The Night Marchers last night at the Hawthorne Theatre.

The Night Marchers, the new band of Speedo (AKA John Reis, formerly of Rocket from the Crypt, Hot Snakes, and a million other bands), performed last night bringing a catalog of mostly new material, all of which had the accelerator punched down firmly to the floor. They were joined by the Muslims, whose record got me all giddy, and Red Fang, Portland’s own grunge metal heroes. More to read, and more pics, after the jump.

The Muslims' direct, punky rock was muddled by a poor-sounding mix and perhaps a too-cavernous venue. It's music meant to be heard up close 'n' sweaty, and the chilly high-ceilinged Hawthorne didn't do them any favors. It was interesting to see their drummer's super-extended floor tom doubled as a bass drum, with the pedal swinging upwards to hit the bottom skin of the tom.
Singer Matt Lamkin thrashed on what looked like an open-tuned guitar, with an unaffected delivery that didn't reveal too much. He has, on record, a lackadaisical everyman quality that allows the listener to put themselves in his place. In a live setting, it seemed a little uncommitted though, kind of pushing the crowd off instead of inviting them in.

I actually missed most of Red Fang's set, so I don't feel qualified to give an opinion. I will say, though, that two different people, who have both seen the band before, told me it was the best they'd ever seen them. So I guess they were good. For the record, I should mention that another person told me he couldn't stand to be in the room while they were playing and was forced to duck out to the Balcony Bar and get assaulted by stray pucks during their air hockey tournament.
John Reis of the Night Marchers

Meanwhile, the Night Marchers were consummate professionals, playing heavy, energetic rock carved up into jagged punk chunks. At no point did they lose momentum or seem anything less than 100% confident. I do like some of their songs, but I don't think I loved any of them. A couple tunes seemed slightly derivative too; at one point I thought I heard the riff to "Paint It Black." But it was solid, brawny music, with no gimmicks or tricks, and they more than filled the Hawthorne Theatre with their outsized, full-fledged clang.

A final note: I saw more people crowding the merch table than I've seen at any show in recent memory. Most people were buying the Night Marchers' CD, but I saw quite a few people fondling their new copies of the Muslims' bullet-ridden 12". It was reassuring to see so many people buying the music; I wonder if it's a demographic thing. Anyway, people were eager to take the night home with them, which is always cool.