NonCOMM Recap: Ricky Hell & The Voidboys jam econo on the PRX stage

Ricky Hell and the Voidboys | photo by Ashley Gellman for WXPN | agellmanphotos.com

Indoor sunglasses on a rainy day. Leather and leopard print. Screeching clarinet. These are just a few of the things Ricky Hell & The Voidboys brought to the stage tonight to kick off night 2 of NonCOMM.

As it turned out, that was exactly what was needed to lift the crowd’s spirits after the hours-long lull following today’s Free at Noon sets. The band’s name may be a riff on 70’s punk legends Richard Hell & The Voidoids, but Ricky and crew are shaping up to be pretty iconic in their own right. Though they formed just last year, the Cleveland band has already perfected their brand of high-powered, offbeat, energetic “gutter pop.”

Ricky Hell & The Voidboys released a self-titled album in March, and they brought several of its 13 short, punchy songs to World Cafe Life tonight for what may be the only set in NonCOMM history to run under schedule. Though they played for just over 15 minutes, they squeezed in nine songs and certainly seemed to make a lasting impression on the crowd — from their already-dedicated fans like XPN’s Dan Reed, who when introducing the band said he’d listened to their record 50 times, to those who were previously unfamiliar but quickly scrambled to write down their name for future listening reference.

The band opened up with Hawkwind cover “Streets of Fear,” and soon launched into their record’s single “The Feeling Is Alright.” Hardly pausing to take a breath, the Cleveland-based trio, made up of Ricky Hamilton on guitar, Carter Luckfield on bass and Adam Spektor on clarinet, rounded out their set with enough catchy tunes to keep the crowd blissfully bouncing along, including standouts from their new record “All 6’s,” “8 Days in Hell,” and lots more. Check out photos from the set below.

Setlist
Streets of Fear
I Luv It
The Feeling Is Alright
All 6’s
Our Secret Lives
All I Want
8 Days In Hell
Hiroshima 2
The Valium