Show Review: MusInk Festival 2012 Featuring Tiger Army, Against Me!, and Alkaline Trio

Tiger Army

Friday, March 2nd

Rock music and tattoos fit perfectly, like peanut butter and jelly. To the mainstream, the combination is synonymous with living life on the edge. And to those close to their gods, the tandem is a sign of the great Satan himself. However, no such presence could be found at MusInk 2012 — gathering at the Orange County Fairgrounds was, instead, an enthusiastic and diverse mix of people who share a common bond: a love of ink and rock music.

MusInk held its first gathering back in 2008 with the help of tattoo artist and star of TLC’s “LA Ink,” Kat Von D. After a successful first run, the festival has been going strong since. Now in its fifth year, the fest (which no longer has an association to Kat Von D) returned for another three days with bands including Tiger Army, Guana Batz, A New Found Glory, Yellowcard, Against Me!, and Alkaline Trio. In addition to featuring some top-notch musical acts, the festival has also attracted more than 300 world renowned ink-slayers like black and gray maestro Mark Mahoney, color aficionado Nikko Hurtado, and famed Sublime artist Opie Ortiz.

David Lozeau

As you enter the tattoo expo hall, you are immediately hit with the buzz of countless tattoo guns going off, like a swarm of angry bees, and the smell of cleaning liquids used to wash away excess ink fills the air. As you walk among the booths, you pass by people being worked on, as well as photos of the featured artists’ previous work. Amid the tattoo artists are retailers selling various products, including tattoo supplies, fine art, and other rock n’ roll-related goods. I was especially impressed with the work of David Lozeau and his Dia De Los Muertos-themed artwork.

The parking lot on Friday night was oddly quite empty — or, at least, not as full as I expected it to be. However, with Tiger Army and Guana Batz as the Friday’s headlining acts, there was no shortage of pompadours and pegged jeans. The underwhelming crowd size was no problem for trailblazing UK psychobilly outfit Guana Batz. The Batz are regarded as one of the pivotal bands that helped to create the psychobilly sound in the UK along with The Meteors. Their impressive half-hour performance was brimming with energy and bravado. Their set consisted of a mix of original material and cover tunes, including a really cool cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire,” Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.” The use of the double bass for some of these covers made the end product sound quite interesting, though due to horrible acoustics, the bass sounded flat and tinny, rather than full and bold. The band ended with one of their most notable tunes, “King Rat.”

 Guana Batz

It wasn’t long before Tiger Army took the stage to a crowd that seemed to swell following the Guana Batz performance. The crowd went wild with the opening number “Prelude: Nightfall,” and the enthusiasm level remained high through the entirety of the hour-long performance. This was Tiger Army’s second time performing MusInk, and their first since the inaugural 2008 festival. The set contained a mix of music both older and newer, including many cuts off their latest album, Music From Regions Beyond. I personally enjoy their material from their first two albums, which were represented by songs including “FTW,” “Cupid’s Victim,” and Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock.” A three-song encore concluded the show with “Devil Girl,” “Valley of Dreams,” and “Never Die” in that order.

Nick 13 of Tiger Army

Saturday, March 3rd

Day two of MusInk brought with it not only new bands, but also an entirely different kind of crowd. With A New Found Glory and Yellowcard headlining Saturday’s musical entertainment, the dynamics of the festival took on a totally different feel. The event was far more crowded, and the butterheads and Betty Page knockoffs were replaced by Orange Country bros and an overall younger crowd.

Yellowcard’s energetic performance was met with a mostly enthusiastic crowd, as hardcore fans packed themselves up to the front of the stage and fully enjoyed Yellowcard’s set. The majority of the tunes they performed were from their newer albums, and the band played nothing older than material from their 2003 release, Ocean Avenue. Fans sung along with lead vocalist and guitarist Ryan Key to tunes like “Hang You Up,” “Way Away,” and “Light Up The Sky.” New bassist Josh Portman seemed quite comfortable, which is impressive considering that he’s only been with the band for less than a month.  As expected, Yellowcard ended their set with their 2003 hit, “Ocean Avenue.”

