The Jasons rocked The Southgate House Revival to the ground on Saturday night, unfortunately they did it one day late.
The Jasons are a punk rock band from Crystal Lake, New Jersey (or possibly West Virginia) that play an aggressive Ramone/Queers DIY punk style combined with plenty of theatrical flair. Each member wears a different hockey mask based on the Friday the 13th movie series. Frontman and guitarist Jason V wears a Friday the 13th part 5 mask, bassist “3-D” wears a part 3 mask, lead guitarist “Hollywood” also wears a part 3 mask (I may be wrong on this one) and drummer Jason Hell wears a Jason goes to Hell mask.
While they missed the sacred Friday the 13th date here in Cincinnati, they played an amazing show regardless. Their performance was a free show in the Lounge at The Southgate House Revival. The room was the most packed I have ever seen. Walking from the bar to the other side of the room took some time and some careful planning and coordination. This didn’t seem to bother anyone as the fans, many of whom were wearing their best Friday the 13th themed shirts, were still having a blast as they pushed their way to the front and rocked out hard as the 4 mongoloids from Crystal Lake took the stage. Even the bartenders seemed to enjoy The Jasons vibe as The Munsters Revenge and Dawn of the Dead were played on a TV behind the bar.
Jason V’s stage presence is intense. Besides his imposing tall stature and long blonde hair, he wore a black and red leather jacket with “Satan Sells,” proudly written on the back. With matching spiked gauntlets and an impressively ridiculous codpiece, his look gave Jerry Only and Gene Simmons a run for their money.
The band quickly played through a set of some of their greatest songs such as “Blood in the Streets,” “I Can’t Stop Killing” and my personal favorite, “Red Blooded American Punk Rock.” The songs came in fast and furious and the crowd did their best to dance and rock out in the packed Lounge.
Jason V took a little time between songs to have some playful banter with the crowd and gave plenty of their don’t give a shit punk attitude to the big music labels. The Jasons ended their set with the crowd pleasing classic, “I Wanna be an Asshole.”
If you’re a fan of classic DIY, no shits given punk rock, The Jasons are a band that you need to check out. I’m already looking forward to their next show.
