Perhaps Leftover Crack were paying tribute to James Brown’s famous Live at the Apollo shows because their October 17, 2015 set at Lancaster, PA’s Chameleon club opened with frontman Stza noticeably absent from the stage. Instead, the band built momentum and suspense with the lumbering power of “Homeo-Apathy”, growing louder and more frantic until LOC’s Brad Logan, playing the part of Danny Ray, spit out the first vocals in his rumbling growl. But then, the rolling out of the red carpet continued as the band’s Chris Mann served as a foil to Logan’s howl with his glass cutting screech. Only after the the stage was properly set, Stza rushed on the stage hitting his mark, much like Mr. Brown on “It’s a new day.” But, whereas the Godfather of soul opened with his trademark grunt and rode that famous groove, Stza screamed into the microphone, “You never meant that much to me!”

Really, this newfound- call it “professionalism”- is representative of the modern incarnation of the band and it’s serving them well. When the band members were flirting with various types of substance, the shows... well I’ll just say it: “older” Leftover Crack shows would either be sublime, with the band hitting that sweet spot between soul-baring honesty, joy, and a complete lack of self-consciousness, or the shows would be terrible, with the band fumbling around, falling into long breaks between songs, and being just so-drunk-that-it’s-not-funny performances. That whole façade might be fun for fans: “which show will we get tonight? The great one or the terrible one?" (see also the Replacements). But, as Darby Crash, Johnny Thunders, Black Randy and literally hundreds of others have shown, that gambit only ends up with one final result and it’s not fun for anyone.

So, now with the band presumably cleaner, they've made the decision to amp up the show itself with tighter performances, harder arrangements, and frankly, less bullshitting around. That is to say, the band is leaning towards their hardcore influences and tearing through the set with not necessarily more “technique,” but more of a commitment to make these songs hit the hardest they can- and it’s working.

Because the band has a fair amount of fan favorites, and not a huge discography, a lot of the hits were in rotation. Closing number “Gang Control” was particular biting and timely, give its N.W.A. (and now Michael Brown?) referencing refrain. Likewise, “Nazi White Trash” made an appearance in its hardest, most shattered form.

Because they have a new album out next month, the band did place significant focus on new tracks from Constructs of the State. If their live renditions were a clue, the new album will be the band’s hardest and heaviest to date. “Don’t shoot til you see the whites of their skin,” while still having a bit of that Mediocre Generica catchiness, was more powered by a hard-thrashing than a thumb-snapping beat. It sounds like Leftover Crack, who have been referred to as “pop-crust” by others, are leaning more on the latter than the former, resulting in a more vicious, bleaker outlook. Older songs, like “Born to Die” may have had a nihilistic message, but there was a certain wry smile and wink in those “please kill me” lyrics. Now, the band is creating a more dystopian, hellish vision. Perhaps this is the band demanding a greater call to action. Catchy melodies are fun, but hard charging is usually more politically-invigorating (compare Crass to the Specials, for instance). But, most importantly, the new songs don’t feel like the band is trying to “prove” anything. They just seem to be where the band is at right now, which of course, gives the new tracks that much more resonance.

By contrast, the band did pull out two Choking Victim covers: “Crack Rock Steady” (still a CLASSIC) and“500 Channels.” The band kicked out fairly faithful renditions, which the crowd more or less demanded. Still, one wonders if the band could pull more obscure legacy songs from their bag of tricks, like they did with “Operation MOVE” at their recent Oakland show.

The comedy duo of Stza and Brad Logan have continued to hone their craft, both verbally and in physical comedy. At one point, someone yelled something at Stza who purposefully misheard the statement as “there’s not enough space on mars!” (It’s anyone’s guess as to what the person actually was yelling.) “Oh, I hear that,” Stza replied. Brad Logan snapped out something along the lines of, “Well, of course. What else could he mean?” To which, Stza replied something along the lines of, “Oh, I agree. It just seems to be a random thing to say out of nowhere.” Likewise, during “Crack Rock Steady” the pair formed a two-man conga line, which I’m pretty sure was technically impossible- yet there they were and there it was- the two man conga.

In a way, the band’s on stage hijinks revealed what they’re really about. No doubt, the band does have a serious message, that often, it seems weighed down by the harsh realities of the world. But, just when the band seems like they are about to give into sheer horror, they break out into a two man conga line. Is this random wackiness a defense mechanism to crippling depression or is it a sardonic way at laughing at the human condition or is it just wackiness for the sake of wackiness? Really, that’s the best way that I can think of to describe this group.

Set list:

Homeo-apathy

Nazi White Trash

One Dead Cop

500 Channels

Slave to the Throne (new song)

Gay Rude Boys Unite

Don’t Shoot (new song)

Crack City Rockers

Loneliness and Heartache (new song)

Rock the 40oz

Burn them Prisons

Crack Rock Steady

Gang Control