Ryan Key of Yellowcard

To end the night of nostalgic pop-punk acts, A New Found Glory also came out to a mixed crowd of diehard fans and curious spectators. Unlike Yellowcard’s set, A New Found Glory really attempted to dig up those nostalgic feelings by playing a ton of older material, most of which was from their 2000 self-titled album. They opened up their set with “Understatement” from 2002′s Sticks and Stones, and also included “Dressed to Kill” and “Hit or Miss.” The band also mixed in some newer tracks, including “Truck Stop Blues” (from their 2009 release Not Without a Fight) and covered the Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” and Green Day‘s “Basket Case.”
One has to admire the nonstop energy put forth by the members of NFG. Even if you can’t dig the angst-ridden lyrics and the sugar-coated tunes, you should appreciate the fact that these guys are still going strong. Some might say pop-punk is dead, but it was very much alive and well in the hearts of those in attendance at MusInk.

New Found Glory

 Sunday, March 4th


As I arrived at the fairgrounds on the third and final day of the festival, I seriously anticipated a protest by the Westboro Baptist Church. Seeing as how Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba is a card-carrying member of the Church of Satan, I thought this was a prime opportunity for everyone’s favorite hate-mongering group to show up and give us a sample of their protesting skills. Nope, no protesters were to be found.

Against Me! took to the stage in front of a crowd significantly smaller than the previous day’s. The Florida natives have risen from the indie punk scene to become a successful mainstream punk act, much in the same vein as Rise Against. Their set was intense and impressive. In addition to having an amazing stage presence, Against Me! managed to play their entire hour-long set without taking a real break between songs. It’s quite possible they played nearly 15 to 20 songs in an hour, something most bands who chatter between songs could never even think of doing (NOFX, I’m talking about you!).

Tom Gable of Against Me!

I was especially blown away by drummer Jay Weinberg. He’s the son of Max Weinberg, the drummer for Bruce Springsteen (and the former leader of Conan O’Brien‘s house band), so you know the kid’s got chops! The crowd sang along with vocalist Tom Gabel to such songs as “White People For Peace,” “I Was A Teenage Anarchist,” “Thrash Unreal,” and “Black Me Out” — but unfortunately, the acoustics in the expo hall were so bad that most of the music came across as jumbled noise, and vocals were extremely hard to decipher (the band was nearly halfway through “White People For Peace” before I recognized which song was being played). Despite the acoustics, the set was one of the best performances of the entire festival.

Looking to top — or at least live up to — Against Me’s performance, Chicago’s own Alkaline Trio soon appeared onstage to close out MusInk. They opened with “Cringe” from their 1998 album Goddamnit, which was surprising, as it had been publicized on several websites that they were going to perform their album Maybe I’ll Catch Fire in its entirety at MusInk. Clearly this wasn’t the case, and I was fine with that, as it’s not their best work.

Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio

The acoustics suited Alkaline Trio better than Against Me!, as their music is more toned down than Against Me!’s mix of loud, melodic punk rock. Unfortunately, once again, the vocals were lost in the instrumentation. Luckily, Skiba and bassist Dan Andriano had a loyal crowd to back them up as they belted out tunes that spanned their entire career, such as “Hell Yes,” “Crawl,” and “This Could Be Love.” “Madam Me” was dedicated by Skiba to Orange County legends Social Distortion.

During the set, a fan tossed his Derrick Rose Chicago Bulls jersey at Dan Andriano, and he threw it on. Skiba brought the fan onto the stage during the last song during their encore, “97,” to end an amazing night of music, as well as an unforgettable weekend of music and art.

Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio

Show Review: RX Bandits at the Art Theater, Long Beach CA 8/3/11

Photo By Mike Murray

Progress — a word not only acting as a title of one of their most successful albums, but also a word to describe the musical explorations of RX Bandits. The band’s music has gone though continual changes throughout the years. From singing silly ska songs as the Pharmaceutical Bandits on their first full length effort Damn Those Bandits and the follow up album Halfway Between Here and There, to taking a complete one-eighty with the social and politically scathing commentary on Progress and The Resignation, staying stagnant in their art has never been a problem. After a move to drop the ska sound all together by phasing out horns and moving more into the realm of experimental progressive jam rock with the release of their latest album Mandala, the band decided to go on an indefinite hiatus after a “farewell tour” that made a stop in Long Beach, California, a place where a few of the band members call home.

