A Glowing, Golden, Autumn afternoon in Clifton Park is a hell of a time for a punk show. This wasn't your average punk show, however. The headliners were GreayStar, a major-label act fronted by a 12-year-old guitar prodigy and his dauntingly enthousiastic 14-year-old sister. Not suprisingly, this skewed the fan base to the teen and preteen set, necessitating the 4pm start time for the gig.
Washington County youths Dylan and Chelsea Wilcox just might end up rock stars. He has the chops, he has the confidence, and both have plenty of showmanship and cool. Most importantly, the band has the tunes, which smoothly cover the pop-punk gamut in the currently fashionable manner. And the generation gap betewwn the wilcoxes and their rhythm section was strictly a matter of age, not musical ability. (Of course, it didn't hurt that the sound in Northern Lights was so good.) If I found the juxtaposition of such a big sound with their thin little voices to be disconcerning, it's probably because my ears are too old. The kids loved them, and turned out in moderate numbers to show their support.
The teens who crowded quietly up front at the metal barricade to watch a couple of their own command the stage stayed in their seats for power-punk trio Phillips Head. The kids didn't seem disinterested, as they clapped with some enthusiasm from seats some distance away; maybe Jason Irwin and the other twentysomething heads were just too intimidating. After all, these fellows are of legal age and exhibited a healthy thirst for beer. Singer-guitarist Irwin uttered numerous good-natured but decidedly sarcastic comments ("This is the only time I'll be able to buy everyone in the bar a drink"), and sang about topics better suited for a PG-13 or R crowd than the PG set ("1-900 Girl"). They covered a Cracker cover of a pop hippie tune ("Images of Matchstick Men"), which was as remote to a 13 year old as Ronald Reagan, World War II, or The Great Plague. For the few of us safely past puberty, however, Phillips Head were the highlight of the afternoon.
They may have been the geezers of the lineup, but their advanced age was accompanied by a corresponding musical maturity. The punk-trio ensemble playing was thundering and focused, while the songs were appropriately and effectively angry and/or snide ("You're So Ugly" "You're Too Short To Play Guitar"). In front of an audience closer to their own age, or at a more congenial hour, Phillips Head would have torn the joint up. As it was, their confident way with the building blocks of rock (you know, three chords and plenty of attitude) served as a useful lesson for any youngsters paying attention.
F-Timmi opened the festivities. The energetic trio really worked up a sweat leaping about the stage while cranking out their chipper style of thrash pop, and would have been better appreciated if GreayStar's teen posse had shown up a bit sooner. As it was, their concise punk approach pleased those in attendance.