Show Review: Bullwinkle, The Dutch Kills, QIRL, Epoxy at Alphaville Brooklyn. February 29, 2024.
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Four bands capitalize on a bonus day to make it one worth remembering
March 1, 2024
What’s the leap day to you? To us it was a free ride, a bonus track to the album of life, an awesome night out at Alphaville, Brooklyn to see Bullwinkle, The Dutch Kills, QIRL, and Epoxy. February 29th won’t exist next year. Or the year after that. Or the year after that. These bands seized the rare earth moment and captured lightning in a bottle.
The sight of opener Bullwinkle on stage had us remembering our RuneScape login. These peasants were a rock duo, simply a drum kit and a crushing guitar. Clean verses slipped into overwhelmingly distorted chorus. “OW, LOOKOUT!” the guitarist shouted into the mic. A man in full druid robe stood next to us in the back for a moment. We looked at them and pointed on stage because this person had to be a part of the band. They nodded, but then simply walked to the front of the stage to enjoy the experience closer. This was Monty Python and the Holy Setlist.
The Dutch Kills felt the special energy with their introduction. “What’s up guys happy leap dayyyyyyy! It’s never happening again” their lead vocalist/guitarist declared before starting. We will admit our biased opinion, but when the lead singer is also a competent instrumentalist the music is likely to glue together so much better. And it did, this group was rock solid. Their frontwoman wore a soft zebra print vest with a “Rock Band" cutout sewn onto the back. We’re talking Rock Band the video game. Upon reflection, that game was probably a 2010’s gateway drug to the real thing for so many groups. Friendships were built and destroyed playing Rock Band. Enough about the lead though, they get most of the attention anyway. Bass was locked in, second guitar had sweet licks and their drummer was absolutely in the pocket. At the very bottom of your pants pocket, with all the dryer lint.
QIRL had matching jumpsuits, we imagined them as some sort of greaseless mechanics. There’s a killer record store in Providence, RI, called Armageddon Records we used to frequent. They’d always be playing some sort of punk thrash inside and QIRL would fit right in with this vibe. Their six string bassist was a standout performer. They shouted a refrain of “I AM NOT AN ARTIST, I AM A BILLBOARD”. We wonder what that billboard would say.
Most members of Epoxy were dressed in full suits, straight out the 9 to 5. But imagine for a moment waking up at 7:30AM on a Wednesday to hop on an 8:00AM Zoom call for work. You’re a pinto bean salesperson and are on call to touch base with your biggest client, Chipotle. The Chipotle distributors are up your ass because lately the freshness isn’t hitting and it must be the beans, aka your fault. As you smile and nod in agreement into the camera, fresh beans of rage boil up inside you. Epoxy was the sound of this fury. It was their second show ever and they screamed until they couldn’t anymore. “THERE WILL BE NO RAPTURE” they howled into the microphone.
Let’s do it all again on February 29th, 2028! Connect with these bands below to catch their next show.