The Art Theater is Long Beach’s historic art deco movie house located in the city’s 4th street art district. The recently renovated theater usually hosts independent films as well as some more mainstream releases. It’s rare to see the theater used for musical performances and for good reason I might add. The sound and lighting system (or lack thereof) is minimalistic. There’s also a noticeable lack of standing area in front of the stage, with the rest of the theater filled with seats. Unfortunately Long Beach lacks a decent music venue since the demise of Vault 350, an impressive music venue located in downtown Long Beach. While being an intimate location for a hometown show, the functionality of the venue seemed to take away from the show.
Now, the crowd — I can’t say they sucked like the venue. After being warmed up by the Hot Toddie and Zechs Marquise, the crowd were pumped up for the headliners. The fan base for the Bandits are quite dedicated. One guy flew in from Chicago, Illinois for the few Southern California shows.

One by one the band made their way to the stage. Guitarist Steve Choi and drummer Chris Tsagakis started out the show with a duel drum solo set. Vocalist and guitarist Matt Embree soon joined the rest of the band on stage to officially start the show. The show consisted of the normal RX Bandits live show formula — a lot of crowd interaction, mini jam sessions between songs and a lot of sporadic dancing. Most of the material played included cuts from …And The Battle Begun, The Resignation and Mandala. A few songs were played from Progress, but not nearly as much as I would have expected for being a “farewell tour.”  Nothing was played from Halfway Between Here and There, which was also a disappointment. A highlight for me was the opening bass line for “Overcome (The Recapitulation),” in which hearing this the crowd started spontaneously singing the opening lines (“We’ve had enough of these politician’s wars, what we need right not is love”). I also particularly enjoyed the extended performance of “Only For The Night” and the chaotic sound of “Decrescendo.” Lauren Coleman — also known to some as the musical act Pebaluna — joined Matt on stage for a rendition of “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

Photo By Mike Murray

Musically, the guys were as good as they’ve always been. I’ve been to quite a few Bandits shows over the years and they never cease to amaze me with their overall musical ability and improvisational prowess. The absence of horns was noticeable, though. I know, they’ve moved on from that horn-driven sound, but hearing a song played without horns that was originally written with horns in mind leaves a total void and ultimately changes the song. I was expecting some horns or in the very least a horn, especially at a hometown “farewell show,” but it wasn’t meant to be. The lack of horns didn’t kill the show experience for me, but I must be honest in saying that some of the originally horn driven songs played (“All The Time” and “…And The Battle Begun”) without horns did come as a disappointment — they felt incomplete.


After an encore, the crowd chanted and hoped for more music, even as the house lights came on and the sound techs unplugged the microphones. Leaving hot and a bit sweaty from being shoulder to shoulder with fellow concert goers, I questioned if this was really it, “Is this the last time I’ll see RXB live?” We can only hope they take a break and regroup in attempts to create more music. The future is wide open for the RX Bandits and who knows what will come next.

Show Review: Ben Folds and Kenton Chen at the House of Blues, Anaheim 7/20/11

To many my age, Ben Folds is known for being one third of the nerd rock outfit Ben Folds Five that gained popularity back in the mid-’90s with songs like “Brick,” “Underground,” and “Army.” Ben parted ways with Darren and Robert in 2000, and has since gone on to release three solo albums, a number of EPs, and even produced the album Has Been for William Shatner.


In 2009, Ben would go on to gather up a grip of a cappella singing groups from colleges around the country for a cover album featuring songs from Ben Folds, as well as his solo output. Given his interest and passion for the a cappella sound, it wasn’t that shocking that he would be asked to be a celebrity judge on NBC’s a cappella singing competition “The Sing Off.”

“The Sing Off” has also provided a great service to of a cappella singers who once had limited exposure, including 22-year-old Kenton Chen. Chen, a member of the southern California singing group The Backbeats (and third-place winner on the second season of “The Sing Off”) was approached by Mr. Folds about opening up for him on his next tour. Making good on his promise, Ben took Chen on the road for the West Coast swing of his Lonely Avenue tour, bringing reality TV magic to life at the House of Blues in Anaheim.

