"Kablammo:" (from left to right): John Paul (guitar), Brian (drums), Audrey (bass guitar)

Last Friday night Philadelphia's "Kablammo" (say "Kathalmo") and "The Low Budgets" gave a show at a warehouse in Downtown Hampton called "The Shed," to an audience of about forty people. I sat on a couch in the corner of the main room and talked with Dandrew and Joe of "The Low Budgets" about their music while some of the opening bands brought their stuff in out of the rain and Chris, also of "The Low Budgets," markered the arm of a worn leather chair.

Seconds after "Kablammo" picked up their instruments, John Paul's brooding guitar and Brian's startlingly loud drums crashed down on the hamstrings of Audrey's unabashedly pouty and venomously pellucid voice. Conversations were ended abruptly. Most of the audience stood still, though some people towards the front of the room began moving around a lot. Joe nursed a beer.

After informing the audience that there's a Beluga (whale) in Philly, the band starts into another song and Andrea recites the lyrics, "You are the reason to my whole wide world/ and I don't care what they think it's about." When the band plays the infectious "Zombie BB-Q," she groans sort of like a zombie before shouting, "We will get you/ We will get you."

Audrey says she comes up with melodies on her bass guitar and plays shows because they help her work through things. This is different from the role she plays as a music therapist at a nursing home in Philly.

"It's all about them, we do the songs they're familiar with. When it's my band it's what I want and if the audience doesn't like it, they can go f_ _ _ themselves."

She says about her lyrics, "I let them be obscure so nobody knows what I'm talking about because I feel like it's none of their business… like the real personal songs, I don't know if people need to know."

After a short intermission, "The Low Budgets" were playing. Joe (who used to play with "The Dead Milkmen"), put his stuttering organ notes around some songs written by Chris, "out of being poor." In one of the songs Chris asks, "Hey Mr. Shopkeeper/ What can I get for fifty cent." Dandrew keeps walking into an undiminished audience and Joe looks frantic. It sounds very much like a burning carnival.

"The Low Budgets:" (from left to right): Chris (guitar), Joe (organ), Dandrew (bass guitar) ("Steve" in the back on drums)

Joe said later, "I think Chris is a great songwriter," and quotably enough, "The Low Budgets are definitely my favorite band." Gary Stevens, of the Hampton band "Sex System" said it was "pretty rockin, really had a good time." Bucky Lewis, of ValiantDeath records, said that "both bands have a sound that is made in Philadelphia and their presence here is a healthy thing for the upcoming music scene we have." They both left at the end of the night.

Joe woke up early in the morning and put part of Brian's drum set into "Kablammo"'s touring van. The day looked sunny and they were all going to visit the beach before their show in Chesapeake later that night. Andrea accidentally slept on some wet cigarette butts.

THE SHED

The Shed hosts practice space for local bands and occasionally does shows. It's located at 732 N. King St. in Hampton.

Web site: http://www.valiantdeath.com/

More information on "Kablammo" and "The Low Budgets" can be found at www.kablammo.org and www.lowbudgets.com.