There’s something pretty special going on at Spiral Scratch Records this Saturday, June 21st. The independent record shop is hosting an afternoon showcase for our inaugural Herd Fest this weeks, so you might want to step outside your normal Allentown routine and check this bill out. Headlining the afternoon showcase is Bill Nehill and The Poison Arrows along with White Whale, Dream Journal and Fleshy Mounds. While Nehill and crew have a very early 90s singer-song-writer vibe (feels kind of like Counting Crows or the Wallflowers with some Rust Belt grind) the other three bands are much more high-energy, creating a wonderfully balanced and eclectic experience for concert-goers.
Dream Journal is a punk, hard-core band with intelligent lyrics and a velocity to their tunes that makes it nearly impossible to stand still, while Fleshy Mounds kick up the volume and the violence, you can’t really decide if you wanna punch someone, or dance with them listening to their tunes but whatever you’re doing you’re doing it on overdrive. You can grab their new cassette, You’re Welcome, here. It was released on local label More Power Tapes.
White Whale’s a bit different. They’re still punk rock but you get an early-90s grunge feel that is absent from the other bands in the showcase, think Four Star Mary meets Barried Alive, or maybe don’t think at all, just let yourself get lost in the music like the bands themselves do. Word is the band is sticking to all new material, so maybe start here if you want to get up to speed.
In a lot of showcases, Dream Journal, Fleshy Mounds or White Whale might be the wild card but this time it’s The Poison Arrows’ calm, melancholic, and largely narrative melodies that stand out from the crowd. It makes for a balanced and accommodating vibe, the audience can mosh out to Dream Journal, Fleshy Mounds and White Whale then buy their girlfriends a beer (and a record while you are there), and watch The Arrows preforming together for the first time in four years.
The Spiral Scratch Records showcase begins at $5pm. Bring $5 to cover the bands, or if you are feeling adventurous, grab a $20 pre-sale bracelet while you still can. You can bounce around every showcase over the weekend and save those annoying covers.