Last night was another installment of Punk Rock Mondays
featuring Manx and Coma Serfs. The show took place in Mcmenamins Lola’s Room which
is a rad, tucked away space known as “the oasis below the crystal”. The wood
floors still have the iconic crystal ballroom bounce when you stomp your feet; and
my feet weren’t stopping.
Manx opened the show and killed it at usual. Currently signed
with Barry Goldstein Records, Manx is a garage, pop rock trio and is hands down
one of my favorite Portland bands. Fronted by bass player John Barnaby, the
trio performs songs consisting of danceable, catchy riffs and sings about getting
weird. During last night’s show, Barnaby explored the space on stage while
whipping the neck of his Peavey bass around and wearing his Canadian tux
proudly.
On the last song Barnaby jumped off stage and rocked out
amongst the crowd. He then turned his back to me and said, “Okay, you ready?” I
wasn’t fully prepared but agreed while he threw the bass over his head which
landed directly into my arms, thus ending the song. The big, curly-haired, denim
diamond known as John Barnaby turned around and said back to me, “you passed
the test.”
Coma Serfs were up next. I was hesitant at first because I
thought their music was too psychedelic for a punk show but as the show progressed
and as I was grabbed and thrown towards the front of the stage, I felt the punk course
through my veins. Their sound consists of a groovy combination of wah, heavy
distortion and reverb and their style has a large emphasis on surf. Their bass
player Wolfgang was the star last night. This tall skinny lad with huge mutton
chops held it down with the heavy bass lines; especially towards the end of
their set when the songs started to get rowdy.
Overall the show was probably the best way to start my week.
I am so grateful to whoever started this new Mcmenamins tradition. Punk Rock
Mondays are free and all ages and feature two Portland punk rock bands every
Monday night.
Manx http://manxportland.bandcamp.com/
Coma Serfs http://comaserfs.bandcamp.com/
Barry Goldstein Records http://barrygoldsteinrecords.bandcamp.com/
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