It takes forever to get places in D.C. It especially takes forever to get from AU to U Street, the rather shady home of the Black Cat and the 9:30 club. Waiting for your roommate, waiting for the AU shuttle to take you to the Metro, waiting for your slow friends at the Metro stop, waiting for the train, waiting to transfer trains, walking to the club - what would be a 15-minute drive turns into an hour-long inconvenience. But when your car is broken and your friends want to drink, there is really no option but to risk a disgustingly slow trek on the Metro that usually results in missing the opening band of every show.
Last Sunday night, indie label Jade Tree Records brought three of its finest to the Black Cat. Being cursed with a crappy car and really slow friends, meant missing the first two bands, Challenger and From Ashes Rise, which have both been receiving rave reviews. The majority of the punked-out degenerates in the club, however, seemed to be waiting for Strike Anywhere to take the stage.
Strike Anywhere, a severely talented punk band from Richmond, Va., offered a 40-minute set of their raw and aggressive punk rock that puts punk wannabes like New Found Glory and Simple Plan to shame. Strike Anywhere played a mixture of old and new, most of it from their most recent release, "Exit English."
The highlight of their set, as with every show they play, was "Chalkline," a brilliant track off 2001's "Change is Sound." "Chalkline," with its slightly more melodic vocals and poignant message, is sure to elicit goose bumps when heard live.
Strike Anywhere offered an energetic show despite the fact that lead singer Thomas Barnett had bronchitis. Barnett, who embodies a sense of social and political change through positivity, gave a shout out to AU student Andy Burr who was killed by a drunken driver in January. Barnett's willingness to embrace the fans who worship him is uncontested by any other lead singer.
If Challenger and From Ashes Rise are anything like Strike Anywhere - and based on Jade Tree's careful discretion when it comes to bands, they probably are - fans who didn't have to spend all night on the Metro got a night well worth their 10 bucks.
