P.A.W.N.S., Gruk & The Ballistics

Wednesday night at Mr. Lucky was originally slated to feature four local bands (P.A.W.N.S., Gruk, The Ballistics and the Nogoodnix) and a group from Seattle called Hung Dice. Nogoodnix, unfortunately, had to cancel, and rumor had it that Hung Dice had van trouble, so they were unable to perform as well. Despite these difficulties, the night turned out to be a good one for Manifest Destiny, a loose organization which, according to P.A.W.N.S.' guitarist Ray Dehated, is a local anarchist collective that records and puts out its own albums. The show at Mr. Lucky was meant to support this local network, which has recently acquired recording studio space on the corner of Nord Avenue and West Sacramento, and act as a showcase for some of the acts contributing to Manifest Destiny.
Having the unenviable position of opening band, The Ballistics (who also played a show at the Red Room later in the same evening) were definitely up to the task. Possibly the most accessible of the three bands that played, they added melodic power to their set of hardcore punk. Tim Mehew, bass and lead vocals, sang more often than he screamed, and back up "woah-ohs" by drummer Scott Powell and guitarist Chris Krebs tempered the hard edge of the music. "Crash and Burn," which was delivered with the speed and energy of a downhill charge, and "Infrastructure," were the highlights of their set. It wasn't perfect, but The Ballistics had a lot of youthful energy and presence, and will probably end up being a band you should keep your ears open for on the local punk scene.
Gruk played about twice as many songs as the opener in the same amount of time - one of the songs lasted only 24 seconds. Melody was basically thrown out the window in favor of unbridled intensity. Frontwoman Rachel Loveless hopped, flailed, writhed and shrieked her way through the band's high-energy set and was a lot of fun to watch, as was bass player Brad Lambert who wore a cowboy hat and a bandanna covering his mouth sort of like a punk rock outlaw. Truthfully, they weren't really my kind of thing, but if you're looking for honest, scathing hardcore that doesn't pull punches, Gruk is definitely the band for you.
P.A.W.N.S. were the night's closing act, and I had been looking forward to seeing them play live for the first time. I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. Despite losing the bass for one song, I thought their performance went off without a hitch. Ray Dehated's jagged guitar riffs fiercely pushed and pulled the rhythms along, often giving the music an ominous feel. Lead vocalist St. Ann leaned back against the bass drum on the raised platform behind her as the rest of the group raged on. Her relaxed posture really allowed her assertive, expressive voice to come to the forefront, showing off the band's politically-driven, satirical and good humored lyrics. In an encore of sorts, St. Ann busted out a kazoo and she and P.A.W.N.S. got the crowd stomping to a punk rock-style polka. It was a fun show, and a good night for local music.
- James Barone

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