The Dumpies Played Punk Perfection at Turn! Turn! Turn!

There’s something reassuring in knowing that—no matter how bad things are in the world or in your own lives—in nearly every major city on this planet, a loud, raucous punk show is happening somewhere. A few dozen souls packed into Turn! Turn! Turn! on Friday, Feb. 7, catching a welcome break from doomscrolling at home to watch a bunch of wonderfully raggedy bands blast worries away with volume, attitude and self-aware humor.

The band most befitting that description was The Dumpies. The Astoria outfit maintained a louche disregard for propriety and hygiene. Just as their loose, joyously sloppy set kicked off, singer Joel Midden announced that he just realized he had to go to the bathroom, begging his friends and fans not to squeeze him too hard if he got into the crowd. It wasn’t too much later that he was frothing beer down the front of his hoodie and T-shirt and accidentally spitting on himself. It was the perfect visual representation of the band’s music, which danced upon that fine line between clever and stupid as it lumbered from hyperactive punk to sleazy garage rock.

That torch was carried throughout the entire night, lit first by Never Better, a spunky local quintet that might have leveled up their pop-punk attack with keyboards had we been able to hear the instrument at all. Technical difficulties aside, the group set the stage nicely for both The Dumpies and Night Court, a trio from Vancouver, B.C., that let the tragicomic bleed into their tightly wound slap-happy rock.