Spring Breakout at The EARL

It only makes sense that New Yorkers would want to come to Atlanta for Spring Break. It may not be Cancun, but it sure beats the freezing temperatures of the Big Apple. Fortunately the New Yorkers that made their way down to Atlanta weren't obnoxious Yankees fans, but perfectly polite punk rock bands.

Unfortunately, excellent NY power poppers the Electric Shadows couldn't make it down to join the fun, but the combination of Stalkers and Ex-Humans made the opening night of the Die Slaughterhaus/Douchemaster Spring Breakout more than worthwhile. I missed the first two acts because I was watching mascots fight over fake mustaches, but I arrived just in time to catch the Stalkers.

With aptly named frontman Andy Animal spazzing out on stage, Stalkers play a surprisingly catchy brand of punk that includes some nice vocal harmonies. They gained steam as the night went along, too, amping up the speed and getting the typically reluctant Atlanta crowd moving. The Stalkers have somehow missed internet hype surrounding many similar bands, but they are well worth listening to even if though they don't have a trail of singles going for $50 on eBay.

The Ex-Humans followed and they are similarly under-the-radar...for now. With former Atlanta scene fixture Josh Martin (ex-Carbonas, Beat Beat Beat) at the helm, these guys are destined to hit it big (in grimy European clubs and on Termbo, at the very least). The Ex-Humans sound a lot like Beat Beat Beat, meaning they played an excellent 20-25 minute set of high-energy pop punk. It was one of the best sets I've seen at the Earl in a while...hopefully Martin's Atlanta connections will bring the Ex-Humans back soon.

Want more? Head on down to 205 Holtzclaw tonight to check out some excellent bands in a similar vein, led by incredible lo-fi out-of-town rockers The Beets and a host of the best of the new wave of Atlanta punk bands (the Replacements-esque Customers, the always-fun Baby Dinos Vs Extinction, and Predator, who are perhaps the best of the bunch).