High Tension Wires

Photo by Shelley Hiam

High Tension Wires

Taking the stage between D.O.A. and Cro-Mags was a tall order for High Tension Wires. The part-time fivepiece features members of the Riverboat Gamblers, Marked Men, and the Reds herky-jerking through breakneck pop-punk snot rockets that eschew mosh pits in favor of a spazzed-out pogo requiring ample arch support. Think the Dickies on C.P.O. Sharkey with hints of the Dead Boys' sonic head-butt. Opening with "People I Know" from 2005's Send a Message, the Wires issued forth like a shook-up soda-pop can exploding in a middle school cafetorium. The quintet's fast-and-faster approach reached ramming speed with "Get You" and a swell cover of the Urinals' "I'm a Bug." Despite the band's fast pace, guitarist/vocalist Mike Wiebe found time to dish out plenty of canned ham. "If you're ovulating right now," he warned before closer "Glasses for the Blind," "you better tighten that shit up, or you could get pregnant." While the polite applause that followed wasn't necessarily indicative of immaculate conception, the Wires' solid state showing belied the endeavor's side project pedigree.