MU330 The Firebird June 11, 2011
There was a warming spirit in the room Saturday night at the Firebird, and it had nothing to do with relentless heat St. Louis has been dealing with over the last couple weeks. It had to do with the long overdue homecoming of St. Louis' own psycho ska punkers, MU330. Considering all the other great shows going on around town (looking in your direction Twangfest and the Blind Eyes), the club was filled to the brim with Pabst-guzzling throwback thrillseekers.
As the five-piece climbed on stage, it became readily apparent that the Firebird had suddenly transformed into a jittery punk rock, two-tone time machine and warped everyone in attendance back to the summer of 1998. Thirty-year-olds morphed into their eighteen-year-old selves, skanking in front of the stage, starting circle pits and hollering out all Potthast's fun-as-hell lyrics with the same joy and excitement they brought to the Galaxy and the Side Door over a decade back.
Did the overdose of nostalgia overcome the band's missteps and occasional flubbed notes? Hell yes. If MU330 was a little rusty after years of inactivity, the sweaty folks dancing and pogo-ing in the pit certainly didn't notice. And as excited as the crowd was (there were people that drove from Oklahoma, Michigan and Chicago to see this show), the somewhat surprised faces of the band showed just as much elation. Postthast paused several times throughout the set to catch his breath and thank everyone for coming out. You could tell he meant it.
Hands down: best show of 1998 in 2011.
