House of Bricks becomes \”House of Dumb\”

by: Reggie Edwards Des Moines’ House of Bricks became the House of Dumb on Labor Day this year, with famed humorcore rockers Psychostick gracing the stage for a special Labor Day concert—one the band almost didn’t make it to. En route to the show, the band’s trailer started having trouble and since it was Labor Day, no one was open for repairs. Needles to say, they made it to Des Moines and they did not disappoint. In fact, they pulled out an old favorite to dedicate to their trailor- “Two-ton Paperweight,” from their first album, We Couldn’t Think of a Title, a song where they talk about how big of a piece of crap their car is. After about two hours of mediocre stand-up comedy and a subpar warm-up band, Psychostick took the stage and the party really started. They played numerous songs from their latest release, Space Vampires vs. Zombie Dinosaurs in 3D, including “Welcome to the Show,” “Because Boobs,” “Sadface :(,” and “Numbers (I Can Only Count to Four).” They also played old favorites like “ABCDeath” and “Beer.” From beginning to end they interacted with the crowd like they had been close friends for years. Psychostick is notorious for their comical and off-the-wall show and, let me tell you, they did not disappoint this time around. It was guitarist Josh Key’s birthday, so they took time to sing Happy Birthday to him, and bassist Matt Rzemyk even went over and taunted Keys, baby-talking him and putting a finger in his face, bringing out laugher from the crowd. At one point, singer Rob Kersey went to the back of the stage, opened a guitar case and took out his instrument of choice— a Guitar Hero guitar, and began acting as if he were actually playing alongside Key. Before that, while introducing “Sadface :(“ he talked about how the song was about all the drama and complaining on Facebook and that he just blocks those people, including certain members of the crowd, as he pointed at specific people. Perhaps one of the most entertaining parts of the show was the intro to the ever-popular hit, “Beer.” Kersey told the crowd to hold up their beer, and since none of the band members had beer, they told everyone who did not have a beer to hold up a shoe. This is where the band members all took off their shoes and held them up. One man in the audience yelled that all he had is his heroine (joking, of course). Kersey said it was too bad and that he had to put his heroine in the air, evoking more laughter from the crowd. This is where a man dressed up as “That guy” from the new cd, came on stage with Jagger Bombs for the band (and two for Key since it was his birthday). From there, Psychostick began playing arguably their most famous song, “Beer.” Psychostick was roaming the House of Bricks before the show, talking with fans and they were doing the same thing after the show as well. They took time to sign autographs, converse and take photos with anyone who wanted them. They even had free posters and free tummy rubs (which I fell victim to from a sneak attack from Keys) for fans. Needless to say, the night was a fun one that ended a little early but was very rewarding and any hardcore Psychostick fan’s heaven.