GR Comic-Con party at the Ruby Room

Saturday night's show at the Ruby Room came off to a rocky start when our 10 p.m. go time was derailed by a local comedy show. I'm not going to get into details, but it sucked for the bands to go on late due to comics that (1) were supposed to perform in the club's other room and (2) just weren't that funny.


Luckily, The Binges were there to jump start the program with their irony-free, perfectly executed, kick-ass rock 'n' roll. I'm glad we've been able to feature them in our pages and now onstage before they become the rock gods that they are destined to be. If you were there, you know what I mean. Mayuko and Tsuzumi "rocked the fuck out" on guitar and bass, the new drummer filled a tough spot in a good way, and the singer (the only one I haven't met yet) is still an amazing frontman who delivers the goods.


Between sets, Chris from Free The Robots was there to play some killer punk, post punk, reggae, and more. He's an electronic musician with a huge following, so we were honored to have him sit back on the wheels of steel. Let's see: Fugazi, Wire, Sister Nancy, Jimi... Great taste, less filler.


Next up was Upsilon Acrux. (No, that isn't Kiyoshi on the right.) In retrospect, it was unfair to have them play this particular gig since their brand of proggy instrumental post jazz is pretty challenging, not to mention goddamn loud, and not right for a party. Yes, they played the role of the hallraker, but they are good guys whose music you should check out.


Eric can now add "merch dude" to his resume of publisher, store owner, art curator, shirt designer, filmmaker, blogger, photographer, etc.


Flattbush went on at 1:00 a.m., and gave it their all. The new guitarist is a lefty, but can circle head-bang in either direction, and fit in well with the extra hard political thrash played by the Bellflower band. With political quotes leading to double kickdrum blast beats, ripping guitars, and anti-imperial lyrics in Tagalog (sung from under a rice picker hat), you know aren't fucking around. Mixed into the political dialogue were compliments to GR, which I really appreciated. Also, during the set, one shirtless guy got thrown out for fighting in the pit and, luckily, it wasn't Scrappers.


Thanks to the bands for supporting GR in a big way, the Ruby Room for hosting us, Andy for getting us in there, and our friends who left the comfort zone of downtown during the Comic-Con to make it an awesome night. No thanks to hack comedians who rely on racist, sexist, and homophobic humor--Eric was taping, and might post my statement on that somewhere--but I'm over it and looking forward to another show next year (if not sooner).