Wednesday, March 28th, two friends and I convened at the Spring Street Fire House in Avondale for the much anticipated Bomb the Music Industry! concert. We expected an excellent show, and were by no means disappointed. However, the opening band, Wisdom Teeth, was a highlight of the night. Located right here in Birmingham, this trio of high school students describe themselves as a pop punk or emo band, citing their influences as artists like Brand New, Cap´n Jazz, and Jawbreaker.
A small, eclectic crowd began to gather in the front room of the Firehouse around 7:00. Comprised mostly of highschool and college students, the atmosphere was that of laid-back camaraderie, relaxing enough to make any outsiders, like ourselves, feel included. We stood and chatted with other high-schoolers before heading to the back room, where a flutter of activity had ensued as band members scattered about the concrete cave, preparing for their set. Instinctively, the crowd of thirty or so moved around Wisdom Teeth before they started playing. From the beginning, the crowd was entranced, hanging onto every bass line and screamed vocal. We moved from the back wall and into the crowd of toetapping and rhythmic headbobbing. A friend of mine turned towards me and said, with surprised admiration, "I actually really like these guys" before pushing further towards the band. Wisdom Teeth held the crowd from beginning to end, from their comfortable stage (well, standing room) presence to their goodnatured commentary between songs. By the end, people were even screaming along with them. I dare say I wasn´t the only one in the crowd who was a little disappointed when their set ended.
Formed in November of 2011 after the break up of vocalist and bassist Daniel Ryan´s previous band, Wisdom Teeth didn´t begin playing live shows until January of this year. On March 27th, they released their self-titled album, containing eight original tracks, and show no signs of slowing down. So what´s next? According to Ryan, Wisdom Teeth hopes to record with bands like Sitka, of Olympia, WA, and Milkshakes, from Glastonbury, CT in the near future. For such a fledgling band, they´ve already accomplished quite a bit. When asked about the band´s best experience, Ryan affirms that opening for BTMI! and playing for such an enthusiastic crowd of people takes the cake. "Our best experience as a whole has been having people sing along to our songs," says Ryan, "that´s the coolest thing in the world to us." Not to mention his foray into fame: he was asked for his autograph that night as well.
Wisdom Teeth is Daniel Ryan on bass and vocals, Zane Lake on guitar and vocals, Jake Lovett on drums, and Dan Walker on drums on the album. You can download Wisdom Teeth´s self-titled album from their bandcamp.com and like them on Facebook.
Wisdom Teeth also played the last show at the Spring Street Fire House on April 28. Responding to growing pains in the Avondale neighborhood, it is currently searching a new location. Look here for news of where the all-ages community music venue rematerializes. www.facebook.com/ wisdomteethbham www.wisdomteethbham. bandcamp.com http://springstreetfirehouse.com
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