The return of Wills Pub: Nobunny, Thomas Function, The Electric Bunnies, Jacuzzi Boys, Slippery Slopes, Shit Eagle, Garbo's Daughter, Woven Bones. |
How long has it been since Wills Pub was closed down and bulldozed? I think it was at the end of summer 2006 and the Orlando music scene outside the downtown area has really taken a dive since. Will Walker, after many setbacks, is about to finally have a new location right on Mills Avenue. Wills on Mills is returning. This is such good news. Although there isn't a definite opening date, Wills Pub opened for one night only to host what may be the biggest bash of the summer. Hosted by Rich from Florida's Dying Records -- he organized together some of the best bands from Florida as well as flying in Nobunny, the headliner, from the west coast for his only Florida tour date. It was obvious Wills Pub isn't ready for opening. The insides aren't all complete. There's no stage or public address system in place. And no air conditioning...... gak! There were lot of fans but nowhere near enough. By the end of the first few bands the club was a sweatbox. By the end of the last band, the doors were heat frosted and the floors covered in beer and sweat.
Woven Bones was the first band to kick things off. Andy Burr is moving to Austin, Texas this week so this was his last performance for a while. His deep reverberated sonic sounds have taken a more rock approach in help with Curtis from Summerbirds In the Cellar accompaniment on drums. Impressive. Garbo's Daughter brought their power pop stylings and would be the only girl band out of all of them. Why aren't there more good girl bands in Orlando? There is a severe shortage. Shit Eagle also proved they are one of the best under the radar rock/punk acts in Florida. Good fast energetic songs make them totally awesome. Slippery Slopes also are one of the best bands on Florida. They're a party band bent on making serious music a thing of the past. They are so fun.
The new two bands came up from Miami: Jacuzzi Boys and The Electric Bunnies. Both bands have records out on Florida's Dying (as do Slippery Slopes and Shit Eagle). I think the majority of them are out of print already. Rightfully so they are good bands and to think they come from down south- not hardcore- and good is confounding. Jacuzzi Boys just completed a North American tour opening for King Khan and his Shrines. Hopefully the exposure will get them noticed. They are a real deal. And there's one thing you don't miss: Jacuzzi Boys in Orlando. The Electric Bunnies don't leave Miami to often so it was a rare performance from the band. Coming from Alabama Thomas Function had a lot of fun songs. Their mix of punk and indie rock work.
By the time Nobunny was to perform Wills Pub was covered in beer, everyone was either beer soaked or sweat drenched. Probably both. But this is Nobunny. He's a guy who's a bunny and sings pop songs in his underwear. What could be more fun I ask? Nobunny at times plays by himself or gets locals to learn songs. The backup band was Britches from Slippery Slopes on guitar, Shawn the vocals/guitarist from Shit Eagle on drums, Jeffrey from Hot Hands on bass (oh wait that's me!) and Jason, who has played with Nobunny fifty shows. I also learned Jason was the drummer for The Studdogs way back. The three of us had three practices and learned seven songs. The show would be the only time we played all together with Nobunny and Jason. So there was no telling what would happen. What did happen was one of the funnest performances ever. It's all a big blur but within seconds of the first song Nobunny was crashing into the drum set and knocking me to the ground. Don't know if he was pushed or what. Next he's in the middle of the room, then crawling back to the front. It was amazing. Everyone in the room was jumping around singing every word. We did the Okmoniks and Chuck Berry covers, too. I listened to the cassette of the show, it was pretty messy (Jason played "I Am A Girlfriend" in a different key than we learned) but it didn't matter. It was awesome. When Nobunny was over the party kept going with a special "Summer of Fun" jam with members of Johnny and the Limelights. Photos:
Videos: Links: |
Please don't display elsewhere, thanks. |
