Floofy, Red-Haired Kid Goes to a House Show by Sunny

On the 26th I was scrolling through my feed on Instagram, bored and misanthropic after a week or so of being holed up in my apartment. I came across Matt’s story saying he was doing a show at a punk house in east Atlanta. Of course, I immediately put up a story myself trying to see if anyone would go with me, since I’m generally too shy and anxious to go alone, but then I said "Fuck it." Matt Pless is rarely booked here and I’m not gonna miss the chance.

It was a cold night that I enjoyed but wasn’t ready for, the wind was especially bad on my way to the Lenox Marta station and blew my already fluffy hair everywhere. When I finally arrived at the house it was already dark, and it seemed I was the first one there. I knocked on the door, noticing the LGBT equality sticker on it, and a kind person by the name of Chex opened the door. They showed me round the house and said the show would probably be in the backyard around a campfire. I though to myself, FUCK YEAH, how folk-punk is that? We then chilled in the living room watching Weezer’s Buddy Holly video play on the TV.

Then a knock came at the door and Matt Pless, Kelso Cherry (one of the houses residents), followed by her boyfriend Matt (or Matt squared as I joked). From that point on more and more people piled in. Here Be Monsters (who’s name I didn’t catch) as well as Dylan (Just Pals) came in, with their friends including Xander “Crash” McKamey (who performs under Car Crash Kid) and their boyfriend who’s name I forget, plus many others. A very friendly atmosphere followed, as it seems everyone was well acquainted with each other. Now I was the obvious outlier since I only know these people through social media or through mutual friends in the scene, but no one was acting as a gatekeeper or being hostile towards me. It was a very calm, pleasant atmosphere

By now Nirvana came on the TV, and after much joking about Kurt’s rig and Krist’s low hanging bass, it was time to go outside and start the fire and as the show. After burning a chair, a Christmas tree, and having its brethren swear vengeance against us, Just Pals began her set. It was very cold, so the temperature effected the tuning, but is it really punk if its in tune? She played banjo and sang, it immediately reminded me of the music tapes song “Takeshi and Elijah,” but that was just me. Towards the end of her set she needed someone to hold the lyrics to a song, so Matt Pless held it and became “the coolest music stand ever." It was very powerful and personal to hear her play through her anxiety, I suggest everyone check her out on Bandcamp! 

After her set, Kelso cherry went on to do hers. It was half guitar songs and mandolin songs, and she played them with passion and a voice slightly reminiscent of Dolores O’Riordan from the Cranberries. She played a song about a recently deceased friend that their community knew well, and you could tell the effect it had on those that knew her. She went on to play “Poison” by Stick n’ Poke, to which a couple of us wrote a song about. The entire show had a very intimate feeling brought on by both the environment and lyrical content.

After Kelso came Matt Pless, and true to his reputation of being the Bod Dylan of folk punk, he pulled out a box of different key harmonicas and slid the right key into his harmonica holder and began the first song of his set. All of his songs had humor, emotion, politics, or a combination of the three. Between each of them, he gave off a tired yet wired vibe. He remarked about how his ADD made him play faster, and how the Nashville folks didn’t like that. He ended the set with the incredibly popular Ashtray, but after we gave a half assed yell of “encore!’ He played "When the Frayed Wind Blows." I was very excited to hear this one, as it was a personal favorite of mine. I was blown away, as he played it with such emotions that his voice cracked, and it chilled me to hear the pain in his voice.

At this point a break ensued as Here Be Monsters came out. One of his friends asked him to play the Final Fantasy Seven theme, but they had trouble figuring out a certain chord. He began the set with the political satire song “Thomas Jefferson Was a Racist” as he “wanted to get it out of the way since everyone wanted to hear it.” His performance was akin to Emperor X minus the new age christian vibe (thank God). Lots of melodic finger picking, comical lines on the folk punk scene, and amazing vocals. At one point he sang “I’m just here for the show and then I’ll be gone” which hit me since that described my shy awkward attitude at most house shows. After his set everyone returned inside to check out merch and head home, Matt Pless let me have a patch for free since I only had a twenty on me, saying “Venmo me sometime.” After that, true to the line by Here Be Monsters, I was gone.

All in all the show was a very intimate event, about twenty or thirty people huddled around a campfire listening to people share very personal songs, and to have fun and tell jokes along the way. As a somewhat outsider, I felt very comfortable in the environment. Everyone was very kind and understanding to one another, as is indicative of the folk punk scene. My apologies if I was too shy or awkward at the show! If I misgendered/misnamed anyone or said something you want removed, feel free to hit me up on Instagram @Smelly_Sunny and I’ll ratify it ASAP!