FilteringCraig

Who are these guys? Until a week ago, I had never even heard of S.T.U.N. (which stands for “Scream Towards the Uprising of Nonconformity.”) After this weekend, they will be tough to forget.

S.T.U.N. came through Cleveland this weekend to play at the Grog Shop for an early show to a pretty packed house. Before going to the show, I had picked up their debut record and done some research to see what these guys are all about. I read somewhere that they were a cross between Rage Against the Machine and Jane’s Addiction. After hearing their disc I heard a few moments that might make someone say that, but overall they shouldn’t be pigeonholed by that categorization. They have a message like Rage and they play with abandon like Jane’s Addiction, but it isn’t a perfect comparison. They are their own band playing a pretty consistent straightforward brand of rock. I didn’t know what to expect from their live show, but I would soon find out that these guys know how to own the stage.

So when they finally took the stage, the whole club seemed to lift. I haven’t seen a front man strut like that in a while. Christiane J (singer), owned the entire audience. There is no doubt he was the focal point of the entire evening. Whether he was climbing through the rafters, hugging audience members from the stage, wrapping his microphone cord through the rafters, or aiming the microphone stand at the audience like a psycho soldier might aim a bazooka, everyone was mesmerized and energized by him. This isn’t to say the rest of the band was boring to watch, but I would think even they would admit that they can’t compete with the crazy man on the mic. They aren’t so much a punk band like a lot of the bands like to call themselves nowadays, but their stage-show with the interaction and the lack of pretentiousness screams of an old-school punk attitude. I never got to see Black Flag, the Sex Pistols or any of that era’s bands, but if I had to imagine what their shows were like, I would guess that S.T.U.N’s show would be reminiscent.

The band played with dynamic, intensity and emotion and the crowd was definitely feeding off of it. They were screaming every word, trying to get a hand on the band members and eventually joined them onstage for the strangest drum jam and stage dance party that these eyes have ever seen. The band went through their set playing most of the songs from their first album. They played a B-side from the new vinyl edition that they just released and because I am sworn to secrecy, I can’t tell you the other song they played. I can tell you that it was a much more rocking version of a song by one of the more famous British bands of all time and if you get a chance to hear them play it, you would be well served to check it out.

From playing bigger venues opening for Marilyn Manson, getting back to the smaller more intimate clubs, to their tour which will kick off in Japan later this year, this band is making some noise. They are one of the better live bands I have seen in a while. Usually when someone tells you “you really have to see these guys live,” it’s just an excuse for why their CD sucks. In the case of S.T.U.N, they have a pretty good album that their live show will prop up to a whole new level.

(S.T.U.N. will be on the road in the U.S. through December 12 and their debut album Evolution of Energy is in stores everywhere)