Zeke/Against The Grain

Live in Grand Rapids (2017)

TomTrauma

In all my years of going to shows, I had somehow never managed to see Seattle speedrock legends Zeke. When opportunity finally knocked, I didn’t hesitate to answer. It also helped that the show was at the intimate Tip Top Deluxe Bar and Grill, and that one of my favorite Detroit bands was opening. The show was on Monday October 9th, and the opener was Against The Grain. Once again, I was fairly disappointed in the turnout. Come on Grand Rapids! I know it was a Monday night, but we need to show up anyway. I’m older than you and I probably get up earlier than you too! This is why we can’t have nice things. Anyway, rant over. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I showed up on time due to the fact that there was no local support. I hope that at least in hindsight, the promoter sees the error in this decision. A local opener could have put another dozen bodies in the bar. Against The Grain went on promptly at 8. (This was partly due to not having another opener and partly due to noise ordinances and problems with the neighbors.) Regardless, they really killed it for almost 40 minutes. The Motor City quartet has been on the road for the past month and it definitely shows. They were a tight, well oiled rock and roll machine. This band really shines in a live setting. Think of a jacked up Motӧrhead with dueling guitars.

They played a bunch of new stuff from their already recorded and set to be released in early 2018 LP. The new songs sounded great, and I’m anxious to hear the studio versions. There were also a couple of cuts from 2015’s stoner influenced Road Warriors, and the title track from 2013’s Surrounded By Snakes. (My personal favorite.) Most surprising was their cover of the KISS classic “I Stole Your Love”. If you enjoy the combination of punk, metal and good old fashioned rock and roll, you need to check out Against The Grain. You should get plenty of chances in the coming year.

I was warned that Zeke would be the fastest band I’ve ever seen. That was no lie. The way they tore from song to song was almost dizzying. If they didn’t occasionally slow down to strike rock star poses, it would have been hard to know where one song stopped and the next one began. I was amazed to see that they had memorized their entire 40 minute performance, and did it all without a setlist. It had to be at least 20 songs. It was also one of the loudest things I’ve ever heard. Original members guitarist/vocalist Blind Marky Felchtone and bassist Kurt Kolfelt played with the energy of men half their age. The small Turbojugend enhanced crowd responded by giving a lot of energy back. Zeke even threw in a cover of another KISS classic, “Shout It Out Loud”.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 years, you’ve probably at least heard of Zeke. I can’t think of another band who has made records for both punk powerhouse Epitaph and metal giant Relapse. Their sound is like the fastest Dwarves songs combined with the fastest Nashville Pussy songs with a bit of Motӧrhead thrown in for some extra bluesy swagger. They are set to put out Hellbender any day now, which will be their first new record in 10 years. It’s no doubt going to be mandatory listening. I expected a good show, and Against The Grain and Zeke certainly delivered. What I didn’t expect was to hear two KISS songs, but I’m not complaining. Good times. You should have been there.