Bruiser Queen Live Review, Photos, and Video w/ Wet Nurse, The Palmettes, and Poster | St. Matthew’s Tavern Orlando | January 22 2015

by Martin Cardenas • January 29, 2015

St. Matthew’s Tavern may seem like your run of the Mills Ave. hang out but their music acts will make you want to move in. Their smoking friendly bar, outdoor stage, and drink specials are enough to make any night memorable. I was lucky enough to add an extra HELL YEA! to my Thursday night last week because Bruiser Queen was playing.

Mitch and I started with some Modelos at his place. I explored the ever-coveted purple ticket basket on his bar and checked on some upcoming shows. We talked about his newly cemented schedule with WPRK 91.5 every other Friday w/ Jessica Pawli and some genius future plans. Keep your ear to the ground and your eyes on this website dear reader, beautiful things are coming.

St. Matthew’s three-dollar Long Island special welcomed our enthusiastic energies. We stepped outside and peeped the Palmettes preparing the stage for their proficiency in Doo-wop and garage rock. With lines like “Touch me there or everywhere,” the girl-fronted group gained some serious gazes from the boys in the back yard. The Palmettes’ demo is available on Bandcamp and you definitely want to get it while you can. All four tracks create an ambiance of 50’s greaser rebellion and drive-in-movie dates on amphetamines.

<a href="http://palmettes.bandcamp.com/album/demo">Demo by The Palmettes</a>

It may have been the copious amount of cheap drinks–damn it! Mitch and I lost count again–but after the Palmettes’ set I could have sworn two superheroes took the stage. I scanned the room and everyone’s reaction seemed to be the same, thank the gods I wasn’t the only one. Morgan Nusbaum and Jason Potter, also known as the illustrious Bruiser Queen, were outfitted in golden capes. The two-piece from St. Louis Missouri opened their Orlando set with “I’m Yours” from their album Swear. Potter’s beguiling drumbeat played perfectly with Nusbaum’s grainy guitar chords and captivating vocals. Christopher put together a live video of their performance of “I’m Yours” (below). Christopher says:

A perfect blend of harmony and hard hitting melody. This duo brings a lot to their live show. A superhero aesthetic to match their out-of-this-world energy that easily gets a crowd going.

“On The Radio” rang out and I was happy we were outside because that song would have blown the roof off. The epic amount of energy emitting from the electronics was enough to blow an electrical breaker.

I was trapped in a trance while Nusbaum’s purple and pink locks shook across the sheet metal background of the stage. In my moment of music meditation a thought jolted into my mind: Bruiser Queen very well may be the soul infused love child of early White Stripes and Sleater-Kinney. A musical chemistry exists between Nusbaum and Potter that is impossible to completely process. These two seem to creatively feed off each other and create things that conquer multiple musical challenges. Much love to Missouri for somehow magically bringing these two together.

After an open invitation to stay with them in the Show-Me state (“Stay at our place and we will take you to breakfast!”), Bruiser Queen neared the end of their set with “Tiny Heart Attack,” from Sweet Static. I swayed back and forth in that backyard and stared up at the stars. With cigarette in hand and eyes gazing upon galaxies far away I felt the energy of the world flow through me. The music that night at St. Matthews made for a perfect soundtrack to the exploration of my evening.

I missed the openers of the night, Poster, but Christopher caught some photos of them (below). After Bruiser Queen, Orlando’s favorite punk band, Wet Nurse took the stage (or floor, rather) and we danced and sang to their infectious tunes. Here’s a video Mitch took on the Shows I Go To Instagram:

Wet Nurse (@wetnursefl) | Jan 22 2015 | #showsigoto #wetnurse #brainarcade #stmatthewstavern #orlandodoesntsuck This show was such a blast! It was my first time seeing a show outside at St Matthews. The weather was perfect. The people were cool. It was a beautiful Thursday night. #Party

A video posted by Shows I Go To (@showsigoto) on Jan 25, 2015 at 11:26am PST

Bruiser Queen Live Review by Martin Cardenas.
Bruiser Queen Live Photos & Video by Christopher Keith Garcia.
To view more of Christopher’s work, visit http://www.ckgphotography.com/