ALEXSUCKS… But not Really.

Ethan McConnell  

Local Music Director 

Park the car underneath the bridge off east sixth. Walk through the streets of Austin as the cold air runs through my poorly knitted sweater. As I reach the end of the trail where do I end up, none other than Brushy St. Commons hosting the worst garage-punk band you could imagine (I’m jokin, I’m jokin).  This was one of the shorter concerts that I’ve been to in comparison, being there was one opener, but it still left a huge impression in terms of intense energy when there. The Los Angeles band began their second headlining tour, making a pit stop in Austin along with a supporting act from Dogma Society.  

Dogma Society 

I’m a little mad that I missed the first little half of their set. Walking up to the venue a few minutes past when music started and I could already hear the booming noise trying to escape outside the venue walls. Dogma Society didn’t seem like your average pop-punk band upon my first experience of them. They had elements meshed with hip-hop and pop-punk and it gave a well-rounded discography that reminded me weirdly enough of the artist Eyedress but if you took the fuzz pedal and turned it up to the max. The five-piece band provided a lot of energy and love to the crowd especially the bassist, kicking his feet in the air and at some point, going into the audience to join the fans. You had fans moving when hearing their hit songs, “SEE IT ALL” and “Take My Hand”. The sound was grunge adjacent and was definitely something to get down to. This was the Salt Lake City band’s first tour and what better way to do it that with an already established band like alexsucks. They were genuine and weren’t letting the fame have them forget where they came from. Most notable part of their set was the end when the lead singer brought out his grandmother onto the stage giving his gratitude to his #1 fan. 

alexsucks  

While waiting for the main event to start, I took the time to talk to people in the crowd as the venue was filling up. As the lights began to dim down signaling the start of the bands set, you start to hear this loud droning noise, like an emergency intercom was about to begin. One by one, each member of the band make their way to their instruments as roars from the audience grow louder and louder. As the droning comes to a stop, the band erupts with the track “Flinch” to begin the show. With this tour they played tracks from their most recent project, Autopilot, while also bringing some old classics like “Talk to You” and “6 Pack and Cigarettes”. Hearing them live, their sound sounded more punchy and raw as you could hear the buzzing from amps and felt the warmth generated in the room as fans moved shoulder to shoulder throughout the night. I know the band started as an established garage-punk band, but I feel as if with this most recent project, the sound has become more refined to a pop-punk feel, fusing other elements with the heavy use of the drum sample machine. There were also moments where I saw the bassists and guitarist trade off on holding the melody at certain times, which I would’ve never noticed just from listening to the tracks on their own. The tone from the band was really fuzzy, giving it a nostalgic feeling. Shout out to the lead vocalist Alex too for taking time out of his smoke break to talk to me before I headed inside (this is why I was late to the opening bands set). 

Closing Remarks 

Like I said before, this concert was fairly short, but am I complaining… absolutely not. Throughout the night I was able to experience a veteran and emerging artist in the punk genre. Being able to see the opening band still stay true to themself, bringing out family and talking to the lead vocalist of alexsucks outside the venue made it feel more like a local show rather than some big scale concert. The fame is not getting to these guys and they aren’t forgetting where they came from clearly. Both bands are paving their own way in the scene whether it be steady or rapid. In case you missed out on this concert, I would highly recommend listening to the Autopilot album to capture that nostalgic feel, it’s fresh, resonant, and the kind of record that’ll leave you hitting replay before the last track even fades.