It List: Tuesday

The Max Levine Ensemble/Mass Sterilization/Occult Detective Club (605 Texas St. in Denton): This all-punk lineup of bands includes touring act The Max Levine Ensemble, who were somewhat famously dissed by Ben Weasel on his radio show last year, and that makes yet another instance where the only thing notable about Ben Weasel is that he made fun of some band. Pop punk vocals really grate on me so The Max Levine Ensemble isn't really my thing, but I find it hilarious that Ben Weasel makes fun of anyone, considering the quality of his own work in both Screeching Weasel and The Riverdales, two bands that ruined many a high school afternoon when I got mixed up with the "wrong crowd." In the past, Weasel's rants have caused me to feel sympathy for acts that I generally despise, specifically his memorable slam on Cap'n Jazz. And I hated that band. Weasel's point is basically that if you like The Max Levine Ensemble, and you also like his music, what has he been doing wrong all these years? What has he been doing wrong, indeed.

The other two acts are much more along the lines of punk I actually do listen to, and Occult Detective Club is unabashedly poppy without really delving into the overly cutesy pop-punk vocal stylistic territory, or at least flirts with it in a way that isn't so painful. Mass Sterilization is a brand new act that just played their first show this past Sunday, and though I was initially told that the band was supposed to be slow, sludgy, and messy or similar to Flipper, it turns out that the group is just as likely to attack with hardcore speed and ferocity. The group manages both disciplines quite well, and includes members of Koji Kondo, Trifle Tower, and Teenage Cool Kids.

Punk Bunny/Darktown Strutters/Black Barbie (Rainbow Lounge located at 651 S Jennings Ave in Fort Worth): Shockingly vulgar and comically sexual dance-punk act Punk Bunny returns once again to North Texas, though this time it will be at The Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth; unfortunate site of an awful police brutality controversy this past summer*, but a fantastic place for this show. No matter what you might think of Punk Bunny's music or ridiculous antics onstage, they achieve two of the most important objectives for any artist in my opinion:

1. Be entertaining, by any means necessary.
2. Be completely unforgettable, also by any means necessary.

This is a solid lineup and a show that will certainly be worth your time.




*The Fort Worth Police Department's investigation has concluded and was reported on today as it turns out. Video here.


Disqo Disco (Fallout Lounge)