Pee Wee Gaskins
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia | Established. Jan 01, 2007 | MAJOR
Music
Press
Infamous pop-punk powerhouse Pee Wee Gaskins once again solidifed their status as one of the most powerful live acts of today, as they breathed life into an otherwise rainy and nondescript Friday night with a rollicking set of nine songs. The stop in Surabaya’s historical Submarine Monument (18/12) was the first leg to kick off their In Your Face tour, supported by local acts including The Flins Tone, Vertical Jump, and Bumblebee, among others.
The music kicked off at 4 p.m. but due to the rain and notoriously terrible traffic it causes, I was not able to see much of the opening sets. By the time I did arrive at the venue, I was in time to see The Flins Tone take the stage. People had been amassing as the hours waned, and the crowd who were scattered all over the venue quickly gathered up. Striding up on stage with the Star Wars theme playing in the background, these guys definitely made an impression. With songs like Stagnasi, Tragedy on September, and Letters to You, they brought nothing but high-energy pop punk with great hooks and just the right touch of angst in their set.
An anticipatory buzz filled the air as The Flins Tones left the stage and a banner emblazoned with Pee Wee Gaskins’ logo was unveiled. The screams of the crowd reached a fever pitch when the lights darkened and the music in the fog-filled stage abruptly cut off. From the start, Pee Wee Gaskins’ set was a roaring ride of catchy lyrics, thundering drum beats and fast-paced, energetic synth. The band got the crowd enthusiastically singing along to its opening number, Sophomore, definitely one of the crowd favorites. Now I understand why Pee Wee Gaskins have some sort of a deep emotional bond with their almost cult-like fanbase—their live shows feel like all-out parties; they are so comfortable on stage and make you feel like they are completely accessible to anyone in the crowd.
The rambunctious energy emanating from the band did not wane throughout the entire show. Although they performed new songs from their latest EP, longtime fans of the group were rewarded with performances of older hits like Dorks Never Say Die and Di Balik Hari Esok.
The evening concluded with a bang: the exuberant, nationalistic anthem Dari Mata Sang Garuda. A forest of swinging arms and clenched fists in the pit added syncopation to the boisterous chorus and further emphasized the song’s message of strength and empowerment. No encore was performed, but the crowd didn’t seem to care. They left happy and invigorated by the no-holds-barred musical spectacle they had just witnessed.
The most memorable part of the performance for me, though, was not any of the songs. It was the inbetween-songs banter, when frontman Dochi Sadega asked the crowd if any of them was in their senior year of high school. Not surprisingly, a lot of kids in the crowd raised their hands in unison, to which he calmly said “you may feel like you can’t wait to grow up but trust me, once you graduate you will want things to be as simple as they were when you’re in high school.” For a second, the angsty 16 year old in me has never felt more at home. Pee Wee Gaskins sounds just like the older brothers I never had, leaving an audience feeling inspired and ready to take on the world. If this is what they mean by “Inherit Pop Punk”, it looks as if this band is liable to do just that. - Sub Of Asia
Discography
STORIES FROM OUR HIGHSCHOOL YEARS (Mini Album, Knurd Records, 2008)
THE SOPHOMORE (Full Album, Variant Records / Alfa Records, 2009)
AD ASTRA PER ASPERA (Full Album, Alfa Records, 2010)
YOU AND I GOING SOUTH (Mini Album, Self-Released, 2010)
THE TRANSIT (Extended Play, Self-Released, 2013)
2014 (Extended Play, Self-Released, 2014)
A YOUTH NOT WASTED (Full Album, Universal Music Indonesia, 2016)
Photos
Bio
Pee Wee Gaskins consist of 5
lads arising from South Jakarta's
pop punk scene in 2007 with
heart pumping teenage hormones
ready to rock the stage and doing
all they can to have fun.
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