The Menzingers Rock The Queen

​Don't say that you weren't warned. I told you that I was going to have a big March.  Wednesday brought another live show, with the Menzingers visiting the fabulous Queen in Wilmington.  BRP was there and if you missed it, you missed a darn good show.  

​For those unfamiliar with Menzingers, they are a pop-punk band originally hailing from Scranton, PA, but now calling Philly home.  They have been around since 2006, have 5 studio albums out, and also have quite a loyal following.  The crowd was raucous and fun, and if you thought Wilmington was sleepy, you were wrong at least for one night.

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The Menzingers are Greg Barnett (vocals, guitar), Tom May (vocals, guitar), Eric Keen (bass) and Joe Godino (drums).  You've got to love a band that has a guy sporting a Black Sabbath shirt and also has a lefty guitarist.  I know that you might think that punk is for young 'uns, and you would generally be right.  I thought that at some point I might outgrow it myself.  But I never did, and in fact, seeing a band pumping out fast, guitar-heavy songs before a moshing and crowd surfing audience was just what the doctor ordered.  And the Menzingers have plenty of songs with sing-along lyrics and "whoa whoa" kinds of things, and that makes for plenty of crowd participation.

​The boys came out and immediately blazed through some of their best tracks.  There were about 100 lead singers as everyone near the stage was belting out all the lyrics with the band.  And even the guys in the band who don't sing, like bassist Keen, was singing along to the hook-laden songs.  Check out the BRP exclusive video of the track "Tellin' Lies" to get a sense of what the show was like:

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​These guys come to rock it, the crowd is fired up from the start, and there is a lot of back and forth between the band and the fans.  It's a good time.  And the band is up for whatever happens, including a first for me:  the rock 'n roll marriage proposal.  So Ryan and I are pressed up near the front, and there is a man and woman close by who have made a sign and are showing it to the band.  Barnett reads the sign, and invites the guy up on stage to play a song with the band.  The guy from the crowd gets on stage, hijacks the mic, and says that he wants to marry the "dyke looking girl" who accompanied him to the show.  So then she gets invited on to the stage, and the guy gets on his knee and formally proposes.  She accepts.  He subsequently gets to play the song on rhythm guitar.  Pretty good night for the newly engaged couple, right?  Here they are:
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​Want to know what songs the band played?  Setlist.com beat me to it, and also linked each song to the video for that tune.  It's a cool site in case you haven't checked it out.  

www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-menzingers/2018/the-queen-wilmington-de-6befce9e.html

Playing twenty songs and jamming for about 1:45 is a pretty good value these days.  There were two openers, but we missed most of the first one.  The second was a band called Mannequin Pussy, and they played a decent enough set, but you shouldn't go out of your way to see them.  

​I brought the GoPro, pushed my way to the front, and got three good songs.  One was named just for me and my friends:  Bad Catholics!  Hahaha, I'm a TERRIBLE catholic, how did they know?  Here are the videos for your viewing entertainment:
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​The videos are kind of fun to watch because you get to see the bouncers earn their keep the entire songs.  What a job - making sure that crowd surfers are safely landed in front of the stage on their feet.  

​I also took a lot of photos (for you, of course), and here are some of the best.  One of these days I'll have to publish some of the other pics that don't make the blog.  Digital photography is just the best as you can take shot after shot, and bring home all kinds of quality stuff.  Well, not me, of course, but I understand it's theoretically possible.  Here are the other pictures:

​What's next?  Funny you should ask.  The English Beat are playing at the Queen on Tuesday, and regular readers know that I just love that band.  Their shows are just incredibly fun - danceable music, Dave Wakeling singing and playing that southpaw guitar, the Ranking Roger substitute who is the most energetic and lively dude ever, and great ska songs.  We have lots of folks joining us for this one, too, so it will be more fun than should be allowed. 

One time I saw the English Beat with the other band called the Beat, led by Paul Collins.  The Beat is a great band, too, and you ought to check them out.  Power pop is much beloved here at BRP, and here's a song by Paul Collins Beat to prove what a great genre it is.  Hell, yeah, I wanna be with a rock 'n roll girl, too!

​And with that, I'm out of here.  You enjoy the rest of your weekend, gorge on March Madness (the absolute best sports tournament EVER), and remember to come back often to see what's going on here at BRP.  And if you like it and are so inclined, tell your friends and family to come over for a visit.  Remember to visit the new YouTube site and  see all the great BRP original videos.  I'll continue to populate that puppy as I go to more shows.  Love you, rockers!