MxPx, Mest & Brodie

In lieu of the absolute gnarliness of the world these days, any excuse to be temporarily entertained by happy thoughts is welcomed openly. As I have said numerous times in numerous articles, few things bring about blissful ignorance and momentary satisfaction faster than quality new-school punk. And as far as new school goes, few bands have been around longer and have had more success than Bremerton, WA's MxPx.
As the opening date on the tour, Thursday's show was, as expected, filled to the brim with fresh faced youngsters (and a few slightly less-fresh crusties like myself), all of whom were more than ready to enjoy themselves at the urging of whoever happened to be onstage.
First to assume this role was Brodie, a new-school outfit out of Seattle. Their music was predictable, but did not suffer for it. In fact, it's this predictability that seemed to please the audience most. Although I'm sure that many in attendance, like myself, had never heard Brodie before, it seemed that every song was something familiar. So despite their relative unoriginal content, Brodie was as pleasant an opener as one could expect.
Mest, who followed Brodie on stage, were slightly more familiar to me, as I had heard a few of their songs and had encountered many who had sung their praises. I found that these praises were not without merit; Mest played an inspired set of punk the way I like it; poppy as a motherfucker. Beats were fast, keys were major, and lyrics were irreverent, immediately making Mest one of my new favorite girly-core bands. They announced that their new album is forthcoming. I will be there amongst the hordes of adolescent girls to get mine.
As I awaited the beginning of MxPx's set, I somewhat inadvertently eavesdropped on the high school girls behind and to the sides of me who were arguing about which member of MxPx was the cutest. This, in turn, forced me to question what it was exactly that I find so appealing about MxPx.
As I pondered this question, the stage lights dimmed and The Who's "Baba O'Reilly," began pumping out of the house speakers. The three members of MxPx made their way onto the stage amidst a deafening roar, playing along with the music, segueing from The Who into "My Life Story," the first track off their last full length, The Ever Passing Moment. It was then that I, while hanging precariously from the balcony shouting out the lyrics with a raised fist, realized what it was about MxPx that I enjoyed so much: the sheer, unadulterated, almost overwhelming positivity, not just of the music, but of the crowd, and of the members themselves. On a day when all that I had been previously concerned with was the possibility of global conflagration and worldwide jihad, I was temporarily rendered indifferent about anything other than trying to remember all the stupid words to every MxPx song.
In this I was not alone; every song was accompanied noisily by the crowd, even those off their newest release, The Renaissance E.P. However, the crowd reserved it's true excitement for the older numbers, which surprisingly, were played in plentiful amounts. Whereas many bands choose to concentrate mainly on newer material, MxPx is a very notable exception, playing the older songs with equal vigor and seeming pleasure. For the obligatory encore, they even began taking crowd requests.
MxPx is a band that is truly in touch with their audience, and consequentially, is a band with a very loyal and very vocal following. Although MxPx have certainly had their ups and downs in terms of the corporate music world. If Thursdays show proved anything, it's that if you sing songs about girls and high school, you will make people happy. And if you make people happy, they will want to come to your shows and sing along and forget about how cruel and horrible the world is.
– Daniel Taylor
– photos by Alyssa Starkey

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