An Honest M!STAKE

Sucker punches are not cool. Two summers ago, one met my face thrown by a miscreant in Bed Stuy. I had blood in my eye for weeks. Anyway, I get ahead of myself…

I had never seen the M!STAKES before, nor heard them, or even heard of them; but that didn’t stop me from catching a set at Fontana’s last night. I was told they might or might not sound like ska. Immediately their appearance had me wondering. The frontman had a mohawk, two knee-length wallet chains, and a shirt with cut-off sleeves. He had written on the back in magic marker “SUCKER PUNCH.” Oh, and the bassist had skulls on his guitar strap. I expected a distorted, noisy, off-key, garage band version of Misfits… the M!STAKES.

Then as soon as they start playing, I hear clear and discernable pop riffs. The frontman, aka Sucker Punch, in all his toughness, also plays the freaking xylophone. Suddenly they are more like Boy Least Likely To than I had prepared myself for (of course, without sounding anything like them). The backing vocals by the guitarist and keyboardist are full of Oooos and Ahhhs, but it never gets sugary sweet, even with a tambourine… that’s because Sucker Punch is a maniac! Flailing about, kicking down imaginary doors, swinging his microphone, and going –in a word- apeshit. They play through their repertoire of rock, and even display an ability to through some dance beats when required (see NYC Local Law 88).

So much fun, and such a surprise, that you could say that I was blindsided by, yes, a sucker punch.

M!stakes - Mobile (mp3)