“We’ve got one more song for you, and then we’re gonna let some fine folks who came a long way play some music…” was how opening act Rototiller closed out their set, because they knew that the electrifying next, and last, act of this bar show were not only out-of-towners, but highly anticipated ones in the local rock community.
Dad rock: You know, mainly the bands you hear on your local classic rock station: Journey, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, you know. What about dad punk? And not like, the Sex Pistols or The Clash. I mean punk music, with lyrics equivalent to a dad emphasizing about his life as one.
Enter Jeff Two-Names and the Born Agains, a dad punk band from Savannah that basically mixes, as you could probably guess, dad jokes and punk rock. Basically like what Okilly Dokilly is doing, with their excessive Simpsons references. That is, without the obvious name to display what they do.
The dad punks have embarked on a tour exclusively of Florida, and Wednesday night was their first stop in the Tampa area, at Largo’s Dharma Kava Lounge. And it wasn’t only them. Arranged by Steve Cee of No Vacancy Radio, the show was supposed to kick off at 7:30 with a live broadcast of their HAFtime radio show. Due to unforeseen circumstances, that didn’t happen, and Eduardo Fenton-Rodriguez got up with just his laptop and guitar, for a rather melancholic rock and roll acoustic excursion, starting in the 80s, around 9:00.
First song was a gritty, sax-free cover of George Michael’s Careless Whisper, followed by Alice In Chains’ Nutshell. An original, blatantly obviously written about the venue, Dharma, was presented third, and was said to be on Spotify relatively soon. Wait, a song about this venue? Eduardo, who normally partakes in Monday night open mic at the lounge, is working on an album right now, and it’s actually being produced backstage at the venue. Against The Wall by Seether closed up his set, before he headed back towards the bar.
Almost immediately after his set came Slam Duncan, sporting an “emotional support” turtle hat, and a suit covered in pot clip art. The maestro of mixing the innovative sounds of his pedals with his sticker-obsessed acoustic played nothing but original songs, some of which have yet to see the light of day, in terms of streaming. “Currently working on album number two,” he announced, a song or two before a rousing rendition of Viva la Revolution.
Duncan’s top song on Apple Music, Mr. Trump, was apparently flagged by PornHub recently. “Even if rape or incest is involved, they still want to hold the fucker for a full term…right?” Hell yeah, said a few of us. Then, from out of nowhere came a satanic parody of Jingle Bells. The idea for a newer, smoother song, For 2020, came when Duncan was “meditating under a waterfall in Colorado.” With some weed? I do wonder. Wrapping up his set with Rich Boy, Duncan made the turtle on his head say good night, and he too, headed towards the kava bar to enjoy the acts to come.
The final opener was the first non-solo act of the night: Local rock trio Rototiller from Seminole Heights. “We came like, 11 miles. That’s like, a big deal!” they bragged.
This was no generic wannabe rock band, either, unlike many rock bands around here. The group had the sound of Green Day meets Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac. And that silver Gretsch being held by guitarist and lead singer Scott Miller looked like one of Mike Campbell’s normally used models. Like both musicians that graced the stage before them, Rototiller has also finished recording an album. According to their Facebook page, it took only a whole weekend to whip most everything together, and it’s almost ready for release. “I have a feeling we’re gonna sell at least one CD tonight!”
Bassist Peter Nuffer recalled the “dirtiness about Seminole Heights,” and remembered being called a hobo-lookalike at one point. Miller even wrote a song about that event. “Every bit is true, and every bit happened!” Nuffer promised.
Finally, around 11:25, Jeff Two-Names, and his Born Agains, stormed the stage with Never Been Done, followed immediately by Attack Of The Dad Band, without any sort of pause. “We’re on an international world tour of Florida, this is day 2.” lead singer Jeff Storey-Pitts said.
“Who wants a dad joke, then? Do you want to hear a joke about pizza? Nevermind, it’s too cheesy.” We all saw that one coming. And there were eventually more to come, through song. But in all honesty, there were more true stories than jokes. The band has two very distinctive characters, portrayed as children of some of the members: Petee and Sydney. “We’re gonna set a world record. No band has ever done four true-story songs in less than two and a half minutes.” Jeff reminded us. They managed to do I Hate My Job, Glad You Had Your Period, Rats, and Sydney Is A High School Dropout, in two minutes and thirteen seconds, timed by Steve Cee, per Jeff’s request.
Jeff brought up “the elephant in the room,” which was the fact that all four punks were wearing the same shoes: Green Chuck Taylors. The pants among all four were totally different, though. “These are our show pants!” Their set concluded with an incredible deep cut, I Wanna Go Home, from Holly And The Italians, and another song out of the Sydney saga, Sydney Got A Tonsillectomy. “If you’ve ever had a tonsillectomy, this song’s for you.”
I haven’t, but hey: What did one tonsil say to the other? “Get dressed, the doctor’s taking us out tonight.”
Josh Bradley Live 