Berry Street, once again, looks like a war zone.
The street has been torn up and just getting from one side of the street to the other means driving down the block and making a U-turn. The Cellar, however, is still the Cellar, and on Saturday, it was also the setting for a very special episode of Bomb Atomic.
When I got to the Cellar, Flatworld was playing and Salsa Limon was serving up their nationally famous tacos in their trailer out front. Flatworld is an Arlington band consisting of vocalist/bassist Kendall Keene, guitarist Garvey Standerfer and drummer Andrew Alldredge. The band is just the sort of raw, vaguely punkish sound that fits so well in a crowded college bar. Their sound is bass-driven, with a hint of the Clash, but original and melodic. I liked it — quite a bit to be honest, and I was sad I couldn’t hear more.
Up next was Bomb Atomic, which up until the end of the night consisted of vocalist Beef Williams (formerly of the Villain Vanguard); Get Well’s guitarist Jason Pollard; guitarist Henry Sepulveda of Future On Fire; bassist Eliot Arriaza of Get Well and Future On Fire (bass); and Michael Brand on drums.
But this was Jason’s last show, with Bomb Atomic, and with anyone in Funkytown for now. He’s relocating to Portland, Oregon. With this being Jason’s last show, the small live music area of the Cellar became a solid mass of humanity. If you weren’t in front of the stage on the first beat, you weren’t getting there. Which is a shame, as Bomb Atomic is a very visually engrossing band, but it’s part of the Cellar’s charm. Williams is a first-rate front man, and really kept the crowd going.
Sonically, Bomb Atomic plays modern funk rock, with hints of Bill Withers and James Brown. When we checked in with them back in May, they were good, but a little rough around the edges. They have polished things up nicely since then, and the crowd was feeling it. Most of the show was originals, but they did do a fantastic version of Faith No More’s cover of War Pigs.
The band finished the show with a Nine Inch Nails song that we can’t even print the name of (you know the one). The band and the crowd were completely worn out by the end, and the whole thing degenerated into a party that was still going on when I slipped out the back door and headed out.
