1. It’s an unfortunately empty Monday night at the Beauty Bar, with about 40 of us in attendance to experience Irritable Bowel World, I mean Montezuma’s Global Revenge, er Dysentery Sphere? Sorry, I can’t help myself, but it can’t really get worse than the name Diarrhea Planet, can it?
2. It’s also a late night with DP taking the stage after midnight. Luckily, the evening boasts a solid bill with The People’s Whiskey, Pennsylvania’s Left & Right and local quartet Fredward, which impresses me the most with a simmering, Samiam-like power-pop sound.
3. Terrible moniker aside, it’s a fun game to ask people what they think a band named Diarrhea Planet sounds like. Very few respond with hedonistic, four-guitar, indie-rock outfit. The most common answer: death metal, which is just an unfair stereotype.
4. While four guitars feels intentionally excessive, it does make for a heavy-hitting wallop of sound. Diarrhea Planet can push a lot of air, and they take full advantage of their multi-axe capabilities with tripled solos, running fifth and seventh harmonies and double-leaning back-to-back leads.
5. DP can’t help but mock everything, especially themselves, but they really can rock. I’m blown away by their ability to string together unique, infectious melodies delivered with a ton of emotion. I guess it’s no surprise a band called Diarrhea Planet would make a lasting impression, but in this case, it’s not just for bathroom humor.