No Use For a Name & Sum 41 at Jillian's

By Jason Koerner

No Use For a Name seems like more than just a band name, but a mentality. While someone from the band's promotional team, Fat Wreck Chords, said they put me on the guest list for the show, when I got there, they had No Use For a Guest List.

Don't you love feeling stupid in front of a large group of people?

Luckily (and surprisingly) Eric from Jillian's saved the day by providing my entry to the show on the house, not the band.

I got in just prior to NUFAN's opening sequence, a jest about homosexuality and caught their high-energy show. Can't hold anything against the band for what happened at the door, they were great performers. Members include Tony Sly on vocals/guitar, Dave Nassie on guitar, Matt Riddle on bass/vocals and Rory Koff on drums. The band just released their 11th album since 1989. Hard Rock Bottom, released late last year, is the current batch of songs the band is pushing on the road with Sum 41. The band has come a long way, it seems, since the hand drawn artwork of You Bug Me.

The band's web site is www.nouse4aname.com. They have a pretty nice site designed in Flash that features their show dates, discography, media and the likes. It also contains the link to purchase their CD online at www.fatwreck.com.

What can I say? The band has been working hard at this for over a decade and now they are seeing it pay off. They were very tight, had good vocal harmonies, were very attentive to the audience and are making a "name" for themselves in the world of punk rock, despite their contradictory title.

Sum 41 followed NUFAN and had the crowd on edge. Teenyboppers galore cheered their TRL rock band on as they took the stage. (Nothing against the band, but screaming teenyboppers were killing my ears...) With the recent release of their newest album, Does This Look Infected, the band has a snowballing success rate with fans across the spectrum. Something about this band can appeal to just about anyone, whether it is the punk rock/mainstream blend of music with the occasional metal riff, or the humorous disposition the band has onstage and in their music, or the looks that apparently drive girls crazy.

And such marketing...

I just read an article about how more and more time that people spend listening to music is now from video games, not the radio. Sum 41 has tracks on "NHL 2002" and "MX 2002" in addition to the American Pie 2 soundtrack and their other three full length albums. Quite an impressive resume for a relatively new band.

The group also knows how to work the crowd. Aside from the basic interaction, they even tried to fulfill the wishes of an audience member to do a Metallica cover. Pretty funny stuff!

For more information on the band, go to www.sum41.com. There is also a great fan site at www.sum41.org you can check out.

Good show overall. It was a nice break from my usual, angry metal-scene.