We spent some time with Chicago punk veterans The Lawrence Arms at Groezrock. Other than telling us stories about their toilet, needle and bee related tour incidents, Brendan Kelly also provided us with an acoustic rendition of ‘The YMCA Down The Street From The Clinic’, taken from their most recent ‘Metropole’ LP.

A cold and dreary Thursday doesn’t seem like a great night to go to a show, but the Lawrence Arms and Co.’s recent outing made it completely worthwhile for Philadelphia punks to come out of hibernation. Philly’s South St., a popular tourist trap and home of the Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), was abundant with locals and those travelling from various places for what was The Larries’ first Philly show since 2010. Many people (and band members) could be found pregaming at South St. bars like Tattooed Mom and building up a lot of excitement for what was to come.

And because it was so ridiculously cold, Colorado sweethearts, Elway were given the huge responsibility of getting everyone warmed up and ready to go for the rest of the night. I’ve always found Elway to have a sound very reminiscent of The Lawrence Arms which makes them a great fit for this tour. What followed did not disappoint. The set itself was mostly old favorites from their first record, ‘Delusions’, flanked with material from last year’s ‘Leavetaking’. Sprinkled between songs were drunken (and quite hilarious) musings and quips from frontman Tim Browne. Most prominently, Heaven Hill Whiskey was mentioned almost as much as they mention Colorado in their songs. I’m not sure if this is some sort of endorsement they have going (if not, they should get one) or if this was responsible for the entertaining banter throughout the set. Regardless, the sparse crowd at the beginning gradually began to grow and by the end of their set, there were already a good number of people dancing and singing along and ready to keep that up the rest of the night.

Up next was Illinois pop punk band the Copyrights, who have given Mikey Erg yet another addition to his seemingly endless resume of bands, by bringing him along to drum for this tour. While I’m not too completely familiar with the Copyrights’ back catalog, I recognized a lot of songs from ‘North Sentinel Island’, their last full length record. They were far less talkative between songs, but they were met with energetic reception from the crowd and gave what was a fun and danceable set. It was a treat for old fans and those new and less familiar with their material.

After a quick set change, the house lights dimmed and the Indiana Jones theme song blared as the Lawrence Arms took the stage. Since this tour was in support of their new release ‘Metropole’, it came as no surprise that a majority of the set’s songs were from this record. The new material definitely translates well live, and even though it’s only been out for a few months, a good chunk of the crowd already knew every word by heart and met every new song with the same enthusiasm as many of old favorites and standbys like ‘Intransit’ and ‘Brick Wall Views’. Scattered between songs was the classic banter the Larries (namely Brendan Kelly) are known for. Plenty of dick jokes, self deprecation, and the like. BK also made note that this particular crowd was the most well behaved Philly crowd he’s ever seen (especially compared to a past gig where he mentioned an old timey style saloon brawl broke out).

Despite being less intense than in the past, the crowd still had a great energy and it’s definitely apparent that the Lawrence Arms’ presence has been sorely missed in Philly. All of the arm in arm sing-a-long’s definitely felt a long time coming, and before anyone knew it, they were closing the set with ‘Like A Record Player’. Of course the crowd always wants more, and of course there was an inevitable and predictable return to the stage to do a round of encore songs. But, mustering up what little remnants of voice I had left to shout along with, ‘100 Resolutions’ and ‘Are You There Margaret, It’s Me God?’ was the perfect way to cap off the night.

All in all, it was a great night, full of great music, and a fun and friendly, enthusiastic crowd. The supporting bands were a perfect choice and hopefully have turned on a lot of new fans to their music on this tour. It was great to finally see the Lawrence Arms again. Don’t make us wait so long for the next one, guys.

NICOLE CARTER

The Lawrence Arms vocalist and bassist Brendan Kelly has teamed up with Sam Russo to release a split EP. ‘Split The Tip’ will be released via Red Scare Records on the 20th May 2014.

The split follows Kelly’s 2012 record, ‘I’d Rather Die Than Live Forever’, and Sam Russo’s debut ‘Storm’.

The record will feature two tracks by each artist, and is available for pre-order now.

TRACKLISTING:
01 Sam Russo – Small Town Shoes
02 Sam Russo – Crayfish Tales
03 Brendan Kelly – Fangelico Houston
04 Brendan Kelly – Pigs

Check it out below and check out our review here.

The song is taken from the band’s new album, ‘Metropole’, which is out January 18th, and you can watch it using the player in this article.

http://www.facebook.com/thelawrencearms

News of the sixth Lawrence Arms album, the first in 8 years, has surfaced. An interesting write up and interview has appeared as a result online at Vice. Have a listen to advance track ‘You Are Here’ now before the album comes out on January 18th via Epitaph.

https://www.facebook.com/thelawrencearms

Sundowner, the acoustic side project of The Lawrence Arms’ Chris McCaughan (‘side project’ by name, no longer by nature), are to release a new album, ‘Neon Fiction’, on Fat Wreck Chords on September 3rd.

Have a sneaky peak of how it will shape up by listening to advance track ‘Life In The Embers’ now on Spin.

http://www.facebook.com/sundownermusic

Check out the full list of additions below, and then watch our documentary from last year’s Fest using the player further down the article!

