Plow United’s classic album Goodnight Sellout! is celebrating its 30th birthday like a true slacker: by moving back in with its parents. Yes, that’s right, the cult classic second album from the 90s Delaware Valley punks is getting the deluxe reissue treatment from its original label, Creep Records.
Painstakingly remastered from the original 16-track tape by album’s original producer, Arik Victor, this 2XLP reissue also includes a stunning long-lost live set recorded shortly before Plow United’s breakup in 1997 and a full-color booklet insert of previously unpublished pictures, writing, and ephemera. The CD gives you all that and adds Goodnight Sellout! Revisited, a brand new mix of the album that gives the original a spit-shine while also unearthing some hidden mysteries from the sessions.
And of course it wouldn’t be a birthday without a birthday party. On September 19, Plow United will perform Goodnight Sellout! in its entirety at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia (site of their “last” show in 1997), with support from The Ergs!, Chris Gethard, and Crossed Keys.
The Ergs! are an American punk rock band formed in 2000 in South Amboy, NJ, by three high school friends: drummer/lead vocalist, Mikey Erg (Mike Yannich); guitarist/vocalist, Jeff Erg (Jeff Schroeck); and bassist, Joey Erg (Joe Keller). Through touring and recording, The Ergs! became recognized on a national and international level, touring and playing with such noted acts as The Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, Less Than Jake, Descendents, The Loved Ones, The Gaslight Anthem, Dillinger Four, None More Black, The Explosion, Municipal Waste, Lemuria, and more.
I Farm was formed in a tank of the Nanotech Laboratories of the Material Science building at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Though they claim to have been formed in late 1994 the truth is that they began performing in 1993. (The ruse existing to explain away their youthful good looks) Combining melody and technical prowess with the raw power of punk, metal, and irony, I Farm have been a consistent presence in the DIY scenes of North America and Europe, delighting audiences, confounding critics, and spreading their unique melancholy humanism where it is wanted the least. Despite the fact that they haven’t played in 20 years, I Farm are adamant that they are only taking a break.
Some people think Plastic Letters are a Philadelphia all-star band, a rag tag ensemble of misfit toys bashing out punk infused grooves for the locals. These people are wrong. Plastic Letters are bent on global domination and they are going to take over the world. You’re doubtful. I hear you. Could Plastic Letters exist outside of Philadelphia? Would they know how to survive a winter gig in Detroit? A summer outdoor festival in New Orleans? We don’t know. They’re hearty guys, but things are confusing. There’s lots to unpack.
First, the band can’t agree on a genre. They’re trying to hit everything all at once: New Wave/Hardcore/Dance/Punk. It shouldn’t work, but it does. They are relentlessly innovative and unafraid. Second, all the players have been in other bands, with all of the trauma associated with those ordeals. Take a look at the line-up: Jason Goldberg, Vocals, (The Bad Luck Riot 13 Extravaganza), Arik Victor – Guitar, (Goddamnit), Beau Brendley – Bass (Crossed Keys), Jonathan LeVine – Drums (Cyclone Static) and Antwonn Del Ross – Keyboards. These guys are pros, but oh my God, the baggage! But they just might be delusional enough, blissfully unbothered and fearless, to conquer the known world.