Concert recap: Ceremony delivers a night of punk at OEJ

New Orleans has, for several years, maintained an underground punk music scene. Venues such as Siberia, Checkpoint Charlie and the Dragon’s Den regularly host a spread of punk/hard core bands — both New Orleans-formed, for instance Crowbar and EYEHATEGOD, and out-of-state, like California-based acts Tony Molina and Ceremony, both of whom performed Saturday night at One Eyed Jacks.

Tony Molina performed first, delivering a raw, kinetic energy, which the audience met with excitement, interspersed with some playful joking — in a few instances claiming they were different bands on the bill.

Following, Ceremony, a punk ensemble and the brainchild of the band’s lead vocalist, Ross Farrar. The band’s sound has changed quite a bit since its inception; no longer playing lighter (in the context of punk music) post-punk sounds, the band has embraced a more no-nonsense punk approach, playing more intense music. The new sounds and persona can easily be described as a non-stop battering of sonic fury, often fast and brutally hardcore.

Throughout their performance, Ceremony proved to be just as invested in engaging the crowd as delivering an intense musical experience; in turn, the chaotic crowd maintained a steady level of concentrated energy. The set was primarily comprised of material from the band’s 2015 album, The L-Shaped Man. Although there were some mic issues, the band muscled through them in true hard core, punk fashion and culminated in Farrar mixing in with the crowd. View an extended gallery here.