Spiritual Cramp at Mississippi Studios

Ryan Harlan, Radio DJ

May 27, 2025

Ryan Harlan

Spiritual Cramp at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR.

“You’re now watching Spiritual Cramp television.”

Spiritual Cramp like Jesus had risen on to the stage at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon on Easter Sunday to deliver a blistering highflying 14 song set performance to a packed house.

I had the absolute privilege to not only see Spiritual Cramp again for the second time but be right in the front row this time to see them perform after catching them play at Polaris Hall back in July. At Polaris Hall, I knew nothing about the band at the time but came away as a new fan of the band along with being impressed with their stage presence and sound.

For those who don’t know who Spiritual Cramp are as a band they are a punk band out of San Francisco, California who started making music in 2017. Their sound is like bands such as The Clash and Interpol while intertwining elements of new wave, reggae, garage rock, and post-punk in their music.

The band is comprised of six members Michael Bingham on vocals, Mike Fenton on bass, Orville Neely on lead guitar, Nate Punty on rhythm guitar, Jose Gonzales on keys and auxiliary percussion, and Julian Smith on drums.

Bingham and Fenton were both in the band Creative Adult and left to go form Spiritual Cramp in 2017. While Bingham and Neely both appeared in the band Memo PST in 2022, but Bingham eventually departed that band to focus on Spiritual Cramp full time.

As a band, Spiritual Cramp has released two albums titled Spiritual Cramp and Television and four EPs titled Live at the BBC, Here Comes More Bad News, Police State, Mass Hysteria. The most recent release from the band being Live at the BBC, which includes live tracks of their self-titled album and was recorded live in 2023 at BBC studios.

Spiritual Cramp kicked things off with “Blowback,” the opening track from their self‑titled release. The song blends elements of reggae with that classic thrashing punk sound that hits you like a freight train from the first beat, with lyrical themes of urban unrest.

The band followed that up with “Slick Rick” and “Rattlesnakes in the City” before playing two new songs that have yet to be released “Young Offenders” and “I Got Your Number.” Both songs will debut on a new release from the band, which will be coming soon according to Bingham in my conversation with him after the show, “Young Offenders” a track I really enjoyed is your classic garage punk anthem that Bingham wrote about his friends in San Francisco.

I tried to approximate where exactly where Spiritual Cramp played “I Got Your Number” because it wasn’t on the setlist that I got after the show but nonetheless a great song. “I Got Your Number” is more of a slow tempo song akin to “Herberts on Holiday”, which is more of a love song than some of the other tracks that the band has released.

The band then switched of the tempo and ripped through “Talkin on the Internet”, “Earth to Mike”, and “Addict.” Out of the trio of those songs “Earth to Mike” is one of my favorites off the EP Here Comes More Bad News with Bingham’s voice slicing through the up-tempo garage punk track in a call and response fashion with the lyrics “Earth to Mike, are you there? Are you listening, do you care?”.

Spiritual Cramp also played two other new songs in the set including the song “Twist” and “Probably Not” as book ends with the song “I Feel Bad Bein’ Me.” I was a big fan of both “Twist” and “Probably Not” and am excited to hear the recorded versions of both songs.

The band rounded out their set with “Better Off This Way” and “Spiritual Cramp” before Bad Nerves took the stage, which was the band who was headlining the show. “Better Off This Way” has been a main staple of closing songs at Spiritual Cramp shows but the band played the self-titled song “Spiritual Cramp”, which as Bingham described being that every day and life being a spiritual cramp and echoed in the lyrics and delivery of the vocals.

If you get the opportunity to see Spiritual Cramp live, you should go for it as the band has not only great music but great stage presence. I remember how impressed I was with them after seeing them back in July and others at shows have come away from their set with the same feeling.

Especially if you’re looking for new punk bands to get into or music recommendations, Spiritual Cramp has you covered with a familiar sound if you’re a fan of The Clash but with a more modern twist.

Polaris Hall Setlist (4/20)