The Mahones/ The Involuntary’s/ The Innocent Boys

The Vogue

June 12, 2014

Written by: Zen Wild

Photos by: Tony Vasquez of Vasquez Photography

We have the privilege of being at The Vogue’s first Punk Rock Night, which luckily enough has The Mahones headlining, along with The Involuntary’s and The Innocent Boys. Since this is the first of many (hopefully) of these nights to come, the crowd is a bit sparse, as one could assume that, perhaps, the word hasn’t yet spread. Large crowd or small crowd, if anyone knows anything about punk bands, they’ll know that these bands are going to give it their all, one way or another. That’s something that has to be respected about this style of music. The musicians always seem to be close to their fans, and whether they’re getting paid a lot or a little, their music speaks volumes, literally and figuratively.

The first opener, The Innocent Boys, start off the show a bit later than expected, but to me, the wait is well worth it. They play an interesting mix of bluegrass, punk, folk, and
country, with elements from a couple other genres thrown in for good measure, and from the moment you see the instruments played, you can tell that is probably going to be something in that vein. The upright bass is a clue. Unless you knew punk was going to be involved, though, you might not guess it’s going to be included. They start playing, and I can’t help but find myself enjoying the music from the first note. I recently saw The Devil Makes Three, and I can find similarity, loosely, in the two. It’s a great set played in front of a small crowd, but as I alluded to before, it doesn’t seem to bother them in the least.

The second band, The Involuntary’s has a sound much more similar to traditional punk, with that thrashing, angst-filled sound you’d expect to come screaming out of garages all around the nation. I’m not sure how many songs they play, but it has to be a decent amount, because many of them are of the two-minute variety, but the crowd, which has grown by this point, seems to love it, jumping up and down, and screaming lyrics back at the musicians. My favorite parts are during a few of the breakdowns in their songs, in which elements of ska and reggae are thrown in. It’s a nice counterbalance to the angry roar of their guitars, found in most of their songs, and gives the bassist a bit more space in which to move and be heard.

The Mahones, I have never seen before, and was just recently introduced to them by someone who saw them open up for the Dropkick Murphy’s last year. In the intermission between bands, I meet a few people who happened to be at that show, as well, and assure me that The Mahones are going to be great. When I head back inside, and the band comes on stage, it’s obvious that the crowd in front of them isn’t as big as that one that came along with opening for the Dropkick Murphy’s, but the people who are there are ready to rock and shout their approval at The Mahone’s entrance.

Once they start playing, you can hear that Irish punk sound coming through loud and clear. You see some of the instruments you might expect: electric mandolin (playing rhythm), electric guitar (also playing rhythm), bass, and drums. What you might not expect to find, if you hadn’t seen them before, is the inclusion of an accordion, played by Katie McConnell, wife of Finny McConnell (lead singer/guitarist).  Her energy is incredible. She is all over the stage, dancing and hopping around, all while whipping out blistering lead-lines from accordion, sending fans into a frenzy. At several points, she faces off with mandolin-player, Sean Winter, and bassist, Paul Mancuso, seeming to be dueling, as they feed off of each other. All the while, drummer, Dom Whelan, is driving that furious tempo. Combined with Finny’s vocal stylings, everything really comes together, which is undoubtedly why The Mahones have been playing in front of increasing crowds every year, receiving several accolades and positive attention from critics. As the show winds down, I can’t say that either my friend, or the people I met outside of The Vogue, have let me down. The Mahones put on a great show. If they come to town again, I’m fairly certain that when they do, I’ll be there with ticket in hand.

Photo Gallery: http://jamsplus.smugmug.com/TonyVasquezPhotography/The-Mahones-at-The-Vogue/