Mike Watt & The Missingmen
If you’re from Jersey, Hoboken is an odd place. On the one hand, it’s pretty much a haven for yuppies and guidos (and the hybrid yuppie-guido), and on the other hand it’s the home of the best rock club/restaurant in the state. We’ve seen many a great show at Maxwell’s, from Rocket From the Crypt, to The Queers, to Fitz of Depression, and so forth. And the club itself has been home to little up-and-comers like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and the Afghan Whigs, before anyone even knew who they were. So it was with great anticipation that we headed in to see ex-Minutemen bassist, and all-around Punk Rock icon Mike Watt perform with his band The Missingmen.
The night was off to a good start with a parking spot George Costanza would have been proud of right in front of Maxwell’s (another thing Hoboken is famous for is its lack of parking, ANYWHERE). We headed in and got some good grub to fuel up for the show. The opening act wasn’t much to speak of so we won’t, but suffice it to say we hung out outside during most of their set and watched Mike Watt run back and forth down the street on some important pre-gig mission. The FSS are big Minutemen fans and equally big Stooges fans. And after watching the stellar documentary We Jam Econo we fell in love with the salt of the earth personality of Watt, so just seeing him in captivity alone was a pretty cool feeling.
When the clock struck 10 we followed Watt into the club’s back room and he immediately jumped into his set and we immediately jumped into all things Watt. The 51 year old showed no signs of age as he and his power-trio charged through a killer set of tunes. Smiling all the way though and laughing at technical difficulties like mic feedback, Watt’s easy going vibe was in stark contrast to his furious bass playing. He played a couple Minutemen tunes, Toadies and Anxious Mo Fo included, as well as two Wire covers, Three Girl Rhumba and Ex Lion Tamer. The majority of his set however consisted of his solo work with a bunch of great songs from his upcoming album, which he happily announced was recorded nearby. He even went as far as to thank us and the East Coast for having him.
As the set went on and the bar flowed forth with alcohol, one particularly drunk patron yelled out, “You’re a punk rock legend!”. Mike laughed as did most of the crowd, but the funny thing is that this rowdy fan was wrong. Mike isn’t a legend because he’s still out there writing his story. Unlike most punkers before him he didn’t O.D. or sell out or fade away. For the greater part of the last 30 years, Mike has been out on the front lines blowing up people’s realities with his tunes. The only legends in attendance that night were the memories of Minutemen guitarist D Boon and Stooges bassist/guitarist Ron Asheton. Watt wore his heart on his sleeve and memorialized both men with images of them on his amp and bass.
If you need any further proof of his greatness check out some of the videos we took of the show on our YouTube channel. And when his new album comes out buy it or at the very least buy a $10 shirt at one of his shows.
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