Midway Cafe Under SIEGE

Live Review

Sep 15

A rare performance by influential hardcore punk band SIEGE was the highlight of a hump day show at the Midway Cafe on Wednesday, 14 September. The bill was anchored by Jim Hobbs’ Fully Celebrated Orchestra, which gigs regularly at the Jamaica Plain hangout on the second Wednesday of the month. The Blues Dream Box closed out the bill.

SEIGE started fast and loud. The usual crowd of Jamaica Plain locals was augmented by a conspicuous influx of punk scenesters, old heads and young guns alike, curious to see what all the fuss was about.

The band originated in Weymouth, MA in 1981 with the original line-up of Kurt Habelt (guitar), Hank McNamee (bass), and Rob Williams (drums). Vocalist Kevin Mahoney jumped aboard shortly thereafter to help the group find its aggressive and intense sound. The original incarnation of the band did not survive the mid-80s, and new members have filtered in and out during the first reunion stint in the early 90s and current stint since 2016. Though SIEGE never recorded much beyond a few demos, they are regularly name-checked in the history of hardcore punk as “pioneers of the grindcore and powerviolence subgenres.”

SEIGE’s line-up at the Midway Cafe included two original members, Kurt Habelt and Rob Williams, joined by bassist Chris Leamy, guitarist Ben Barnett, and vocalist Mark Fields. The set list was a collection of old favorites along with a new song “Worked To Death.”

Jim Hobbs sat in on a few songs, adding a diabolical saxophone on top of the usual guitar attack.

The Jamaica Plain show seems to be a warm up for SIEGE in anticipation of a set of limited engagements in London at the end of September.

Fully Celebrated Orchestra mixed Lower East Side noisecore attitude with bright anthemic jazz exploration. The band worked from sheet music most of the night, which is quite a code switch from the three-chord ditties of SIEGE.

The standup bass player was a standout, demonstrating a light touch on the strings with both hand and bow. Although FCO can play smooth jazz numbers, their affection for the slightly discordant was evident in the electric guitarist’s solos. The guitarist, who also fronted the closer of the night The Blues Dream Box, brought a harder edge to jazz guitar than you usually hear. Less Les Paul, more Peavey vibes.

Closer The Blues Dreams Box was “John Zorn meets lounge act meets crustpunk from Bourbon Street with a hand-me-down guitar that relatives swear was played by Chuck Berry.”

It’s hard to square some of the genre blends that this band brought to the table. The vocals were all lounge, the drums jazz, the guitar 50s rhythm & blues, and the bass just desperately tried to glue all the pieces of this shattered musical mug back together. Outstanding.