The Wretched Ones
East Coast Oi! Fest
May 2008
By Jillian Abbene
(SugarBuzz Wash DC/Richmond)
SugarBuzz Magazine
The Wretched Ones are the faithful steady-favorites. Reappearing from last year’s East Coast Oi Fest, they bring their ruckus posse with them, ready to rock out on the chorus. Everyone seems to know them, which gives this set a slightly more intimate setting.
Oddly, the second song warms up the crowd. ‘Drinking Beer & Rock n Roll,’ reinforcing the obvious – by title alone. Setting the tone with a full-on assault of rollicking guitar, the response is immediate as the crowd pushes in closer to the stage.
‘Wolfgang,’ however, knocks the set out of the park. Pit, the lead vocalist, croons in a very distinct 80’s Cali-smooth style. Punctuating verses that are gravel-sharp, his projections exceed most. The intro starts and stops, increases speed (including yelps from the crowd), and spawns a meaty tune. A mid mini-drum solo has the MC5 revisited from the guitarist (referencing the curly fro), as an awesome standout among the skins in the house. The abrupt ending leaves the crowd with lots of claps and cheers.
Last year’s fest anthem, ‘Welcome To The East Coast,’ coerces the audience again, to belt out the chorus. This song is extra long—packed with heavy duty stops, a drum solo looping into a melee of cymbals and bass. This song keeps the pace as it gains momentum in, ‘Oi Mode,’ that has Greg, the lead vocalist for The Boils, chiming in.
‘Lady Boss,’ in a deep-bass backdrop, contains a flurry of cymbal crash-repeats, fore fronting sturdy ’77 Social-D chords. Pit’s grizzled monotones rig up a staccato chorus, “She’s giving me a raise!” adding a sarcastic touch.
Honorable mentions here: ‘Working Man,’ works up the crowd in a lather—enough for jumping on top of each other, leap-frogging to reach Pit’s microphone. Saluting the crowd in a beer, the hard-hitting ending lands in one big stop. ‘Dead Man Working,’ has the circle pit spinning as Greg (The Boils) reappears in support vocals. In a head-boppin’ mid-section, there is a bass solo blurb that runs into drums, adding extra flavor on the last notes. Finally, the more melodic tune, ‘Up In Smoke,’ has an encompassing crowd including Brent, from Maddog Surrender, Greg, and at least 15 other guys on stage answering in verse.
‘Make It Happen,’ off of their newest CD release, is in faster cadence. The bass split-riff is concentrated as the signature guitar screams into the second verse. Nice drum triplicates—adding depth, as does the catchy tune.
Concluding, ‘Destination,’ also off their new CD, continues the rowdiness as syncopated guitar holds up an excellent chorus, “Sometimes the journey is better than the destination.” The bass hits the spotlight with the second round of sing-a-longs. The best part of the song is the guitar-note pulls before the fantastic sound of machine-gun grooves on drums all ending it in one brutal crash.