I never saw Ninety Pound Wuss back in the day. In the late ‘90s it seemed that they were coming to town all the time, and then suddenly they were gone, and I had missed them. Fast forward 25 years to September 20 at 924 Gilman Street. In some ways the future is better than the past as I was finally going to see them. I knew several people in the crowd, and in the casual chats we had in between bands they all echoed this sentiment.
Let’s rewind to the beginning of the night. I noticed there was a new cool mural at the back of the stage, but otherwise the cavernous space looked the same as he last time I was here in February (Revisit the Valentine’s Gay show). Two kids checked me in at the door, and kids were bouncing around waiting for the show to start and I thought, I should really come here more often. It’s such a great scene because it’s for everyone who wants it.
First up was the trio Laguna Screech, who self describe as “Bay Area psych/alt punk band”. This chimera of genres was fairly accurate. It was punk but…not punk. It was melodic with great riffs, and one song towards the end — I think it was “Metal Flower” — had some unexpected jangly guitar sound. The bass line was solid, and the drumming was creative. There was good use of the crash cymbal, and I couldn’t help but think what the beats would sound like on a bigger drum kit. Overall their music had a satisfying complex texture for a trio.
Next up was Too Bad Eugene from Santa Cruz. They had a ’90s sound that was well honed, no surprise since they started in 1998. From what I could hear, their songs seemed to focus on heartbreak and disappointment, and they had great harmonies with three of the four members singing. The drummer was a heavy hitter with lots of snare, and the pal I came with to the show really liked that sound. The two guitarists both had very small guitars. I am no expert on guitars but I had never seen these models before and they had a rich sound for their size. The aforementioned trio of kids began circling a bit and some older, much larger teens joined them. In the spirit of Gilman Street they did so in a friendly, older sibling way. They were kicking and flailing wildly but when they got close to the smaller kids they would rein it in and give them friendly shoves. My pal and I kept looking at each other and smiling. We love this. We love seeing kids busting out but being cool about it. No bullies.
When this was set ending, a girl of about 17 came up to my pal and I and started talking to us. She said she had never been at a show like this and she was having the best time, it was so fun! I said, it’s just going to get better because I knew Middle Aged Queers were next.
Sure enough, when they got on stage they invited all the kids to come right up to the edge of the stage and handed four of them soap bubble guns. Then they started singing “Size Queen” and throwing balloons and all kinds of inflatables into the crowd. This created a joyous mayhem of everyone throwing everything at each other in a soapy sea. When they got to their song “Glizzies Bangin’” one of the kid trio had put on a hot dog costume and they invited him to the stage. They said that the song was definitely not about penises and then invited the costumed kid to invent a glizzy dance which he would then go into the crowd and teach everyone the dance. This kid looked like he had won the lottery, did his kooky dance, and off into the crowd he went.
And lest I forget to mention it, their music was spot on per usual. Fureigh’s guitar was sharp and driving, the Nikki Pretti’s drumming was punchy, Shaun Osbourn’s vocals were tuneful and rough, and Josh Levine’s bass held it all together. The joyful abandon they have on stage is incredibly infectious, and they rock hard while having a blast. Sometimes they point out serious issues, as when they took a moment during the song “Big Sisters” to talk to the crowd about supporting trans people at this time. “Nobody Wants” is also a song about hate crimes. They are easily able to switch their tone while maintaining their generous vibe.
They’re not planning to play again until next February, so I’m glad I caught this show. They also recently came in third place in the East Bay Express‘s Readers Choice for Best Local Band, congrats to them!
So, Ninety Pound Wuss. They came on stage and the phrase “wall of sound” immediately came to my mind. Jason Himstedt’s bass was loud, and I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, I do love a loud well-played bass. Marty Martinez was holding it down and hitting the kit fast, incredibly fast. Colin Day and Mike Gizzi on guitars were very in sync with each other, sometimes playing the same thing and sometimes wildly divergent. I really couldn’t tell who was playing what without concentrating very hard. I didn’t particularly want to do that because the vocalist Jeff Suffering had an incredibly compelling stage presence and I wanted to concentrate on that and amazing music that was pounding the air. These tunes had great lyrics, sung in a sincere, intense way with a dramatic flourish. Their songs “Try It Again” and “We’re Not the Same” really got the crowd moving. One song had the lyrics “We suffer their greed” which sounded like gritty poetry and so spot on for our times. Really, a lot of their lyrics could be described as gritty poetry. I couldn’t believe this band had had such a long hiatus. I’m not the only one who was at this show who is sincerely grateful that they are performing again. They were tight, amazing, magnetic. Yes, I am now a fan, and sure the hell hope it won’t be long before I see them again.
Review and photos by Artemis Jones
