OFF! & Die Spitz Played Last Night

Last night we headed over to catch OFF! with Die Spitz. I was lucky enough to see Die Spitz in Austin a few months back and I've been jonesin' for another chance to see them live. I've never seen OFF! but I have a few of their records so I was looking forward to seeing how old Keith Morris was doing these days.

Prior to the show we went across the street to Sel Rrose for some fancy cocktails and $1 oysters, which were just fucking awesome. We also swung by that spot Ray's, which is a fake dive bar around the corner from Bowery Ballroom. It's covered in 70s retro dive bar décor (like Welcome to the Johnsons) but without any of the pesky dive bar prices. It was $8 for a Modelo and $15 for a premade margarita slushy. 

After a few drinks we headed over to Bowery Ballroom and as soon as we walked into the place I saw some of the Die Spitz girls hanging out. That meant I still had time to grab a beer before they started their set. 

They went on a little later than scheduled but the band has only been around for about a year so it's not like they have a ton of material for a long set. It seems like the road has taught them a few lessons because they were fucking ripping it up there. They have an incredible stage presence for such a young band. The show in Austin was more fun because it was dirty little club show but in terms of playing, Die Spitz was better last night. They've noticeably tightened up their sound. The rate at which this band is progressing is astounding. 

Frankly, they only reason I'm writing this post is because of Die Spitz. I haven't been this excited about a new band since Apes & Androids and that was a long, long time ago. Like Apes & Androids, I see massive potential here (as long as they don't break up right after they release their first major single, like A&A - damnit!). Of all of the thousands of bands I've seen I think Die Spitz has the chops to bring aggressive rock back to the forefront. While no band will ever have the impact that Nirvana had I think Die Spitz has the potential to do a little mini version of that; which is fitting since they are so clearly influenced by Nirvana. 

Their sound is like a combination of Bleach era Nirvana and Pretty On The Inside era Hole with a dash of hardcore punk mixed in. They have a few EPs out and they're fine but you really have to see them live to understand what I'm talking about. They're going to be touring with Amyl & The Sniffers in the fall so don't be a fuck up, go see them. 

Oh yeah, OFF! also played last night. They were awesome, as one would expect. I was especially fixated with the Phil Lynott lookalike bass player. That dude was ripping some crazy fast finger picking, which I'm a huge fan of. The set was a little more jammy than I was expecting but not enough to turn me off. Then again, Keith Morris has always had a bit of a hippie thing going on and the last record was called Free LSD so I should have seen that coming. Keith Morris is a fucking badass and is probably the only OG hardcore punk guy out there still making relevant, high energy new music. OFF! is a fucking blessing that we don't deserve.