Oh dear god, where to begin.
After getting turned down by a sassy bartender at The Frequency (who says a press pass doesn’t make you 21?), Madison based African punk band This Bright Apocalypse seemed like a pretty good second option. After an hour and a half delay, the trio took the stage in front of a meager crowd of listeners.
Noise filled the room after the band introduced themselves and started their set–and by noise, there was literally just noise filling up the Orpheum Stage Door. Lead singer Luke Bassuener began his stint on the bass, simultaneously beating a bongo drum he had lodged under his arm, while desperately singing and screaming into his microphone. Looking overwhelmed and out of control, he would turn away from the audience every chance he could, wrapped up in his own world, whobbling his legs like a cracked out Elvis Prestley.
The other members of the band were equally disorganized. On guitar, Johnny Maloney was in the zone, looking a bit like a not-so-funny Andy Samberg from the “Jizz in my Pants” SNL skit. At one point, both Maloney and Bassuener turned away from each other and away from the audience, completely wrapped up in their haphazard musical eruptions, as Chris Sasman smiled and beat his drums merrily in the center of the two. Total chaos.
In the middle of the set, it was obvious that nobody was ready to dance and rage on the dance floor like the band had hoped they might, and when asking the audience to come on down, Bassuener simply stated, “well…we’ll just have to try and earn it.” The band did have a few shining moments–a catchy guitar riff or two, a creative rhythm on the bongo drum–however, overall, This Bright Apocalypse failed to earn it.