The Lawrence Arms, Polar Bear Club, Smoke or Fire, The Sidekicks, Ramming Speed, The World Is A Beautiful Place to Die & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Max Levine Ensemble, Creepoid, Dads, Real Friends, Annabel, The Catalyst, Sonic Avenues, Get Dead, Saddest Landscape, Prawn, Fucking Invincible, Burnt Books,Pity Sex, Soul Control, UNFUN, Gates, Calvinball, My Man, Safety, Spoonboy, Xerxes, The Detectors, Caravels, Empire! Empire!, My Fictions, Awkward Age, Andrew Cream, Karbomb, No Sir, Creative Adult, Fighting Fiction, The Sheds & Big Dick!

Already playing:

Bouncing Souls, Knapsack (reunion), The Draft (reunion), Dillinger Four, Samiam, Night Marchers, Braid, Boy Sets Fire, Obits, Paint It Black, F.Y.P, Big D and the Kids Table, White Lung, Toys That Kill, Ceremony, Mustard Plug, The Menzingers, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Off With Their Heads, The Flatliners, Mean Jeans, Tenement, Masked Intruder, Torche, Code Orange Kids, Teenage Bottlerocket, Cobra Skulls, Retox, I am the Avalanche, A Wilhelm Scream, Lemuria, No Trigger, Iron Chic, The Copyrights, Bridge and Tunnel, The Swellers and many more.

PAUL: “Mike Park [founder of Asian Man Records] once described you guys as ‘aggressive punk with gritty vocals and driving melodies’. How would you describe the Lawrence Arms sound?

BRENDAN: “We had a shirt once that said ‘Midwestern beer belly despair rock’. I think that sums it up pretty good.”

PAUL: “How did you end up with the name Lawrence Arms?”

BRENDAN: “The Lawrence Arms is the name of a building on Lawrence Avenue that we used to live in. We really never thought of calling the band anything else.”

PAUL: “Which bands really influence your sound?”

BRENDAN: “I dunno, that’s a tough one, the bands that we all really enjoy right now don’t really sound like us at all, lots of people compare us to old Bay Area bands I guess……”

PAUL: “You’ve just made the move from Asian Man to Fat Wreck Chords. What was the thinking behind the move?”

BRENDAN: “Um……we thought ‘wow, Fat is a great label, it would be an honor to work with them’. We are still very close with Mike from Asian Man and he is behind our move. I think everyone is happy.”

PAUL: “Punk really seems to be in the mainstream at the moment, do you think that is a good or a bad thing?”

BRENDAN: “It’s really no different than it ever was. In the 70’s all the punk bands were on majors and on the front of all the papers. In the 80’s mohawks and shit were everywhere. Watch any cheezy 80’s movie, there’s always at least one big mohawked punker. The 90’s was all Offspring, Nirvana, Rancid and Green Day. I dont really see much of a difference, except for that the punk that is in the mainstream right now is remarkably unthreatening. I hardly think that New Found Glory would piss off any parents…….but who cares, the music is cool and it’s good to see bands able to support themselves. I guess I just don’t really care one way or the other, really.”

PAUL: “Have the events of September 11 influenced the Lawrence Arms style of songwriting at all?”

BRENDAN: “We have only written one song since then and it’s the last song on our new record. That was written on the 12th. Even so, I don’t think it’s any different than the rest of the record. Honestly, I don’t think the events of the 11th will have much of an effect on our songwriting.”

PAUL: “What are your plans for 2002? Any plans to visit the UK or Europe?”

BRENDAN: “Nothing is planned but we would love to come back.”

PAUL: “It’s not long until your debut on Fat Wreck is released. How would you describe the recording process, are you happy with the finished product and what would be a success for it?”

BRENDAN: “Well, its already a success in my eyes, because it’s my favorite album that i’ve ever been a part of. We went in and just did what we always do, and I think for some reason it just turned out really great. Yup….”

PAUL: “What is your new boss Fat Mike really like [be honest!] and what bands on the label would you really like to tour with?”

BRENDAN: “He’s a really nice guy on the phone. I’ve never hung out with him in person. He lives about 1500 miles from me but he’s really smart and nice and supportive. Any band on Fat would be great to tour with, but Propaghandi is my fav on the label.”

PAUL: “You’ve got a really rad song on the ‘Plea For Peace’ cd [‘Quincentuple Your Money’]. How did you end up on the CD, and why is it so important to help out a charity like the National Hopeline Network?”

BRENDAN: “Mike Park, who runs Asian Man helped put that comp together and took a song off our split with The Chinkees and put it on there. We are down to help any charities that are into doing good, and keeping kids from killing themselves is damn good.

PAUL: “What was the most memorable gig you’ve ever played and why?”

BRENDAN: “Woah…….that’s lots of shows to go through, a good one was in Switzerland where we played with a band full of transvestites and then the club made us play for two hours and by the end of the first hour everyone was gone…they hated us.”

PAUL: “Last but not least, what is the best piece of advice that you have ever been given?”

BRENDAN: “I’ve gotten lots of shitty advice, and I’ve disregarded it all. Some reviewer once told us we should quit playing music…..i guess that’s pretty good, eh?”

The new Lawrence Arms CD will be available to buy in February 2002. If you’ve not got their first two records yet, visit Asian Man Records and make a purchase. You know it makes sense…