NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
The indie punk band Vial has been around for around five years. However, with Covid hitting right in the middle, I feel like they’ve really only been a band for three years. Not that they didn’t make full use of that lockdown time, making music and establishing their social media presence with TikTok videos that earned them a slew of fans. They released their debut album “Loudmouth” in 2021 and their sophomore album “burnout” last month! While “burnout” doesn’t have all “in-your-face” punk like “Loudmouth”, it reflects a bit more of the indie rock of 2024 and their tongue-in-cheek lyrics continue to impress. Songs like “just fine” are wonderfully melodic but sometimes we just want to be screamed at in double speed like the end of “Mr. Fuck You”!! (I would say like playing an LP at 45rpm instead of 33 1/3rpm but since their albums are mastered at 45rpm, my analogy would be 78rpm but those in this audience would be way too young to know about 78s). As we approach the beginning of May and warmer weather, it felt like a great time to absorb some energy from a punk show and Vial at Buffalo’s Mohawk Place fit the bill to a T.
The opening bands for the evening were local punk band All Maine Points and Rochester garage pop act Boy Jr. Since all members of both bands identify as LGBTQ+, there was no better queer safe place in Buffalo than Mohawk Place on this evening.
Led by vocalist Jare Curtis, All Maine Points warmed the frigid venue with their high energy music and performance. With guitarist/vocalist Andrew Ajaka bouncing around the stage, baby-faced bassist Thea Karonis and drummer Darren Valdera providing the rhythms, the band tore through a fun set that had the audience bouncing and dancing. Unfortunately, Ajaka broke a guitar string just a couple of songs into their set but the group didn’t miss a beat. Valdera and Ajaka switched places for one song and Ajaka used Valdera’s guitar from that point on. They played a fun set, a sure sign of things to come.
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Boy Jr took the stage as a spoken track introduced the set. If All Maine Points weren’t high energy enough, Boy Jr, with their high kicks and expressive performance took it up another notch. The members of All Maine Points were in the audience center stage dancing and moshing to the music. There was a technical issue at one point when the synth track was not synched to the drums but that was quickly remedied. Smoothly transitioning between indie rock and 80s synth-pop, Boy Jr played an all too short set. They indicated that the band would be at the merch table afterwards but please wear a mask because they were scheduled for chest surgery after the tour (as the crowd cheered) and they can’t afford to get sick.
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Vial turned out to be everything I expected and more! Taking turns at vocals, guitarist KT Branscom, bassist Taylor Kraemer, and drummer Katie Fischer left it all out on the floor with Branscom and Kraemer providing a lot of the energy and the band members throwing jabs and middle fingers at each other during the set. Fischer has to be the chillest punk drummer I’ve ever seen, sitting back with a small smile on her face just taking it all in.
The setlist had everything including all of “burnout”. Vial did a wonderful cover of Metric’s “Black Sheep” and a “song” that must have been twenty seconds of screaming! When KT had to tune their guitar, Kraemer and Fischer improvised “The Tuning Song”! Too funny!! Once again, All Maine Points provided the mosh pit throughout the set and the whole crowd joined in during the finale “Piss Punk”! That’s the way to cap off a great show!
Vial closes out this leg of their tour in Columbus on Sunday but make sure you catch them on the next leg! I don’t expect them to be playing these tiny venues much longer.
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