Vacation “Vacation” 2011. Let’s Pretend Records, the debut LP from Cincinnati garage rockers. I’ve been holding onto this record for a bit now in hopes that Vacation would be swinging back through Milwaukee for a show. I think the last time they were here was a couple of years ago, maybe for my pal Claire’s birthday, and looking at their Bandcamp page (if it’s up-to-date) they haven’t been out on tour for almost 2 years. Their live performances are wild and dynamic, body-tossing energy abounds. Vacation is noisy, buzzy and highly bop-able – they definitely have some pop sensibilities behind the fuzz. “People Watching” is one of the more pop-forward on Vacation. My top pick is the ass-shaking “Co-Workers.” I also like the gritty “Bleach Buzz,” the lo-fi garage-thundering “Cop Knock” and the frenetic “Sun and Moon.”

There isn’t a lot out there video-wise (though their name is pretty difficult for googling) but here is a live performance from 2011 of what I’m fairly certain is the track “Christopher Columbus Was Not a Hero” off of Vacation.

The Flesh Eaters “A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die” 1981/2024 limited edition red vinyl reissue on Jackpot Records. Early punk supergroup featuring X’s John Doe and DJ Bonebrake, The Blasters’ Dave Alvin, Bill Bateman and Steve Berlin (also from Los Lobos), plus Flesh Eaters founder/frontman Chris D. (aka Chris Desjardins). A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die was their second LP and it’s weird AF. In the punk canon it’s more campy Cramps or Devo with a death wish than their early SoCal LA contemporaries like the Germs or other harder-edged bands (though Chris D’s vocals occasionally have a Darby edge). Herky jerky weirdness abounds, accented with squawking sax’s and shaky maracas (all of that and more on the track “Satan’s Stomp“). While it’s “trashy…blues horror” (Allmusic), there are for sure ass-shaking moments like on “Pray til You Sweat,” the boogie-down “See You in the Boneyard” and the vaguely Bo Diddley-esque, maraca-forward “So Long.” The John Doe penned “Cyrano de Berger’s Back” would appear later on X’s 1987 See How We Are (sidenote: Billy Zoom was replaced on that LP by fellow Flesh Eater Dave Alvin on guitar) and again on their 2020 surprise release Alphabetland.

The Mighty Deer Lick “Stag Nation” 1990. Sub-Atomic Records. Four song EP from Milwaukee OG pop-punks. Though I’ve seen MDL play gobs of times over the years, I wasn’t at their most recent show at X-Ray Arcade (opening for Chicago’s OG punks The Effigies) this past Friday night but Joe was. It’s been a rough week and a rough couple of months generally as in December and then on Friday we lost our beloved boys, Mr. Pocket and Mr. Pants. Litter mates born around August 2009, we got them from the cat shelter (that I now volunteer at these past 9 years) when they were just 5 months old. The house feels really really empty. Anyway, after their set, Deerlick Dave came out with with a PANTS shirt on – you can read the story Joe wrote for me (I had to work early in the morning so the note was there for me when I got up) but if you can’t read his writing, this is what it says:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Pants. Deerlick Dave was wearing this shirt after finishing their set. I asked him where he got it – probably online he replied – and told him our story. Having recently lost his dog, Jim, Dave said “Wait right there” and disappeared through the staff and artists’ door, reemerging moments later with a fresh shirt on, he hands me his PANTS t-shirt with the apology “it’s a little damp,” and hugged in condolence for our lost pets. RIP Jim, Pants, Pocket

Stag Nation is a mix of snotty pop punk: “She’s My Chemist,”  the extremely short and extremely silly “Skate,” the excellent rocker “Hey!” and some twanging Americana “On a Cloudy Day” that has both mandolin and harp, mixed into the late 80’s/early 90’s sound which just a year or so later would be called grunge, or at least grunge-adjacent. The liner notes are fun as my sister-in-law (Joe’s sister) and her ex-husband (who were are still friends with) are the third and fourth people thanked, plus a bunch of bands I saw in the 90’s after I moved to Milwaukee in ’93 and clubs that mostly gone (The Unicorn and The Odd Rock) and other assorted acquaintances in the Milwaukee music scene. That The Mighty Deerlick are still around and playing is pretty amazing, though the lineup has changed a bit over the years, the most tragic one being the loss of Dan Franke who died a year or two ago after battling some serious health issues for a long long time.