Photos: Melt Banana, Sick Weapons, Dope Body, and dd/mm/yyy at the Ottobar

Saturday night the Ottobar had a stacked lineup, headed by a force from Japan known as Melt Banana. They began their set with a handful of electronic-based noise songs in the dark while wearing headlamps, but when the lights came on they defaulted to their signature style. These Japanese noise punkers completely leveled the crowd, and Chrissy took the photos to prove it.

Melt Banana had one of the strongest supporting casts I've seen in awhile, with Sick Weapons, Dope Body, and dd/mm/yyyy all opening the affair. You can peep the evening's full photo set and more words below.


Dope Body are one of Baltimore's more promising newer bands, a bass/drums/vocal trio that sport a splintered style of thrashed-out punk. You can tell there's a heavy electronic influence with these guys, certainly a unique take on their style. I'd recommend grabbing their tape, Twenty Pound Brick, from Watercolor.

Sick Weapons were fantastic as usual, as the trio of guitars paired with Ellie's antics always make for a great time. Toronto's dd//mmm/yyyy were also worth noting, a spazzed out version of math rock that were another great addition to the show.

You can scope out Chrissy's full photo set of the evening below in the flash gallery.


Photos by Chrissy

Child Bite - "Gender Points" 7 inch (Wham City Records)

I was able to catch Child Bite at the Copycat Annex last Sunday, a Detroit trio that makes its way to Baltimore quite often. I've seen them two other times in town just this year, opening for Future Islands and Double Dagger at the Zodiac, and also at Whartscape.

Not only did these dudes kill it again this week, but they offered up a series of releases more than worth my 12 bucks.

Child Bite just finished up a trio of 7 inch splits, backed by This Moment in Black History, Big Bear, and dd/mm/yyyy. Each disc's cover art in the series was a different color, with the vinyl to match. However when all three jackets are lined up properly, a cohesive mural of art is revealed. All three releases were pressed by a different label, with my personal favorite disc put out by Baltimore's own, Wham City Records.

Wham City's release is the yellow disc, and the last in the series. It's backed by everyone's favorite Toronto band, dd/mm/yyyy. The Child Bite A-side track is called "Gender Points", and just might be my favorite jam from this Detroit band. They rocked it live the other night, but it comes off just as well on vinyl.

While it sports the same frantic riffs and squalls, this track is one of their more focused works. "Gender Points" features catchy-as-hell horns, that start out giving the song an almost creepy vibe but quickly turn to a more upbeat romp. This is one of their more accessible tracks, and might be a good starting point for someone new to this crew. Grab it next time they're around while you can, it's limited to 500 pressings.

While a full length album is always welcome, I really dig the presentation that comes with this 7 inch series. I hope this becomes more of a trend, as I've seen the idea pop up more and more as of late. Grab the first 2 discs from Joyful Noise and Forge Again .