Parkas w/ Whitebelt Octopus & Tacoma Hellfarm Tragedy @ the Silver Dollar, July 25. 2009

I went to see the Parkas on Saturday night and I've finally recovered (note: part of this may be moving and/or drinking related).

The Tacoma Hellfarm Tragedy was the first band up, who I missed... next time.

Next, the Whitebelt Octopus, who drove all the way from Ithaca, NY, performed his brand of incredibly vulgar, superbly hilarious, white-boy-electro-rap songs for about 40 minutes. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't supremely shocked by all the "hat" (see photos below), the number of MF bombs, and the number of references of him beeing his el on some tees, but after the initial shock, I had an awesome, awesome, time. He writes the kind rhymes that kids in grade school write, subject matter aside. They're certainly not clever, or thought provoking, or anything else particularly moving, but the rhymes combined with the hat, dancemoves, and electro-beats were nothing short of entertaining. I think had the set gone on longer, it would've been a little too much, but I would definitely, definitely, go and check the Whitebelt Motherfucking Octopus if he swims his way back up to the T.Dot.

The Parkas, while they share the same sense of humour as the Whitebelt, their set took a different sort of tone. Yes, they made jokes (often at the expense of other members of the band, as is their way), but there was an underlying sense of sadness/nostalgia (this makes much more sense if you know that this was the Parkas last show ever). But I think the Parkas, knowing it was their last show, really savoured every moment. They weren't always perfect - not that I could really tell other than based on the 'I definitely just screwed that up' looks that they would flash each other - they played music like I imagine they would've when they first started as a band: a little bit drunk and ripping away on their instruments.

And, if I haven't plugged their stuff enough, a reminder that their soon to be released, post-humous album, You Should've Killed Us When You Had the Chance, is out soon and is excellent. A couple of songs from their new album:

[mp3] The Parkas - Don't Say No
[mp3] The Parkas - The Gang's All Gone


Whitebelt Octopus





The Parkas