Titans of tumult Chaöscillate showcased new songs at Midway Cafe on Tuesday, 24 January 2023.

The Mighty Suicide Squirrels and Vanishing Point sandwiched the three-stack bill.

From a distance one guitar looks like any other and the average music fan does not spend a lot of time parsing the difference between makes and models. But musicians know there can be a world of difference between the sounds produced by instrument A versus instrument B, so feel, taste, and budget play a critical role in connecting a musician with the sound they want to produce. There’s an ongoing underlying drama in the search for the perfect ax that happens outside the bounds of what the average music fan knows or cares to know.

But wait, there’s more! After the musician has spent money on the essential equipment of music making, there is an entire universe of ancillary accessories tailored to the idiosyncratic needs of music-making as a lifestyle. 

Can I interest you in custom-made guitar hooks (with walnut finish) to display your ax on the wall? How about a Jimi Hendrix-inspired guitar strap? A foldable on-stage keyboard throne to rest your backside with efficiency and ease? Or you can gift the guitarist in your life a set of personalized photo guitar picks…

One of the dumber accessories was on display Tuesday night: the mic stand cup holder. In this case, each member of The Mighty Suicide Squirrels had their own two-cup holder for a total beverage capacity of six drinks, band-wide. The froofy accessory was an odd fit for a bare bones punk band – it’s usually an add-on for weekend-rocking dad bands with money to burn.

None of this is a knock on The Mighty Suicide Squirrels, who played a great set. It’s more an expression of perplexity about what these cupholders are supposed to accomplish. Protect your drink from spilling and provide easy sipping access? Perhaps. It can be a risky prospect stowing that gratis pint or tallboy at foot level during an active performance. The drink is bound to get knocked over.

But are two drinks, precariously affixed to a spindly mic stand, any safer? For $10 maybe it’s worth a try. But for $25, plus shipping? You’d be better off finding a safe ledge or corner onstage to stow your sipper.

Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point started out of the gate a bit out of tune, but corrected course, and won the crowd over by the end of the set.

They even played an encore on demand, a relative rarity at Midway Cafe. The four-piece consisted of your classic rock combo: two guitars, bass, and drum. Shades of Bad Neighbors-meet-Pixies, with liberal use of the whammy bar.

The song “Mexican Mystery Theme” had strong Desperado-vibes, like you were a lone gunslinger facing off a slew of baddies in a dusty town square. Shout out to “Got A Creepy Text From Your Mom.”

Chaöscillate

Chaöscillate played a short set. In fact, every act of the night played sets on the short side, which is desirable on a Tuesday. Nobody except the funemployed is looking for a blowout, barnburner bill in the middle of the week.

The Boston four-piece crafts high energy screamo grindcore with plenty of feedback accompaniment. Shades of a grinder, poppier Ageotan.

The band was no fan of jury duty, as evidenced by their song “Fuck Jury Duty.” Everyone complains about jury duty, but more often than not you never end up serving. Is it really such a heavy cost to pay in order to live in a society where you’re judged by your peers instead of authoritarian, wig-wearing magistrates?

Upon reflection, most people are cool with jury duty even if it’s not their favorite way to spend a day. But if you call yourself Chaöscillate, you kind of paint yourself into a corner of rash opinions. The fledgling band concluded their set with the promise of new material debuting soon.

The Mighty Suicide Squirrels

Closer The Mighty Suicide Squirrels were real crowd pleasers. The shoeless frontman possesses the kind of stage banter that could sell you a timeshare. Lots of personality.

The three-piece punk band from Athol performed a mix of originals and covers, including selections from Bad Religion, NOFX, and Operation Ivy. Shades of a less metal Circus Battalion.

Shout out to the song in honor of wrestler Ric Flair, “the Nature Boy.” Mighty Suicide Squirrels’ entire set felt like a wrestling match, typical of backstate living room punk shows, with bodies flying everywhere. There was a little moshing. And a little stage diving too, which has been deemed such a legal liability these days that you hardly see it anymore at any “licensed and bonded” music venue, including Midway Cafe. But good luck stopping it midsong.

It was a good vibes finish to the Tuesday night show. Credit the energy mostly to pure punk vibrations because the aforementioned two-cup holders were empty except for maybe one beer and two water bottles between the entire band. Why bother?

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