Savage Henry 07/15/2026
Several bands spanning the spectrum of punk descended on Savage Henry to get us all off our couches on a Wednesday night. And they were successful – there was a great turnout! While sonically disparate, these bands were all connected by strikingly excellent drummers. Great guitarists, bassists, and vocalists, but the drummers really shone tonight.
I made it to Savage Henry just in time to catch Breaking Marble Jar‘s last two songs. Catchy punk with strong melodies and a political bent that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Something about the sheet music stands on stage and the singer’s shirt with checkboxes ticking off the elements of positive mental attitude set the tone in a way I really like. They seem like a band Boff Whalley would be into. I learned after their set that this was their first performance with this lineup and I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t been told. They play together well.
I’ve played music with their drummer in the past and he’s one of the best drummers I’ve ever played with. It was great to see him on stage and in his element.
I was most excited to see Wealthy Women. Sludgy, noisy, infectious. A beautiful blend of harmony and dissonance. The intensity of their performance felt naturally complemented by their friendly conversation between songs, rather than at odds with it. Their set gave us a taste of their forthcoming debut album, Children, which comes out August 7. The cover art of the singles they’ve released leading up to Children have all been different crops of the cover art for the album: a blackened, bombed out husk of an apartment building with two bright green trees growing tall in the foreground. A fitting visual representation of their sound.
The drummer for Wealthy Women made his playing look so effortless. I’m not even sure he broke a sweat, despite how physically demanding his parts sound. Meticulous as a metronome but as smooth, fluid, and powerful as a river in flood.
D-beat admittedly isn’t really my thing, but Infuriate ripped! Each song was like a bomb going off. Gut-punching riffs, a relentless onslaught of drums, and vocals alternatingly howled and shrieked by the guitarist and bassist. I should have known what was coming when they kicked off their set with a recording of an air raid siren.
Infuriate’s drummer was a force of nature, anchoring their swirling mass of distorted low end with percussive precision and propelling each song forward at breakneck speed.
Brain Dead Rejects are famously fun to see live and tonight was no exception. Classic hardcore punk rock with spit and grit. I realized it’s been a couple years since the last time I saw them perform and they’ve only gotten better in the interim. Harder, tighter, and even more dynamic on stage.
I was impressed to see the drummer for Brain Dead Rejects also contributing backing vocals. No small feat given how athletic his drum parts are!
Leave a Reply