Darkbuster, Hudson Falcons, The Skels and Meat Depressed, July 28, 2001, The Middle East Club, Cambridge, MA
| The Rumble curse strikes again. Goddammed Boston and their fucking curses. First the Bambino, then the Phoenix. Thanks to the curse this might have been the final show for our beloved Darkbuster. I say might be because the whole show people, including Lenny the singer of Darkbuster, were talking about how the next day they were starting the Darkbuster tribute band, Nutbuster. Who knows? |  |
So, since this was the last show for Darkbuster my friend Matt and I knew we had to show up early or risk getting shut out at the door. Neither of us had advance tickets since this was just supposed to be a CD release for a Darkbuster and Tommy & the Terrors. We had some dinner and our favorite pub and got inside at the crazy early hour of 6:30.
 | Being older and smarter often has its price. Matt and I arrived six hours before Darkbuster would play. I'm not the best drinker these days so I tried to have some water and maybe a soda between each draft beer. Matt paced himself, but he didn't bother with water. We sat through every band on the bill. It was totally worth it. Meat Depressed did some awesome 77 Ramones style punk. |
Hudson Falcon is also a great band. I saw them play the Prov. Payback this year and was impressed. These guys are a bit older but they play great garage style punk rock. Tommy & the Terrors also did a pretty good set as I remember.
By the time Darkbuster got to the stage the Middle East was pretty packed. People were drinking and having a great time in general. Darkbuster, in case you didn't know, are/ were one of those bands where every song is a sing along, and most of them are about drinking.
| They did all the favorites like, "Cheap Wine and Cigarettes," "Pub," "This Bud's for You," "Miller's Made the American Way," and tons of others. I remember hearing, "Royal Shaft," "Lillith Fair," and a Bob Segar song too. Lenny and the guys tried to put a good spin on things, |  |
Of course from the second they got on stage until they were dragged off there were half full cups of beer flying at them and people jumping up on stage to sing. Security tried to stop people from getting up on stage, but a few did, and Darkbuster's friends also had some access.
In fact the last I saw my friend Matt he was up on stage swaying and singing along with the songs. He is friends with the Darkbuster boys from way back so he wriggled up there and dodged beers for a while. I took some photos, hung out in the pit area for a while, and watched the end from the back because I kept getting pelted with beer no matter where I seemed to go.
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It was a great show. Every time I see Darkbuster I leave with a huge smile singing, "they're pumping my stomach/ the room's spinning around/ but I'll suck another one down/ I'll suck another one down."
I hate to think that this will be the last time I get to hear Lenny's crackled Masshole accent singing drinking songs, but who knows. |
