Live music review: Warmduscher, CIVIC, and Lothario put on energetic punk show at Hotel Vegas for LEVITATION

Despite the warm humidity and off-and-on torrential downpour, the Levitation Lounge —adjacent to Parish — was bustling with patrons, eager to head to one of the many showcases lined up for the evening on Friday, October 27. Just down East Sixth Street, Hotel Vegas had a line forming at the side gate for an all punk bill featuring Warmduscher, CIVIC and Lothario that took place on the beloved Vegas patio.

Unfortunately, anticipated opener, New Orleans punk legend Buck Biloxi, was not able to make it out that evening.  Luckily, the crowd was gifted a treat in experiencing Lothario, the Melbourne-based punk quartet, slated to take stage in Buck Biloxi’s place.

The band stepped up to the opportunity with a fun, high-energy performance.  Lead vocalist, Annaliese Redlich, belted fiery verses to viscous instrumentation. 

Lothario set list:
BBBF
Hog
Drunk F–
Black Hair
Doggy
Missing Person
Overdrawn
Rodeo Clown
Right Down the Line

Rain in the forecast was thankfully predicted to roll in later than initially expected. As Australian punk, five-piece, CIVIC prepared to take stage, the outdoor venue audience thickened considerably. Immediately, frontman Jim McCullough demanded the audience move up front to the stage.  The crowd responded immediately to the call, sidling up to the edge of the stage as requested.

The Melbourne-based quintet put on a spirited performance from start to finish. McCullough’s lyrical delivery is loud, but refined.  Their in-your-face sound almost feels too polished to be punk — with tight instrumentation associated more with metal, however, the construct of their music is completely, unapologetically punk.
CIVIC Set list:
Hourglass
End of the Line
Born in the Heat
New Vietnam
Just A Fix
Blood Rushes
Time Girl
Selling Sucking Blackmail Bribes
Taken By Force
Radiant Eye
Trick of the Light
Fly Song

CIVIC and Warmdusher played Hotel Vegas and Volstead nearly simultaneously during SXSW. That show was on the heels of CIVIC’s most-recent LP release, Taken By Force, and almost a year following the latest Warmduscher record, At The Hotspot. On this night, mere months later, the two bands would share the Hotel Vegas outdoor stage in a fitting reunion of sorts.

Evening headliners, Warmduscher, slated for a 10:30 start, stepped on stage right on time in matching black coveralls, opening with an energetic performance of “Tainted Lunch.”  There is something refreshingly meta regarding Warmdusher; they bounce back-and-forth over the line of not taking themselves too seriously.  The London band is, at its core, punk, but fuses meta-fueled electronica-funk with their punk core, covering a wide range of sounds.

The night’s showcase was energetic, raw, and loud.  All three bands delivered with aggressive and dynamic energy,  engaging the crowd with banter and mosh-inducing intensity.  Most important of all – all three performances were a lot of fun.

Warmduscher set list:
Tainted lunch
Salamanda
Midnight Dipper
Hotshot
Whale City
Wild Flowers
Love Strong
Fatso
Fashion Week
Twitchin’ In The Kitchen
1000 Whispers
Lady Eggs
Eight Minute Machines
Disco Peanuts
Burner
Double Vision
Standing on the Corner
I Got Friends
Encore:
Big Wilma
Oscar Wilde
The Sweet Smell of Florida

Featured photo by Daniel Cavazos for Levitation. All other photos by Brian Hillsman

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