Old and new sounds of punk rock in concert

The lively music scene provides Pinoys with an amazing range of choices. Just take a look at the last few days of September when we will have the very new, from the fun new boy band All Time Low and the old, from the greatly missed The Wild Swans. They are both rock bands but as different as night and day.

I would call The Wild Swans, night. Named after the Hans Christian Andersen story about a princess whose 12 brothers were turned by a sorceress into swans, the Liverpool band was a product of the post-punk era. Their sound was somewhere in between the punk of the Sex Pistols and the New Wave romanticism of Spandau Ballet. Their music was dark but not of the nihilistic sort. It was mysterious and even religious, St. John of the Cross mixed with witchcraft. Had vampires been in vogue during the ’80s, I am sure that Wild Swans tracks of soaring melodies and haunting lyrics, would have easily landed in the soundtracks.

The music is not the only thing that sounds eerie in the case of The Wild Swans. So did its existence. The band surfaced briefly, I think in 1982, built a following with tunes like Revolutionary Spirit, Whirlpool Heart, Bringing Home The Ashes, The Worst Year Of My Life, Mythical Beast, Archangels, Bible Dreams, God Forbid, Immaculate and others in the ensuing years. Then for some unknown reason, they just disappeared. And that included their albums, which also went out of print. I guess that situation greatly contributed to the band’s mystique. The fans never lost their faith in the music during the years when Wild Swans recordings were mostly unavailable, and a cult following grew around the band.

 And then just as mysteriously, The Wild Swans is back. The first time I heard again about them was in the news that they are on tour and will be performing here. Produced by Jesse Gonzales for DMC Philippines, the shows will be held at the Waterfront Hotel & Casino in Lahug, Cebu City on Sept. 30 and at 1 Esplanade at Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Oct. 1. And double good news for Wild Swans fans, there is a new album out. I do not know if the CD is already available in the local stores, but the title is very characteristic of the band, The Coldest Winter For A Hundred Years and the single is English Electric Lightning.

All Time Low’s concert will be at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sept. 22

The Wild Swans is now made up of Ricky Rene Maymi, Les Pattinson, Mike Mooney, Stuart Mann, Richard Turvey and Paul Simpson, whose deep vocals is one of the group’s most distinctive traits.

Call the Waterfront Hotel, SM Tickets and TicketWorld for tickets to the show. Prices are VIP P3,500; Gold P2,500; and Silver P1,500.

If the punk tunes of Wild Swans are dark, gloomy and introspective, those of All Time Low are bright rockers that conjure up sunshine and having fun. I am sure that a lot of you have already danced or at the very least, tapped your feet to the band’s current hit single, I Feel Like Dancin’. Planning a flash dancing event? There is Get Down On Your Knees and Tell Me You Love Me. You want sounds for a hot party? There are Guts, Time Bomb, Forget About It and others. And if you want an early Yuletide greeting that is on the side of irreverent, these naughty boys have Merry Christmas Kiss My Ass.

I am sure they will have lots of these in their Araneta show plus others. With Alex Gaskarth on vocals and guitars; Rian Dawson on drums; Jack Barakat on lead guitar; and Zack Merrick on bass, All Time Low started out as a cover band and I am sure that Pinoys will enjoy having these guys in a show. Their rock take on Rihanna’s Umbrella is very good.

All Time Low will be at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tomorrow, Sept. 22. Tickets are available at Ticketnet outlets at SM Department Stores and at the Araneta ticket office.

Watching your budget but still want to see these guys? They will be at SM North The Block today at 6 p.m. There will be no show but they will autograph your copy if you buy the Limited Edition tour album of Dirty Work. They will also give away large posters to CD buyers.