Negative Approach just toured with heavy metal barbarians GWAR last fall, and “is arguably the greatest hardcore band ever,” according to Gwen Downing-Groth, owner of Blind Rage Records. Zero Boys aren’t often playing smaller-cap rooms either, so experiencing these bands in an intimate setting is not normal behavior, despite the innate underground feel of punk music.
Washington, D.C. band Bed Maker, fronted by Amanda MacKaye (sister of Ian MacKaye from Minor Threat and Fugazi), will play before Negative Approach on Friday night.
Several other supporting acts are set to perform across the weekend, some of whom have releases on Blind Rage Records, like Colossal Man (Fort Wayne, Ind.), So Automatic (New Bedford, Mass.,), Body Farm (Ohio/Penn.) and Small Steps (Lexington, Ky.).
The label is celebrating its 50th release on Blind Rage Weekend, coming from a band out of Gainesville, Fla. with a name that cannot be printed here, so we’ll call it A — Parade. However, the band won’t be performing that weekend.
The Blind Rage Records label aptly started in Downing-Groth’s basement around 2018, and quickly gained momentum, attracting the attention of out-of-towner bands. Similarly, the record store, which opened in a smaller location two doors down from its current spot in 2020, has hosted nationally and regionally touring bands on a stage that takes up a third of the space.
The Replacements’ bassist Tommy Stinson brought his Cowboys in the Campfire to Blind Rage last September. Punk forefathers Television’s Richard Lloyd is coming with his band this October. And in between, a bevy of bands with perhaps lesser-known names but comparable and fitting attitudes to play an all-ages show at Blind Rage — “Dayton’s Third Best Record Store.”
“I’m pretty flattered anytime a band like that reaches out,” Downing-Groth said. “Having people like [Stinson] who are kind of legends in the, you know, punk and post-punk world is really awesome.”
Aside from the occasional stacked DIY house show, along with venues like Belmont Billiards, Cosmic Joe’s Atomic Lounge and the Hidden Gem, punk doesn’t often have a place in the so-called mainstream. Blind Rage fills that void locally by extending its stage to those bands and with its, so far, yearly Blind Rage Weekend.
“It’s really an excuse to get a bunch of my friends in the same place,” Downing-Groth said, on the lineup. “Most of these bands have played with each other several times over. There are a lot of friends between them.”
Except for a few, most of the bands on the Blind Rage Weekend bill have played in-store before, so this weekend at Yellow Cab is sort of a de facto showcase.
A Punk Flea Market will run from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday. Vendors will donate in lieu of a vendor fee as a benefit for a local business owner. Setups will include Hey Suburbia Records, Omega Music, Scavenging Hand, Weird Garage Sale, Blind Rage Records and more to sell records, T-shirts and whatever else you’d find at a punk flea market.
Andy Stamm, a local barber, will be offering punk haircuts (i.e. mohawks or shaved heads) for $5 for the weekend.
While there are a few bands from the area performing, some span from as far as Massachusetts and Wisconsin.
“It makes me feel good that bands continue to want to play here and play things that I’m putting together,” Downing-Groth said.
Spiky punks, thrashers, moshers and metalheads rejoice for the fourth (fingers-crossed) annual Blind Rage Weekend.
How to go
What: Blind Rage 4-Year Anniversary Bash
When: 5 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday; Punk Flea Market 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Yellow Cab Tavern, 700 E. 4th St., Dayton)
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