Worn in Red has been on something of a roll since the release of 2008’s "Vital Joys" split 7". Not that you would know, unless you’ve been listening very carefully. But that’s selectivity for you.
Now roughly five years old, Worn in Red has rarely played local gigs more often than once a month. Full-length albums aren’t exactly easy (or possible) to come by; in fact, save for "Vital Joys," I’ve only located the six-song Autumnus Ortus. And that phrase "split 7"" isn’t a typo any more than it’s a big financial boon for the band: Modern hardcore and vinyl are on opposite sides of the room at the school dance.
Not to split definitions, but the qualities that make Worn in Red vital might work against it being essential. All the more reason to catch the band’s gig at IS on Friday. (If you don’t plan to catch Sons of Bill at The Paramount, that is.) Worn in Red don’t flood the web with poorly branded band clutter, the streets with half-baked albums, or local restaurants with free gigs. But while they might not always bait a huge crowd, I’m yet to attend a Worn in Red gig where the band fails to reel in every listener in the room.
The band’s drummer and de facto PR man, Brad Perry, sent me a couple new tunes by the band—"Mise en Abyme" and the terriffic "When People Have Something to Say," which is three-and-a-half minutes of slowly burning fuse and 90 seconds of dynamite at the end. Worn in Red’s particular brand of punk rock perfectionism may not always reward the band with a huge crowd, but it always rewards the crowd itself. Be part of the mob on Friday night at Is—$7, 9:30pm.
My question for you: What other local perfectionists deserve bigger crowds at their gigs?
Red is our color: Catch Worn in Red at IS on Friday at 9:30pm.
