Live review: Balkans 7-inch release party at Vacation Boutique

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Balkans played a 7-inch release party on Sunday night (Feb. 22) at Vacation Gallery & Boutique in the Virginia Highlands, and there was one small problem: there weren’t any 7-inches to be found. The label didn’t get them from the pressing plant in time for the show, which has been an increasingly common problem as of late. Rumor has it that all of the pressing plants around the country are experiencing a huge demand for vinyl right now. As a result it’s taking longer and longer to get records.-

The group played anyway, and they wore an awful lot of denim when they did (see above). There were about 25 people in attendance for the 20+ minute set. Balkans craft a jittery and fast-paced punk/surf/fuzzed-out pop grind that teems with energy while they perform.-

Guitarist/bass player Brett Miller played with a broken hand, and when he dropped his pick toward the end of the show he just played the string with his fingers. A fine, red spackling, a few smears and a couple of bloody finger prints marred the otherwise colorless face of his guitar by the time he was done.-

It’s a sure sign of dedication when a band literally sheds their own blood to keep a show moving along, and all of the pain and frenetic energy the group displayed paid off.-

Double Phantom Records hope to have the 7-inches for sale sometime this week, and most definitely by the time they open for King Khan and the Shrines at the Masquerade on Tues., March 10.-

(Photo by Chad Radford)