Sunday night in Old City, the empty streets of Knoxville betray an eerie absence of life; inside the Pilot Light nightclub, however, the spirit of punk is alive and well.
Last weekend, the Pilot Light venue showcased several up-and-coming female punk rock bands currently touring across the east coast.
Occupying a slender spot on Jackson Avenue, the small bar and stage offered little in the way of space, but compensated with abundant friendliness and intimacy from staff and attendees.
Headface, a Knoxville solo artist, kicked off the show with several heartfelt, well-written songs crooned directly to the eager crowd. While she lacked precision on the guitar, Headface nevertheless delivered a solid opening act to what would become an exhilarating night of fast-paced punk energy.
Following a brief performance by Knoxville band Butt Dial, the self-described “queercore” and “non-college rock” Brooklyn natives Aye Nako took to the stage armed with abundant attitude and enthusiasm. With a fierce and uncompromising persona that persisted throughout, the rockers created a sincere atmosphere that proved almost impossible to dislike. Despite the small size of the crowd, the female musicians delivered chord after heavy chord of precision-perfect punk rock fit for venues twice the size as the one they were currently playing. With little deviation from the rehearsed sound of their album “Unleash Yourself,” Aye Nako nevertheless offered a persistent stream of head-banging goodness to please every single crowd member eager for a taste of true rock n’ roll.
When headliner and Massachusetts native band Potty Mouth finally took to the stage, the crowd had all but dwindled to little more than 10 fans. Consisting of loyal concertgoers as well as the preceding band Aye Nako, the spectators nevertheless found no lack of enjoyment in Potty Mouth’s relentless and fast paced delivery of poppy, punk rock anthems. Singing through a mask of blonde hair, lead guitarist and singer Abby Weems offered no shortage of energy as she plowed through each powerful song of heartfelt, adrenaline pumping music.
While it’s certainly disappointing to see such a powerful show rewarded with such a measly sized crowd, the all-female night of music offered the Knoxville concert goer a brief, yet altogether sincere look at what the true meaning of punk is all about. In the absence of a large crowd, fans were given the rare opportunity to not only view the energetic show within arm’s reach, but to meet and converse with the very icons admired onstage moments before.
At the end of the night, the experience of the concert, though not necessarily the rowdiest, was certainly the most intimate of any concert I have ever experienced.
