Catch 22 / Bigwig / Punchline

live in New York City (2004)

Brian Shultz

Last date of the tour, first show of the year.

Punchline, after opening with the first part of "Bohemian Rhapsody," followed up their version of a classic (even if it was hardly a verse) with the title track off the upcoming full-length Action…which wasn't so classic. Although their live show is worlds better than any studio recording I've heard from them, and their brand of pop-punk isn't too repetitive or derivative…it's still not that good, and the right stage guitarist did this oddly exaggerated leg kick which was just awkward. From the Rewind EP, they also played "Power Off" and "Stop," and another new song, "'Round Here," closing with the last part of the aforementioned Queen song.

Bigwig…was Bigwig. They kept it tight, intricate, and energetic as always, with Tom's constant smile and bulging eyes intact. They also took advantage of the three-band lineup to play a nice collection of songs; "Sink or Swim," "Sore Losers," "Still," "Girl in the Green Jacket," "Moosh," "Freegan," "Waste," "Counting Down," "Hope," and "Numbers." They played the 'instrumental' part from the Chicken dance song so Tom could tell us "handclaps are overrated" (the crowd substituted them for "oi oi oi !"s) and would later place both Coors Light and George W. Bush in a similar light. There was but one disappointment - there wasn't a single trace of new material. Nothing new played, nothing new announced; once the ball is rolling on that, I think we'll all be a little happier.

When I had last seen Catch 22, I went in nervous thanks to all the negative opinions that've come out of recent live reviews, but came out abhorrent of those opinions. Thanks to this set, I'm just a little more aligned with them now. Despite the fact that Catch did play mostly good, and showcased a splendid mix of songs from their discography, there were way too many points I could pick out where they were entirely too sloppy or rushed, or even out of synch. "On & On & On" wasplayedandsungsortoflikethis, the opening of "Sincerely Yours" was so messy it was like it was physically vomited all over the stage, and although it was great to hear "Keasbey Nights" right before the encore after numerous requests from numerous people, the shortened version wouldn't benefited from its normal running time. "Rocky," the Weezer-esque tune from the new album (a FAN FAVORITE!), opened things up, and following (in no particular order) was "Wine Stained Lips," "It Takes Some Time," "Bloomfield Ave.," the "Intro / Point the Blame" pair, "Straight Forward," what the band keeps calling a new song "Chin Up," a hyper tempo "Day In Day Out," "9MM and a 3-Piece Suit," and "Dear Sergio," which they claimed hadn't been played in quite the while. The encore consisted of "Motown Cinderella," and "12341234."

So even with nary a sign of new recordings, Bigwig, suffice to say, owned as usual. However, there is a new web site promised, so perhaps there will be music to go along with that.

Oh, and for some reason Fall Out Boy was supposed to play but didn't. No complaints here!