even though what I mostly listen to is death metal.”
Through this series of shows, as evidenced by the turnout, Chair Bomb is bringing more extreme music to the forefront of Boulder. It is clear from this show that so far, this has been a success. What is unclear is whether or not this success will continue. While they have a clear agenda, the other bands on this lineup have deviated from it, and while that could improve punk’s sound and bring in new audiences, it could also prevent what is seen as pure punk from gaining traction and alienate a core fanbase. This leaves us all to wonder if any more extreme bands will appear, and if punk will ultimately become the genre that Boulder’s music scene is known for.