On the weekend my sister, Andrea, and I braved the East Side for a punk rock show at The Rickshaw Theatre to see LA’s Militarie Gun. The show was part of their 20 songs for $20 dollars tour. Amazing value for a live show in 2026, no doubt, but they also 3 other bands with them. Great night of punk and grunge, and noise, and shoegaze.
I was there to see Militarie Gun (my sister says the “ie” spelling is cute). But really enjoyed all the band son the night. Militarie Gun brought their buds Dazy along to open. Shady Nasty was part of the show from Sydney, NSW. And just before our headliners, it was Kitchener, Ontario sibling grunge-shoegazers SoftCult.
Both my sister and I like their sound. Heavy at times. Pretty at times. Big sweeping epic songs. I think they describe themselves on their instagram as “evil Cocteau Twins.” I love it.
Softcult has been banging out songs for a half dozen years at this point (and were in a pop-pink band before called Courage My Love) with more than few seeing moderate success on streaming. They released their debut full length back in January called When A Flower Doesn’t Grow.
“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” That perspective threads through the album’s ten tracks, which explore cycles of oppression, abuse, and conformity, while championing the courage it takes to break free.
“The truth is, nothing can thrive in an environment where it is stifled,” lead singer-guitarist Mercedes Arn-Horn reflects. “We can’t flourish in environments that are oppressive. We need the world around us to be an environment that encourages us to grow.”
My sister Andrea having a really fun time at Militarie Gun, October 10th 2026 at The Rickshaw Theatre
Heyo everybody. It’s been a minute since I’ve jumped on the old Morning After Show blog. Music blogging is something I have done for a lot of years going all the way back to the times before the word “blog” was a thing. Then blogs stopped being a thing and I slowly faded away. But I will say, I did enjoy it and I’m having a bit of a back-to-the-basics kinda moment in my life so here we are. I also like how music blogging keeps me exploring new music and also engage with my idiot email inbox which is still flooded by new music PR hype. Thank you for sending it, I ignore 99% of the emails. I don’t think that will hurt anyones feelings though because I reckon most are just AI hallucinations anyway.
Alight. new music time. Death From Above 1979 announced their 6th LP and a new song, the title track, “Private Lives.”
On the way to soccer practice with my youngest we rocked the new song then went down the DFA algorithm. I loves me some DFA as that amazing You’re a Woman, I’m A Machine record came out in 2004 when I was a baby radio DJ. We played the heck out of that album on The Zone in Victoria and I have such a warm nostalgia for it. My 9-year-old loving DFA’s music the first time he was experiencing it made for a rocking drive to the soccer pitch. Of all the songs, he wanted a repeat play of “Private Lives.” (and also loved “Little Girl”)
Little dude asked me, “what is Private Lives” about? Luckily for me, I DID read my email the other day and was able to basically recite the PR; “The song ‘Private Lives’ is a declaration of privacy in an era of overexposure. We are compelled, often by one another, to share our most intimate moments and quietest thoughts. To what end? More often than not, to be part of a cheap consumer feedback loop. Ultimately though, it’s just a ripping rock song with maniacal riffs!” the band explains. “Our new 10-song LP, Private Lives, represents a renewed commitment to the pure industrial magic of electricity. We’ve never been able to do anything halfway. Much like Kim Bodnia’s dance performance in the video for the lead single, it’s all or nothing for us.”
Death From Above 1979 will be heading out on tour again in 2027. When they roll through Vancouver in March it’ll be at The Vogue Theatre. ALL AGES. Maybe I’ll have to bring the little dude.
Death From Above 1979 2027 Tour Dates:
02/02 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
02/04 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory San Diego
02/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco
02/06 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory Orange County
02/09 – Ventura, CA @ Ventura Music Hall
02/10 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
02/11 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
02/24 – Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s
02/25 – Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
02/26 – London, ON @ London Music Hall
02/27 – Ottawa, ON @ The Bronson
03/01 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Beanfield
03/02 – Quebec City, QC @ Imperial Bell
03/03 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
03/05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
03/06 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
03/07 – Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre
03/08 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Music Hall
03/15 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
03/17 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
03/18 – St Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
03/19 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
03/20 – Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre
03/22 – Red Deer, AB @ Bo’s Bar & Stage
03/23 – Edmonton, AB @ Midway
03/24 – Calgary, AB @ Palace Theatre
03/26 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
03/27 – Victoria, BC @ Capital Ballroom
03/29 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
03/31 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
I’ll leave you with a shitty iPhone picture of the last time I went to see Death From Above 1979 at the Vogue in November of 2024. it poured rain that night! Of course.
Neat. So Mr. Vile’s new record,So Outta Reach, is an EP of odds and sods from his recording session of the album Smoke Ring For My Halo.
I was reading about “Downbound Train” as I do when I download new songs. I want to learn about the history and what was going on. Nothing to flex my brain too hard, usually just poke around on Wikipedia.
Music critic Dave Marsh said that “Downbound” is one of the Boss’ worst songs! Heavy. Who is this Dave Marsh fella anyways?
Turns out Dave is pro Bruce (his wife is a co-manager of Bruce Springsteen) and he’s written a bunch of books about the man. BUT, what is more interesting is that dave marsh was one of the first people to use the term “punk rock” in a publication to describe a style of rock & roll. Now how cool is that?
I always knew that the first band to be described as “punk” was ? and the Mysterians. They had a number 1 garage rock hit in 1966 called “96 Tears.” The song doesn’t sound “punk” rock like you might hear on Jason Lamb’s Punk Show… but this was the first time a music critic described something as “punk.”
? and The Mysterians – “96 Tears”
More poking around on Wiki shows the term “punk” had been batted around in the late 60s and early 70s… but Marsh took it to describe a style of music in Creem in ’71. A member of the Fugs… used “punk” to describe his band’s sound in ’70… but for some reason, it wasn’t in the true “sense’ of the word I guess. BUT, fun fact… Fugs were the first band to have the word “fuck” show up on a recorded album. Neat.
Must be pretty cool to be THEE guy that invented a genre that gets used all the time today.
Right, so what was the point of all this?
Kurt Vile’s “Downbound Train” is a pretty good song. You should listen to it.
Thank you for finding Capital Rock City from The Zone dot Fm slash Jeremy, not too much in the new music department this week and I have little time for DJ notes… so here’s the set. yeesh, not really selling the sizzle with that opening pitch. Trust me, it sounds better than I can describe.
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DJ Notes
01) Crown the Wolf – “Primer Ride”
02) Japandroids – “Sovereignty”
03) Jets Overhead – “No Nations”
04) Acres of Lions – “Entertainment”
Sorry I don’t have more time for DJ Notes… its 3PM, time to make some radio magic on The Zone @ 91-3. Here is what I wrote on the RSS Feed:
CRC 59 begins with the dramz. Did Pride Tiger’s bass player quit moments before their show this past Friday? I dunno if that’s true or what, but I do know Crown The Wolf showed up and did their thing. Japandroids from Vancouver have a trend of canceling shows whenever I am able to go see them. I don’t take it personally, I keep on keeping on. Jets Overhead is the Zone Band of the Month for June! and back from China! Nice. And the show ends with one of my fave Vic rockers, Acres of Lions. if you love the show as much as I do, please share a link with a friend and you can find out more always at http://www.thezone.fm/jeremy (Tuesday, June 02, 2009)
