Punk Legend Mike Watt Comes to Ferndale

“Punk opera” isn’t a phrase commonly associated with music and may seem like quite a farfetched idea.  

But, after Mike Watt & The Missingmen finished their hourlong set at the last week, it was easy to assess that the crowd was sold on his ambitious twist on punk rock that is still way ahead of the game.

Watt & Co. ripped through the recently US release of Hyphenated-Man in its entirety, followed by an encore including Minutemen classics like Toadies, Black Sheep and Anxious Mo-Fo.

During filming for the We Jam Econo documentary in 2005, Watt listened to Minutemen songs for the first time in years. This lead to the inspiration for Hyphenated-Man.

"The main parallel I saw with The Minutemen was how many little trips could roll up into one big one,” said Watt when writing about the new record on his website.

Their set was nothing short of a big trip. His Missingmen, which includes Tom Watson on guitar and Raul Morales on drums, made for one of the most talented and dynamic three=piece bands unlike any punk band that comes across today.

From quiet, almost implausible parts with Watt whispering “like a mouse” backed up by only Morales faintly keeping a beat, to abrasive and loud noise reminding you where Watt got his start in the SST Records family (Hüsker Dü, the Meat Puppets, Sonic Youth), the crowd erupted at every spare second of silence that came – there was very few.

“I would drive double the distance to see Mike,” said Toledo resident Drew Garcia. “The show was awesome.”

Garcia drove with his father and uncle from Toledo right after work to make it in time.

“He supports the working man,” said Tony Garcia. “I can’t rate the show high enough compared to others. He’s a great musician, but an even better person.”

Ferndale-based Destroy This Place opened the show with a half-dozen songs from the soon to be released LP Resurrect The Mammoth. Their 1990s laced riffs and likability similar to Superchunk or Ted Leo & The Pharmacists sounded crisp from the Magic Bag stage.

Even though DTP has been a band for a short time, they played together like long time veterans who’ve been jamming for years. With guitarists Ryan Allen and John Nelson sharing vocal responsibilities, they synced together and harmonized at perfect times creating a warm near-summer atmosphere in the dark-lit Bag. (Allen is a Ferndale Patch music columnist)

"It's always weird to play a show in front of a bunch of strangers and in a place that doesn't always cater to loud punk rock bands,” said Allen.

Bassist Monday Busque and drummer Sean Sommer kept the rhythm section in check giving the songs the bouncing life of loud indie/punk rock from when it was somewhat on top of the music world.

"The crowd seemed to warm up to us after a few songs and were super complimentary after the gig. Of course, to be able to open up for a punk legend like Mike Watt was a total honor,” said Allen. “The fact that he and his band were such nice, gracious and humble dudes - and that their set was so amazing, intense and dynamic - well, that was the icing on the cake."

DTP’s record couldn’t be getting released at a more perfect time with Michigan finally rotating through its stubborn weather cycle.

Watt, now in his 50s, has not shown signs of slowing down either. Following the commencement of the Hyphenated-Man tour, he’s handling bass duties for a European run with Detroit legends Iggy and the Stooges. On Tuesday at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, he’ll be back in the area to join them for a sold out show as a tribute to the late Ron Asheton.