(Ed. - I am SO SO SO SO SO SO excited to begin bringing you coverage today of PIZZA FEST VI, Seattle's premier punk pizza party, which took place August 6-8. We start off now with Day One at the newly-relocated and reopened Funhouse, and the fabulous AJ Dent is onboard for Popthomology with her pithy review and spectacular photos so I could take some videos and take it (relatively) easy that night! Thank you, AJ -- you rule! Enjoy!)
Pizza Riot
Bod
I got to see Donzis for the first time that night, and it felt fitting.
This is classic spread-legged rock: growls and gnarling guitar solos,
crescendos fast as freeways, drums that go off like a rocket’s ejection seat.
And man, they make it look so easy. Great showmanship through every song, as
well as the t-shirt giveaway they did mid-set.
Donzis
Speaking of showmanship, Full Toilet was overflowing with it as usual. Hard to
describe these guys without shaking your shoulders and just yelling, “Go see
them!” They’re obsessed with guns, hate themselves and one another, and play
with primal evil. Most of their songs are diarrhea-fast and about thirteen
seconds long. I still have Silly String on my shoe from when they sprayed it
into the crowd like a manic gun. (The guy in front of me in the crowd reached
up at one point to spray it again, and it hit his lady friend right in the eye.
I totally didn’t accidentally laugh at all or anything, I swear.) If there’s a
band out there that screams the word “fuck” more than Don Sheets does while on
stage, don’t let them know. The perma-aneurysm going on within him may become
self-aware, assume human form, and kill someone nearby. (Ed. - Video warning: language, butt. It's tempting, REAL DAMN TEMPTING, to play this at work, but maybe only after the boss skips off to play golf.)
Full Toilet
There are a ton of puns I could
drop surrounding the name Heaters, but I’m going to pretend to be mature for a
minute instead because these guys are gooood. Lofi surf jams with the backbone
of their Michigan homebase. Verby vocals riding rippling garage rock with a
whole lotta hair-shaking going on. Pick up Solstice for
summer night drives and sharing spliffs on a rooftop. (Ed. - Always good to see an appearance by Vent Reznor. Ah ha ha ha.)
Heaters
The final act of the night
was the inimitable CHILDBIRTH. I personally listen to “I Only Fucked
You As A Joke” and “How Do Girls
Even Do It?”
whenever I’m pissed because I’m a well-adjusted adult great at handling my
emotions. The trio complimented the theme of irreverent punk worthy of both
shoulder-shoves and knee-slaps. The mosh pit in front of the stage was a sight
for sore eyes. I can’t overstate how much I loved that eruption.
CHILDBIRTH
Pizza Fest is a place made for such magical things: sweat, shouts, manic-depressive music, middle fingers, and of course, the greatest grub to ever grace the earth. The first night’s bill could not have been better for all of the above. Thanks to all who put it together, played, and partied. See you back in the slime next year!
(Ed. - See you there next year, AJ, and see YOU back here for more coverage of PIZZA FEST VI Day Two and Day Three!!!)
© Copyright 2008- Marianne Spellman