Battalion Zoska

live in Philadelphia (2018)

John Gentile

Few gigs begin as auspiciously as the debut gig of Philadelphia’s Battalion Zoska (that’s pronounced Zoe-sh-ka for you non-slavs out there). BZ is the brand new band fronted by Pat Society of punk veterans Violent Society and the whole shindig was being pitched as a sort of debutante’s ball- BZ would grace us all with its presence and let us know that they were ready for the world and prepared to mingle. So, what better way to roll out the October 13 gig at Connie’s Ric Rac than to have the drunkest band ever to usher in proceedings.

Impressively sloshed by the time they took to the stage (still extended from a play from various months ago, thereby creating a designated, and highly dangerous, raised mosh area), Infant Mortality kicked their set off by stumbling around and then cracking a false start within 30 seconds of their set. To say that these guys were hammered would imply that most carpentry is done with a ten pound sledge. Throughout the gig, the band messed up at least four starts, argued throughout the night, forgot what songs they were playing mid-song, and a few members even had to sit down during the set to mentally regroup. I’ve seen drunk bands, but I’ve never seen a band this drunk. Period. And to boot, I’ve never seen a band this drunk, or even half as drunk, make it through a whole set… an extended set none the less! Infant Mortality have been smashing out drunk-and-fighting style street punk for about 25 years, but that’s beside the point. What was more the focus was how this band, despite falling over during their own set, despite continuing to drink while totally annihilated on stage, made it through their set and, further, won over the crowd in doing so. If you’ve ever cheered for the little engine that could, you get the gist. You’d say it was performance art, but that’s what these guys really are- no performance, but arguably, a very high level of art. That is to say, I’ve seen many, many bands, but few were as memorable as these hooligans.

In contrast to the continual self destruction of Infant Mortality, the Fiendz took the stage next. Highly polished and professional, the Fiendz were an interesting mesh of power pop and 80s Gilman style pop punk. The band made it a point to blast through their set and keep the melody in the front. The band was not afraid of a little bit of rhythm and polish and were one of the new pop-punkish bands that were able to bring that sheen to the live setting. The band has been slugging it out since ’87 and it’s no wonder why. If you like a little grit in your roc candy, the Fiendz demonstrated such a recipe at the Ric Rac gig.

Next, the Droogettes took the stage to a fair amount of hooting and hollering. The band has been training hot and heavy for their upcoming tour with the Adicts, and they gave Philly a taste of what the west Coast is in for. Still riding the excitement from their recently released (and excellent) debut album, the band was in fine form and smashed through about 15 oi-tinged punk smashers. Live, the Droogettes like to keep the energy up and the vibe raw, and throughout heir set, the guitars buzzed, the drums clipped along at nearly double time, the bass slammed, and the vocals were unhinged- as they should be. The newer songs played (including “Keep on Drinking” dedicated to Infant Mortality) where especially hard charging. Unlike some other equally hard bands, Droogettes are able to keep a little bounce in the music that makes the music aggressive, but also really fun. Droogettes probably took the crown for the weirdest mosh pit of the night. About six or so especially dedicated fans made it a point to go apeshit and, on the raised platform, developed a new form of moshing that was as much dancing as it was pro-wrestling. Without exaggeration, there were multiple body slams, multiple people smashed into the wall, and at one point, one of the larger fellows was holding a smaller guy by his ankles with his face in the bigger guy’s crotch… also, I think one guy wet his pants… also, at one point, one guy was lifting up the little guy and a third guy was doing his best to rip off his underwear from the back via an atomic wedgie maneuver. The sextent tumble and rumbled and rolled over each other throughout the set and someone later said to me, “they’re basically like dogs” in regard to their style of play and that was entirely accurate. Meanwhile, Droogettes played a few Misfits tune near the end of their set for good measure and boy did they knock it out of the park. The Droogettes are one of Philly’s most clever (and most fun) punk bands, and they’re totally unique. The Adicts fans are in for a treat at the end of the month.

Oi purists Thunder and Glory were up next and they exhibited why the form has been heralded for some 40 years now. Hookly and Spartan, the band bounced through two handfuls of tunes about conflict, the underclass, and being true to oneself. TaG’s lyrics are pretty aggressive, especially for an OI band, with a lot of tracks about breaking people into their components, but despite the violent angle, the band’s music seemed surprisingly optimistic. The band’s newer tracks have adopted an almost epic style, and the band exhibited that at the show- especially pronounced, gang refrains, metaphors to ancient mythology. It’s clear that, at least to the band, Oi is the latest iteration of the sacred Saga tradition and they’re doing their best to carry on those tales and values.

Lastly, Battalion Zoska took the stage with relatively little ado. Singer Pat said a few works thanking everyone and the band snapped into their set. Perhaps to most people’s surprise, the band was more influenced by American hardcore than Pat’s earlier bands. They ripped through about 12 songs across a 30 minute set and most of the tracks were propelled by the same juiced up energy of classic era Poison Idea. However, whereas PI were mostly nihilists, disgusted by the human condition, BZ made it a point to be disgusted by the human condition, but moved toward existentialism as an answer. Throughout the gig, Pat made it a point to comment on several issues involving a corrupt and morally bankrupt government, and he walked the line by alternating between saying something along the lines of “fuck those guys!” and “we can make a difference.” Though, Pat’s roots are in streetpunk, so while the band did bring North American hard charge to their sound, a certain sing-songy quality crept through the cracks. This band knows exactly what they are doing and they are doing it well. At one point, he did make a self-deprecating reference to “oi by the numbers,” so it seems that the band is aware of their position. Still, they all seemed genuinely excited by the new tracks and to boot, the audience was definitely genuinely excited as well. That’s about the best kind of kickoff any band can have.