Bomb Diggity (Hex Bombs set 3/13)

So if you read my post a few weeks ago, you might have known how excited I was about the Mustard Plug show on 3/13 (although I incorrectly dated it in that post... my bad). And, seeing as you already know that I am a fan (and, of course, that I left halfway through their set for a late-night jam session; that's a different story for a different day) it would be redundant to review their set and perhaps a bit annoying and what some Kalamazoo NOISE! anonymous commenters might find fellatious. Instead, I'm going to focus on a Kzoo band who played alongside them, one we know and love: the Hex Bombs.

 [Hex Bombs set, Papa Pete's 3/13/10)

     The first thing I notice is that-- 20 or 30 minutes late-- I am still awkwardly, embarrassingly early and there are awkwardly, embarrassingly few people. The crew I had agreed to meet at doors (9 pm) is conspicuously absent.... and now is the perfect time to observe (and, as always, eavesdrop). I'm in the middle of several groups, and am more or less camouflaged; with everyone assuming I'm part of at least one of these conversations, I am, effectively, not here at all, and simultaneously, a part of every single conversation. We they discuss details of their bands' recording progress, and collectively harsh Guitar Center, hipsters, and rockabilly kids while old-school Mitten Ska scene kids loiter and mingle over well-whiskey mixers. What sounds to me like Flashlight Brown is blasting from the speakers, which wait patiently beside the completely empty stage, before the mostly-empty room, like a well-meaning teacher trying to amp up an unenthusiastic class of mostly-present students. Building suspense? Winning them over? We'll see in... well, whenever Hex Bombs are ready. Because "[THEY] ARE ROCK'N'ROLL!!!!" dammit!
     The half-silence that fills the room makes my identity increasingly conspicuous-- an awkward girl with a cup of pop and a notebook-- I am, indeed, a writer. The Enemy. I shed my hoodie-- the other (5 or so) girls aren't wearing hoodies much at all-- and try to relax a little... quando a Roma.
     Beneath the hovering green lights above the pool tables, shaggy-haired misfits in Bush-era slogan t-shirts ("Not My President".. you're goddamn right he's not; get a new t-shirt) lean low over the tables and dreadlocked girls in too-tight pants look on.
     I impatiently tap my toes to Hex Bombs' soundcheck and wonder what happened to the ska scene as a boy nonchalantly and inexplicably moons the stage.
     They finish soundchecking; Social Distortion throbs through the speakers and I can sense that the time is near.
          I immediately realize it's going to be a great show as the Hex Bombs tear into their set with the anthemic "This is My Life," and the house comes to life with the Bombs' unique brand of proletariat punk. With a classic punk-revival attitude, Hex Bombs play with a Rancid/ NOFX-rendered swagger that is part passion, part defiance, part... pirate (?) and a whole lot of fun. And for all of you who miss the aforementioned skate-punkers-- as well as Mad Caddies, Dropkick Murphys, the Misfits and the rest of the crew-- rest assured: punk rock is alive and well. Their old-schoolishness is quite what I like about the Hex Bombs: half throwback, and half novelty; either way, props for stickin' with it. They have a legitimacy that you can't fake, even if you try: these guys truly fucking believe in what they do... bonus props for being real in a decreasingly-authentic world and a decreasingly-authentic scene.  
     Not to mention, I would like the Hex Bombs anyway if only for the fact that I can't get enough pirate in my life, being a landlocked Midwesterner and all. But, somehow, they pull it off. The mix between their inexplicable seadoggishness and their uniquely Michiganian brand of punk rock strikes a comfortably familiar and, at once, bravely novel, chord in all of us ex-teen-punkers out here.

     After Hex Bombs' whirlwhind of a set was the Cin-city ska band called The Pinstripes... if you're into soulful, reggae-influenced ska, these dudes are magically delicious... check 'em out here!

     Oh yeah, and Mustard Plug was good too...

Later days.
--thejunkie