Photos by Angela Ratzlaff
Sweaty teenagers, plaid shirts and some pushes and shoves turned East Village record shop Fingerprints into an underground punk venue for, quite literally, a hot minute.
Tijuana Panthers performed a short but sweet set on Wednesday, taking a pit stop in their home town during their ongoing tour. Grmln, the Orange County based skate punk band and supporting act for Tijuana Panthers’ costal tour, also joined the bill.
As kids, teens and adults alike filed past rows of record displays, smiles formed and hearts raced in anticipation for the night of local music.
Grmln took the stage first, jamming out heavy pop punk songs, which sound familiar to most Burger Records fans, but stand out with a slight influence from late ‘80s and early ‘90s alternative music. The whole band consists of young college students, but the baby faces didn’t fool anyone once lead vocalist/guitarist Yoodoo Park hammered out fuzzed vocals and skater vibes. Park’s dilapidated sneakers didn’t even stop the group from kicking off the sold out show on a high note.
Fingerprints owner Rand Foster then introduced Tijuana Panthers, leading guitarist Chad Wachtel, drummer Phil Shaheen and bassist Daniel Michicoff to greet the intimate audience with polite smiles and nods before tearing up the store with a set of rockabilly, punk crazed songs.
Familiar tunes, like “Creature of the Night,” “Crew Cut” and “Red Headed Girl” from their first full-length LP Max Baker, got the whole store singing and wiggling. Even the sound slip ups with the mikes didn’t faze the crowd. The muted mics just made the audience sing louder to compensate for a lack of vocals from Shaheen and Michicoff. A small pit even started, but out of respect for the store, the young tweenies held their raw punk instincts in before knocking over any record displays.
Tijuana Panthers also played songs off their June 2013 release, Semi Sweet, including their doo-wop rock single “Broadway” and the surf pop tune “Baby I’m Bored.”
After the show, a sweaty audience made their way to the front of the store to get records and posters signed during the band’s meet and greet. Both Grmln and Tijuana Panthers posed for pictures. Pineapples were involved. Everyone had a good ‘ole time, just before going home dazed from a hot night of rockin’ ‘n’ rollin’.
Upcoming local tour dates for the Tijuana Panthers include The Echo in Los Angeles on Friday and The Constellation Room on August 23. The boys also plan on hitting the East Coast during July and the beginning of August.
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