Seven band punk rock show speed run go!

The Unfinished is punk. The quartet lines up as Abigail Unfinished (vox), Cory Dean (guitar), Jon Sink (bass), and Jeff Anderson (drums), playing mid-tempo songs with plenty of rock to them. It was the band's first show in a year and things started tentatively. Abigail's demure vocals were sung somewhere near speaking, her occasional shouts were restrained, and she stuck to the back of the stage. Fifteen minutes later she had a foot up on a locker, delivering the rock. The set contained few guitar solos or leads to punch up songs, though the penultimate had a nice squawking solo. The bouncing drums played in the pop punk finale proved that by the end of the twenty-five-minute set, the band had found its groove.

Slow Poke is punk. Vocalist/guitarist Jesse and drummer Jimi used to be in The Protesters who were also punk. Now they're joined by Dan (guitar) and Bert (bass) and they still play some Protesters songs. The new stuff is less Ramones and more Fat Wreck. Sometimes even hardcore. Jesse's vocals were puked and snotty, Jimi's had more fury. Backing vocals came from Dan. He delivered the "ooh ooh ooh"s in a new song that I want to hear again. He also delivered solos, but no leads. Bert kept it simple. Jimi played it as fast as he could. Songs seldom hit two minutes, and some were thirty seconds. The band started late and played later, but that was okay because the next band on the bill broke up.

Phil Clark took the stage instead. He's a punk. He started out saying "I originally set this show up because I had a mental breakdown and had to be hospitalized for eight days." He continued by explaining that good fortune had since come his way and so he shifted the benefit to support Sk8bar instead. The venue hasn't been able to obtain a liquor license and without alcohol to pay the rent, things look dire for the fledgling space. Clark stressed the importance of the club saying, "Punk bands need a place to start. And we're going to be bad for a while." Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the line-up or the quality of the bills at the club. Then he delivered short spoken word stories about dogs, cross dressing, ferrets, pyramid schemes, doing gay stuff, testicle pain, boobs, pot smoking, sex offenders, and parental expectations. Then he stopped talking.

Small Victories is punk. And vocalist/guitarist Jeff Chitty and bassist Richard Stone are comedians. The band opened with a ska-tinged cover of The Smiths' "Girlfriend in a Coma." But that wasn't the joke. I don't think. The band's poppy punk was sloppy. And cuddly. There was no danger in the solos from guitarist Josh Parton. Nothing sinister about the rushing drums of Matt Cook. The audience pelted the band with pool noodles. Do you like fun? Small Victories likes fun. In the middle of a lengthy forty-five-minute set, Parton sang another ska song. A revved-up cover of "Stand by Me" showed up at the end.

Another band cancelled. It was the only touring band. Maybe the snow was to blame.

Arson Class is punk. Well maybe. Or maybe it's just rock & roll played fast and with abandon. The trio of Chris Kinsley (vocals/guitar), Marc Bollinger (bass), & Phil Kinsley (drums) drew a crowd. Lots of folks from other bands. The set started strong with "Rock & Roll" and "My Girl" from the new album. Big hooks, big "woah-oh" backing vocals from Bollinger aided by the audience. Chris stepped back for effortless solos and there were plenty. When there weren't solos there were riffs. Plenty. He shook his cramping hand out between songs. Two covers in the middle – a Greg Kihn song ("The Breakup Song") and a D.I. song ("Hang 10 in East Berlin"). Covers tell you who a band is. Phil got tired and a song was skipped leaving the set at exactly a half hour. I can't imagine that this band was ever bad.

Neurotic Lovers is punk. A muscular sort of punk informed by modern rock in all of its guises. It was the band's first show. Guitarists Jesse West and Jeff Carlin traded vocals with the latter offering a gruffer growl and lots of solos. Bassist Jameson Gillespie hid behind the guitars – physically and in the mix. Drummer RJ Reyes made himself heard with a metal-loving accent splash. Two more covers: Rancid's "Roots Radical" and a Face to Face song that I didn't know. I hadn't guessed that is who the band was. Its fans had though. There were dancers, background singers, and one guy who somehow knew all the words. That's impressive as the quartet had only released a couple of songs.

Speed run over. Seven hours of punk in 814 words. No proofreading. How did I do?