Bad Nerves with Norcos Y Horchata and Spiritual Cramp at The Loving Touch.
Bad Nerves. All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein.
The Loving Touch is one of the smaller, more intimate venues in the Detroit area, so I was surprised (but not disappointed) when the Bad Nerves/Spiritual Cramp tour was scheduled. It was a Thursday night, and the night after I had just seen one of the biggest shows of my lifetime (AC/DC at Ford Field). I donned my new AC/DC hat and headed to Ferndale for the show.
Norcos Y Horchata are local favorites that include band members Amado Guadarrama (Bump-N-Uglies, The Devious Ones, The Bill Bondsman, Macho) and Dougie Tangent (The Putz, The Dewtons, The Devious Ones). The Loving Touch has an outdoor bar near the entrance, and we started our evening there with a few drinks. We were joined by Amado, who was on his way in to get ready for their set, and we caught up on some of the goings-on in the Detroit punk scene. As always, they killed it, and my buddy Johnny Bourbon picked up an “I Gave Up Drinking For Good (Now I’m Drinking For Evil)” T-shirt after the set.
Amado of Norcos Y Horchata.
Spiritual Cramp from California was up next, and they had some interesting props set up (old TVs set to play only static, with their logo painted over the screens). I've always been a fan of the classic Christian Death album "Only Theatre Of Pain," so I immediately recognized that their band was named after an old Christian Death song. That made me expect more of a goth sound, but what we actually got was a lot more upbeat and energetic. Singer Michael Bingham gave us quite a bit of banter between songs, and they had a keyboardist/tambourine player in addition to the multiple guitarists and drums. Their energy in such a small space, as well as their sound, reminded me of the first time that I saw Homefront. I'll be looking forward to seeing Spiritual Cramp again in a few weeks at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas. They play Sunday, May 25, at 3:35pm on the main stage.
The main reason that I went to this show was the Bad Nerves album "Still Nervous," released in 2024 on Suburban Records. They are from East London, England, and this album was #15 on my list of the best punk albums of 2024. "Fuck Being in California," "Don't Stop," "You've Got The Nerve," and "You Should Know By Now" were my favorites, and I was hoping to hear them live. The show was energetic, and I was lost in the music for a lot of the time, but I did note "Fuck Being In California" and "You've Got The Nerve," along with a few other faster songs that I didn't recognize and will need to track down. I was impressed that the bass player took the time to find a Negative Approach shirt to wear at the Detroit show, a nod to the best hardcore band to ever come out of our scene. I’ll be seeing Bad Nerves again in a few weeks at Punk Rock Bowling. They play Sunday, May 25 on the Monster Street Party Stage at 5:25 PM.
