Loved Ones suture tastes

By Ray Porreca
Collegian Staff
March 22, 2006

Going to church never gets old. Well, let me amend that. Going to The First Unitarian Church to see shows organized by R5Productions never gets old. R5 manages to host quality shows at various venues around the city several times a week. Quantity has definitely not diminished the quality.

On Sunday, March 12, R5 packed quality and quantity into one. The Loved Ones’ record release show featured an all-Philly lineup that pleased the lucky crowd.

Ok, so I missed the first band. Sorry, I had to take my brother back to school, I had to pick someone up and I had to park. These things take time, so I apologize for my "sin of omission" as Bill Wine calls them.

The second band, or for me the first band, was Armalite. Armalite features the talents of Dan Yemin, front man of Paint It Black, on bass, and Atom of Atom and His Package on guitar. The four piece band put on a great show, though Dan described it as a “trainwreck.” The band relies heavily on melodies and is just a lot of fun to watch. It is a union between two Philly legends. Armalite is different; not hardcore, not punk, not indie, just fun. The group, which also recently recorded an LP, braved the scorching heat of the Church for half and hour and I can definitely say I will check them out again.

None More Black was up next. The band is coming up on a new record, which will be released in the near future. The Philly locals had not been one of my favorites prior to this show. NMB features the vocal talents of former Kid Dynamite frontman Jason Shevchuk and ex-Paint it Black/Knives Out guitarist Colin McGinnis. I had always thought of NMB as secondary to Kid Dynamite, same voice but not as good. On Sunday, that view changed a lot. I finally put aside my past prejudices and gave them a good listen, and to my surprise, I liked it, a lot.

Not only did the crowd really enjoy it, but the melodies came through very well. Shevchuk’s voice floating over the music was something I finally learned to appreciate and I’m glad I did. None More Black’s new record is coming out soon and from what I heard of the new songs, it will be a very good one.

As the night went on the anticipation grew for the main act. The Loved Ones were formed about two years ago when Paint It Black guitarist Dave Hause joined with Michael “Spider” Cotterman, who had played bass in Kid Dynamite. They teamed with drummer Mike Sneeringer and voila, they had an amazing band.

With much to celebrate the band entered stage right and played “Suture Self” from its full-length release Keep Your Heart. The group kept the crowd pleased with newer songs such as “Breathe In” and “Benson and Hedges.” Te Loved Ones also played old favorites such as “Jane” and “Arsenic.”

One of the night’s high points was when the organ kicked in and the band launched into the heart wrenching number “Sickening.”

The night, however, was anything but. Through the hideous heat which descended upon the Church and the traveling woes which kept this reporter from getting there on time, the show was still a great time for those who made it. Sad you missed it? Check out R5Productions.com to check out one of the great venues in underground music today.

porrecr1@lasalle.edu