THE MOTION SICK


 

THE MOTION SICK


 

THE MOTION SICK

 

 

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Pipe Dream - SUNY Binghamton - Binghamton, NY
by Rachel Epstein

ATOM ATTRACTS FANS (BUT HIS PACKAGE ATTRACTS A CROWD)
Last Saturday night, the Binghamton Punk Club and its co-sponsor, Late Nite Binghamton, proved the University Union's South Lounge could be used as more than a waiting area. Some 300 fans showed up to see the main event: Philadelphia's Atom and his Package, a one-man punk/nerd rocker who uses music synthesizers, a guitar, and his own imagination to create quirky, infectious tunes.

Starting a few minutes before the advertised 10 P.M., the show kicked off with a local I-hardly-hit-puberty-yet pop punk ensemble called Mister Pink. Besides the fact that they were super cool simply for being born in 1987 (doesn't it seem like just yesterday…), the boys drew attention with their use of more than three chords and their flamboyantly pink album, 'The Pee-Pee EP.' Many of the songs focused around love and girls (gag), but were saved from blah-dom by oh-so-sophisticated titles such as, 'Too bad you're a lesbian.

Next came Boys Suck who, contrary to the anticipated all-girl 'grrr' band, was a solo male acoustic act from Boston. The mastermind behind Boys Suck, known to strangers and friends alike simply as The Sleepwalker,' described himself as someone who, '…composes wussy pop songs and then makes them even wussier with his candy-coated off-key vocals.' After a brief introduction, he plugged his guitar into the P.A. and proceeded to prove his wussy nature to the crowd by crowning lyrics such as '…you can kick me in the stomach / you can punch me in the face / you can treat me like an earthworm, but I don't have 10 hearts to break.'

In addition to making those present feel more secure in their own wussy natures, listeners also got a special treat: the last performance of 'I Can't Take It Mandy Moore.' As The Sleepwalker explained, Ms. Moore herself allegedly made a reference to the Boys Suck website as she was babbling on some MTV show, and as a result, Boys Suck was inundated with e-mail messages concerning the shout-out. This prompted the aforementioned song, in which The Sleepwalker facetiously vows his dedication: 'If Christina or Britany ever showed up at my door / I would tell them, no thank you, I need a girl with more / Mandy Moore, Mandy Moore.'

Following in the newly introduced theme of solo acts was New York City's Gravity Shackles. Cries of 'He's so cute!' bounced around the crowd as he shyly addressed the audience. Ethan (though there's a rumor that this isn't actually his real name) was the epitome of emo--minus the thick black frames, tight Midtown shirt, painted-on jeans, and endless tears. Rather, it was his lyrical style that pegged him as emo--a boy with a guitar and harmonica pseudo-whining about why girls don't like him, why girls should like him, and how the inclusion of girls in his life would change the world.

The audience, quiet and attentive to the first three acts, got more rowdy as the next band, Connecticut's The Zambonis, encouraged clapping and cheering. The Zambonis consists of a group of men with one obsession: hockey. They all dig the sport so much, in fact, that they sing about it--exclusively.

Usually, though, there's some kind of twist; for example, one song mentions hockey sticks and a puck as metaphors for a much more practiced type of 'sport.' The band was really into pumping the crowd; one member even dressed for the occasion by wearing a slightly dented-looking helmet and a goofy grin.

Finally, after everyone was 'hockey'ed' out, Atom took the stage--with much regret that his package was home sick. The Atom-loving crowd forgave the prerecorded synthesizing--which, as evident from the 'home sick' reference, is typically a live element of the show--and encouraged Atom by cheering on his every word. Shouted requests came from the crowd after each song; the most popular requests were 'Happy Birthday Ralph' and "(Lord, It's Hard to Be Happy When You're Not) Using the Metric System,' both of which are somewhat self-explanatory by their titles, and both of which were granted.

Atom's nasally voice echoed off the walls as his hilarious punk-infested lyrics urged the crowd to bop, sing along and, in a few cases, surreptitiously grope innocent bystanders. It's hard, though, not to want to cop a feel when listening to Atom sing his they-should-be-more-famous-than-they are songs. A few people got so into the scene that they attempted to crowd-surf--attempted being the operative term, as they only managed to move about three feet forward.

Atom ended his set at 1:30 A.M., leaving him minimal 'awake time' to sign autographs, chat with fans, and scramble together The Zambonis (who are on tour with him) to find a shady hotel for the night.

With such a huge turnout behind them, the Binghamton Punk Club plans to work more closely with Late Nite Binghamton in the future in planning similar shows. For information on scheduled shows, or to request a band, or to leave funny messages about other people's mothers, visit <http://www.binghamtonpunkclub.cjb.net>.