Stage Diving and Masks Rule
By DONNA BALANCIA
The Black Lips brought the toilet paper and opener Timmy’s Organism cleaned up the accolades at The Regent Theater.
Timmy’s Organism was in keeping with the punk-themed night with an interesting if not completely bizarre performance that included blue paint on the frontman’s face, a blond-haired-mask and silver cape on the floor. They’re worth checking out.
The headlining Black Lips never fail to bring the stage divers, but the people jumping were bigger than usual this time around. Some of the many leapers ended up on the floor or squishing smaller people in the front. The carnage is a good reason to have a stage-dive weight limit.
But it’s all part of the fanfare as the Atlanta-born band has endured the afflictions of many punk bands — personnel changes as well as the ups and downs of a fickle music industry.
Cole Alexander, on vocals and rythm guitar and Jared Swilley on vocals and bass have been around since 1999, enduring the toilet paper being hurled on stage as well as the occasional accidental tumble into the pit. They are complimented by Jack Hines on guitar and vocals who was with the band in the early 2000s and then again from 2014 until now and Oakley Munson on drums and Zumi Rosow on sax, both of whom came on in 2017.
The band has been faithful to Vice Records and its 2014 album Underneath the Rainbow hit No. 143 on the Billboard 200. Its latest is Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art? also on Vice Records.
The band played some of their classics and mixed in some new cuts. On the set list, which was so mangled it can’t be printed: Raw Meat, Smiling, Scab, New Direction, Rebel Intuition, Occidental Front, Family Tree and more.
