It's hard to believe 1.6 Band were only around from 1989-1993 and only played regionally for the most part, yet the band has continued to be huge influence on many bands for over 15 years without even realizing it at the time. Their unique style is virtually unclassifiable yet not so intimidating that they alienated their audience and were only accessible to the few in their immediate circle. They've been compared to the mighty Minutemen for obvious reasons and were contemporaries of so many important east coast bands that you could almost say their influence is better known than the band itself. Underground punk and hardcore had just survived a very ugly period in the mid-1980's with many key and influential bands trying to break on college radio or just alienating their audiences with extremely terrible albums with equally lousy production. While it was down for the count, it certainly wasn't out. Instead of forging on into the abyss, 1.6 Band, Rorschach, Born Against, Nausea, Citizens Arrest, Go! and SFA (who technically started in 1984, but who's really checking!) to name a few, started to challenge listeners in new and exciting ways without deviating too far from familiarity. This was good stuff on record and even more powerful live if you were lucky enough to catch any of these acts in their heyday.
I saw a few of these bands more than once, so fast forward to 2009:
When attempting to book this show, I had no idea the band wasn't full-time gig or even a weekend gig, basically, it's a once a year gig! I started speaking with Mike Yanicelli late in 2009 and while he never said the band was still somewhat scattered throughout the country, he didn't make it seem like it would be an impossibility to book them either. We finally set the date of the show for June 26, 2010 and for me, this seemed like ages away. Rebel Sound has so much rent past due that I now understand how Hilly Kristal felt except that he had 30 years to run into so many landlord/past-due rent issue and I've managed to get there in less than 12 months. This, however, is another story.
Mike kept in touch and even sent a long some of their 1991-1993 Broke Up CD, the Pimpin' Ain't Easy 7" and their new The Checkered Past of Kings Present 7" to sell in the shop. I'd still confirm with him just in case because after booking over 300 bands in a year's time, there have been bands who have either not shown up or claimed to have not known about the show. It happens. I didn't have a bad feeling about 1.6 Band not showing, basically I still was in a state of disbelief. Oh and by the way, the reunion or new (whatever it's being called) 7" is good! This band is back even for limited amounts of shows per year and they're having fun too! A grand total of two shows were scheduled for 2010 and Pittsfield was one of them! Their first show ever was in Schenectady NY so it's kind of fitting that their first show back outside of NYC was in western Massachusetts as it's relatively the same region.
I booked solid support act months in advance and by the time the show rolled around none of the support bands originally booked were even on the bill any longer! Makes booking shows so unfun, it's not even funny. The only band still on board by the show was Substratus, who there was very little information about floating around on the internet. When I did find their page, I wasn't even sure they were a real band either. Mike swore they were and it turns out all of the guys in both 1.6 Band and Substratus were old friends from way back in the day so I figured they'd be here. At the very last minute for a show promoted since January or February of this year, Outdates and Whirl stepped in and said they'd definitely play. The show that had been cursed was suddenly not cursed!
After all the bands arrived, I breathed a deserved sigh of relief. Attendance was surprisingly (but typical for this town) light considering the amount of talent assembled for this momentous occasion. This was one of the only two 1.6 Band live shows scheduled for 2010 and it was here, in this small western Massachusetts city! I've seen many bands filled with teenagers in my lifetime, the most memorable being Old Skull, but what they lacked in musical ability was completely shamed by the likes of Whirl! This western Massachusetts band based in Amherst completely shocked everyone (including the headliners) with their set. I was in the room for some of their set and when I walked away to check on the front of the store, it sounded as if this music was being played by guys who put out their first records on SST back in the last 1980s. This was excellent stuff and it was so great that they agreed to play this show 5 days earlier! I have yet to listen to their CD, but can't wait.
The Outdates were also another obvious choice that had eluded me and I'm glad they were suggested and agreed. This three-piece is a lot of fun and their songs are filled with a desperate sheer energy that reminds me of the few bright spots that did appear in the dark days of punk rock. They played many songs, the songs were short but they weren't bursts of energy in a power violence or thrash way, it's hard to explain but there was a lot of instrumentation going in what was heard. In a throwback to a bygone era, their cassette is available from the band here.
Both Substratus and 1.6 Band were all really nice people and there was nothing about either band that was disappointing musically or personality-wise. Substratus brought a cool hardcore punk element to the show which was more punk than anything else. It was part street punk, part hardcore and together it was a perfect match. These NYC punk vets played their debut live show here, in Pittsfield and sounded so tight it was pretty impressive. The bass player had only been in the band 3 months but you'd never know it. The natural chemistry was there because they'd all known each other for years. It's okay about the mic stand, really, don't worry about it.
There was a tremendous amount of excitement for this show and the anticipation was literally felt across the northeast as people drove upwards of 2 hours and change from Boston for this event and it's one of those things where you kind of weren't really sure if it was going to happen. Well, it did and 1.6 Band were better than I had hoped they'd be! I think everyone who was here will tell the same story, the band sounded incredibly tight and it was almost as if you dropped a needle on a record because you'd ever know they were only playing 2 shows on the Checkered Past Tour 2010, Pittsfield MA and NYC! I will be the first to admit, I never saw 1.6 Band when they were truly an active band when I was living in the city. I'm not really sure, but I can safely say that I'm kind of glad I didn't. Seeing them here on this date was definitely worth the unintentional wait. Sure, the guys are older, have kids, have other lives, hell, Kevin lives in Austin TX, but so am I and you know what? Being able to reminisce about the fire trap that once was ABC-No-Rio (specifically the Jawbreaker show I caught and the Offspring show I missed) with Mike and about some our old friends from back then and saying to each other "hey, you look kind of familiar, didn't you go to ABC and CB's alot?" was pretty cool I must admit.
1.6 Band setlist June 26, 2010
Awful Jerk
Pets
Sticks to the Skin
Burning Coal
These Giants
Pushing Shit into My Ass
Your Restaurant
Truth Serum
Cancer in My Backyard
Lollipop
Skin Flap
Mary Had A Little Leg
Bullet
Back in Church
Thanks guys, it was awesome!
Oh and a side note, fans of the Howard Stern Show will be interested to know that some of the 1.6 Band guys played on Sal Governale's infamous rap song that has been the bone of contention for Sal for quite some time. What a funny fact. Almost all of the 1.6 Band and Substratus guys will give any Seinfeld trivia geek a run for their money...yada yada yada.
