UNCAPPED 015: WEAKNESS

By Ezra Morris

For this week’s episode we filmed Weakness as they took over the stage of MOTR Pub in Cincinnati and proceeded to level everyone in attendance. The flailing frame of frontman Kevin Doyle zipped around like he was a marionette whose puppeteer had gone mad with power. Awash in sweat and spit, Weakness ended their set like all the best punk shows end: a giant squeal of noise followed by a punch-in-the-face dead stop and a direct exit from the stage.

Splitting their time between Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, Weakness epitomizes the DIY spirit that has always defined the region. The Louisville-Cincinnati corridor that gave the world Slamdek, Krazy Fest and Initial Records is still thriving today. Far enough removed from Chicago’s orbit or any other region-defining metropolises, the area has its own unique identity, a mix of the best aspects of the South and the Midwest, as well as ample locations easily converted into venues, practice spaces and record stores. Venues like Monster House and Bat Chapters provide the opportunity for emerging bands from all over the country to play a packed show to an eager audience of like-minded peers. Proving that the flame still burns, Weakness are bright-eyed foot soldiers of the regional DIY scene alongside Louisville’s Xerxes and Nashville’s Diarrhea Planet.

Weakness sound like Hickey occasionally tossing in the math rock riffage of Rye Coalition while playing through the filter of lo-fi fuzz favored by No Age and Times New Viking in their early years. The extra element of carnivalesque keyboard adds an element of high-wire flamboyance that perfectly compliments their explosive performances. Channeling a spazziness that seemed to be all but extinct during the last decade of too-cool-for-school flippancy, Weakness bring the ruckus.