At age 14, I was a punk.  I don’t remember all the details, but the major signs were there.  I frequented the Coffee Cellar, read zines and put RAPE stickers on stop signs all over East Memphis.  I got my ear cartilage pierced at a mall kiosk on a 9th grade field trip and I threw a punk-tacular fit when my parents held me down to rip it out.  According to the millenial punk rating system, the music I like from that era qualifies me as a fifth level punk.  So you can trust me when I say the 3rd annual Memphis Punk Festival is worth your attention. 

I grabbed a weekend pass in advance at Gally’s birthday party a couple weeks ago.  It was a funtacular night and the lineup was fierce.  All-around bad-ass, Gally Sheedy is renown for her excellent taste in local talent.  Musicfest drew Saturday crowds downtown, so The Buccaneer was practically a private party.  I missed the first two bands, but heard Toy Trucks for the first time.  A more mature group of guys, they take classic elements and then turn melodic sensibility sideways to make it march to their own beat.  The lead singer quips about his voice getting tired but it just introduces a trippy element that draws me further in.  This quartet is clearly a group of friends that love making music together.  That’s all I ever want from local artists.

I got the chance to greet the Vampirates before they set up to close the night.  Journeying from Reno, this 3-piece punk rock outfit are serious about making noise.  Their high energy performance brought the night to a joyfully raucous end.  I realized at one point that I feel at home in the underground Memphis scene.  I mean, my blog is so underground no one reads it.  That doesn’t stop me from grabbing pictures and video clips where ever I go.  It’s become a habit at this point, why stop?

So Memphis, get ready for the Punk Festival coming up the weekend of June 5-7.  There’s a little bit of everything represented at all of your favorite Memphis dive bars – PnH, the Lamp, Murphy’s, the Bucc – and the main event on Saturday is at the Hi Tone.  Everything from folk to psychobilly has a time slot and there’s even a comedy night on Friday.  The local comics on that bill are certainly some people who know how to finger your funny bone.  Take a look through these bands and tell me there isn’t something that piques your interest.

Friday, June 5
Murphy’s Pub @ 5pm: Spit, Cheerbleeders (Philly), Hombres, Shithawks, Klaxxon
P&H Cafe @ 7pm: Comedy Show featuring Jay Chanoine & JT Habersaat of the Altercation Punk Comedy Tour
The Buccaneer @ 8pm: Turd//Cutter (NC), Ossacrux (NOLA), Six Pack (NOLA), Dawn Patrol, Angeluse, Process of Suffocation, Evil Army

Saturday, June 6
Lamplighter Lounge @ 5pm: Rotten Stitches (ATL), Squadron (ATL), Forsaken Profits (ATL), Ghost Sector (Chicago), Banned Anthem, TheWaits
Hi Tone Cafe (Big Room) @ 8pm: Three Cents Short (Grand Rapids), Stuck Lucky (Nashville), Direct Hit (North), Random Conflict (Nashville), PEZZ, Pears (NOLA), Darrow Chemical Company (NJ)
Hi Tone Cafe (Small Room) @ 9pm: The Worst (NOLA), SVU, Commonwealth of American Natives (Nashville), Badge Collector (Murfreesboro), Pallbearers (NOLA)

Sunday, June 7
Murphy’s Pub @ 5pm: Lazy Affair, The Hoax, Bombflower (IL), The No Loves (Nashville), Glorious Abhor
P&H Cafe @ 8pm: One Last Chance (Oxford), The Gloryholes, Ez Kebage (Chicago), Parasite Diet (Nashville), From Parts Unknown (Dallas), Black Irish Texas (Austin)