On Saturday, July 22nd, the 1991 – 1994 lineup of Blue Meanies will play the Concord Music Hall, marking the first time this configuration of the band has been together in 29 years. This particular era of Blue Meanies was led by bassist Jay Vance, who brought together Tony Aimone, Jim Cooley, Jimmy Flame, John Paul Camp III, Dave Smith, Chaz Linde, and Billy Spunke. This lineup was responsible for the Peace Love Group and Kiss Your Ass Goodbye LPs, as well as the Pave the World EP, before ultimately parting ways in ’94.

We recently spoke with singer Billy Spunke and talked about how this reunion of sorts came about. He explained, “Jump Up Records had messaged me directly, asking to reissue some old material and play a show around it. I forwarded the message to the Meanies group chat, who quickly responded unanimously that a show was long overdue and that it sounded like a great way to see each other again. We all jumped on a Zoom call to chat further. It was the first time all of us had seen each other in 29 years, albeit virtually, and the chemistry was magic.”

Once the show was booked, Spunke and his bandmates went about familiarizing themselves with their old material. When asked about revisiting Blue Meanies’ catalog, Spunke said “There’s been a lot of discussion about what songs we’ll play from the Pave the World EP or the Kiss Your Ass Goodbye era. It’s fair to say that we’ve agreed to play all of the songs from those recordings, so when I began to rehearse the songs, it came as a surprise as to how much the songs had developed and changed between 1994 and 2001. The Full Throttle LP lineup pushed the tempos, volume and anger to its full potential. Listening to those early recordings reminded me that speed wasn’t a priority, but message, melody and musicianship were. We were all learning about ourselves as a group and as individuals, so there are a few moments in those original recordings that I wouldn’t mind turning back the clock and changing. I have surrendered to those tracks, mistakes and all, and can sing them and laugh at myself a little bit.” He continued, “Humility aside, I am somewhat beside myself that tracks like ‘Pave the World,’ ‘Tread,’ ‘Blah Blah Blah,’ and ‘Johnny Mortgage,’ to name a few, are still very relevant thirty years later. That current social relevance will give the show 100% more meaning than simple nostalgia.”

In terms of what he’s looking forward to most about the upcoming show, Spunke said “The band is spread out across the country and more than half of us will be flying in a few days early for some crash course rehearsing. The first place we will all see each other, be in the same room as each other, will be in the very basement where we wrote those old songs some 30 years ago. How cool is that?” He added, “When Blue Meanies and Riot Fest announced the show there was so much chatter from family, friends, and fans about seeing each other again. I realized then that the reunion is a catalyst for not just the members of the band to be together, but for old friends to come together too. The biggest surprise? Who you will run into at the show. There’s going to be a lot of hugging going on!” Blue Meanies will be joined by The Tossers, Weaker Youth Ensemble, and DJ Chuck Wren. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.