THE HOOKS
FLEXX BRONCO
THE DEPARTED
Thee Parkside
Nov. 30, 2007

Walking into Thee Parkside, I saw that the night’s bands had a good draw. There was a nice-sized crowd: big enough for a lively show, small enough that ordering a drink wasn't a problem.

The opening band, The Departed, didn't waste any time and soon were on-stage revving up their sound. No longer able to refer to themselves as an all-girl punk band, they were sporting their revamped line-up with new male drummer Tony. 

Unfortunately, probably the only really interesting thing about this band was that they were all girls. And seeing as how there is no lack of all-girl punk bands out there, this was never that interesting in the first place.

The Departed played the same old, stale, all-girl (with dude drummer) punk sound, but at least they did it with skill; there was no lack of ability and practice on their part, just a lack of anything musically new, innovative, or interesting. 

Not to be too harsh. The Departed proved themselves a competent if uninspired ensemble. Guitars were strummed, a bass was plucked, words were sung, and drums were beat. To be fair, they did keep the crowd going. The audience, in fact, seemed to respond positively to the band, if not overly enthusiastic.

But that was probably only because they had no idea that they were about to travel back in time.

Now, mankind has for ages dreamed of time-travel. From magical spells to Victorian-era H.G. Wells-esque contraptions and physicist Frank Tipler's postulation that a long and dense enough cylinder that spins at a high enough rate about its long axis could send a ship orbiting the cylinder on a spiraling path back through time, many different ideas have been advanced in the attempt to achieve time travel.

So who knew that the solution would be so simple a contraption as five beer guzzling butt rockers called Flexx Bronco playing a show at Thee Parkside?

I think most people are pretty enamored with Flexx Bronco: they won some battle of the bands, they sport a take-no-shit attitude, and they are still playing music from 1989 in the new millennium. And they definitely have what it takes to pull off the sound: High energy, bad ‘tudes, and a banner hanging up behind them reminding us all that there are two x's in Flexx.

As they bend time, they by extension also bend space, fucking up the whole continuum until I truly feel like I'm in a bar in the Midwest in 1989.  But after about 10 minutes, after reaching a plateau, the show gets pretty boring. 

The songs, the style, it's so static and set as to be the same thing over and over again. They aren't bad by any stretch, but they're like an ice cold bottle of bottle of Corona: Fresh outta the cooler, both Corona and Flexx are crisp, cold, refreshing, great; as things go along and the beer gets old and warm, as Flexx' set drags on, they start to taste like piss. But, just as I wouldn't refuse a cold Corona, I wouldn't shy away from a Flexx Bronco show.

In the end, in small doses these guys are pretty entertaining. And they can definitely play a crowd. It's pretty great to see that somebody out there is pulling back their hair with a bandana and holding onto the past, digging their nails in, and not going down without a fight, no matter how futile.

After watching the first two adequate bands I was definitely ready to hear something good and The Hooks delivered.

Originally hailing from Sligo, Ireland, The Hooks moved their headquarters to San Francisco in 2004, solidifying their present line up with brothers Keith and Ronan Mulligan and San Franciscans Willie Gregory and Colin Delaney. And it is solid.

It’s not an accident that they opened for the Pogues, toured Ireland with Shane McGowan and the Popes, are playing at Slim’s this December with X, and have some great shows lined up in 2008.

Was it the best show of 2007? A life changing experience? Did people faint and pregnant women go into labor when they heard those sweet Irish voices?  No. (Though I did see one guy’s knees buckle, but that was prolley from all the Redbull-Vodkas.) But they did turn out their rockin’ songs and keep the crowd going. They even had the obligatory Irish ballad with some drunk Irish guy from the crowd signing.  Okay, he may not have been drunk, but he was Irish, and in a bar, and singing, so the chances are pretty good. 

The Hooks are good, no doubt about that. I even picked up the CD. But they aren’t really doing anything all that innovative yet. Still, this is a band that is going places, and I’m really interested to see what they do in 2008.

[Marky Snark]

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[STREAM] The Hooks: "10,000 Ft."

[STREAM] Flexx Bronco: Various Tracks

[STREAM] The Departed: Various Tracks