A few minutes ahead of the scheduled start time the lights dimmed and the curtain pulled back to expose Kenton alone on stage with a stool, a few microphones, a Baldwin grand piano (same piano Ben would use for his set), and a box that would allow Kenton to cue and play background instrumentation during his set. In total silence, he went into a cover of “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan. His range was extremely impressive, from high falsetto to deep bass.  He also covered Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” a song I’d never heard before, but it was an impressive performance. He moved from the stool to the piano where he took on the task of playing an original song called “Elena.” When performing non-a cappella songs, his voice and tone sounds a lot like Robin Thicke, especially when he hits the higher register. While hitting those lower notes, elements of Stevie Wonder comes out of his vocal stylings.

After a short intermission following Kenton’s 30-minute set, Ben and his backing back appeared on stage. They immediately went into “Levi Johnson’s Blues” off of Lonely Avenue. Lonely Avenue is a collaboration between Ben Folds and English novelist Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About A Boy, Fever Pitch), featuring music by Ben and lyrics by Nick.

Following the opening number, Ben noticed the line of photographers (including myself) in front of the stage and proclaimed, “The paparazzi is here,” and admitted that his shows can be quite boring for photographers. So after a costume change (consisting of putting on a beret), he performed his signature “chair toss” against the keys of his piano three times. Then took his synthesizer and ran past us playing it like he was performing a guitar solo. We thanked him for the action shots, and the show continued on.

The material performed by Ben included a few Ben Folds Five tracks, including the ever-popular crowd participation numbers “Army” and “Kate,” to their hit “Brick,” in which Ben said, “If I would have taken five seconds to think about it, I would’ve never put this on the record.” The song tells the story of Ben’s high school girlfriend getting an abortion, and his feelings about it. He also played “Emaline,” a song he wrote at the age of 18.

Most of the set featured music from Folds’ solo albums. “Zak and Sara,” “Annie Waits,” and “Rockin’ The Suburbs” were all crowd pleasers off of the nearly 10-year-old album Rockin’ The Suburbs. From Songs For Silverman, Folds performed “You to Thank,” “Landed,” and “Jesusland.” A few cuts from Way to Normal were played, including “You Don’t Know Me” and “Effington.”

Two particular songs really brought the goosebumps — “Fred Jones Part Two” and “Still Fighting It” really swept me up as the crowd sang along to these two bittersweet tunes. The evening also had some humorous moments as well. While Ben was speaking between songs, he was heckled by an audience member shouting, “Shut up and play!” Ben — who was able to coerce her to apologize — followed this by improvising a jam that turned into a version of “Rock This Bitch.”

Ben also told a story via an improvised song about taking a limo with William Shatner to Disneyland; upon finding it closed, Ben sings, “That doesn’t mean a fucking thing to William Shatner — He just says, ‘Hey, I’m William Shatner,’ and they turn on the rides.” Later in the set, Ben performed an amusing cover of Ke$ha’s “Sleezy,” and several more improvised numbers.

Ben also performed with an impressive backing band, including a drummer, bassist, keyboard player (who busted out the French horn on “Jesusland”), and a second percussionist who jumped on the acoustic guitar during a few songs. The band shined during an extended jam session as Ben played bass and the second percussionist performed an insane drum solo.

The show ended with the crowd favorite “Not The Same” off of Rockin’ The Suburbs. It is here than Ben became a music teacher and divided the crowd into harmony parts for the song. Throughout the song, he gave the crowd cues to come in with their harmony, and once the song ended, he conducted the crowd alone. Seeing Ben Folds live is an amazing experience. He feeds off the crowd during his show, and knows how to keep everyone in attendance involved — it’s truly an interactive experience.

Show Review: Emily’s Army at DiPiazza’s, Long Beach 5/22/11

Primed and ready for the release of their debut album Don’t Be A Dick on Adeline Records on June 14th, Emily’s Army popped into Long Beach’s DiPiazza’s for an early evening performance to an eager audience. The audience, made up of mainly young teenage girls, crowded the stage with cameras in hand as they patiently waited for the band’s hour-long set.


Emily’s Army is comprised of Oakland teenagers Cole and Max Becker, Travis Nuemann, and Joey Armstrong. The fresh-faced band have made waves by gaining the attention of one of their heroes, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day (and co-founder of Adeline Records) who took on the producing duties of the boys’ debut album.

As the band arrived on stage, I have to admit I was taken aback by just how young these guys looked! They range in age between 15 and 17 years old (no wonder they have a strong teenage girl following!) and do they look it! They definitely have an innocent and, dare I say, “cute” demeanor to their stage presence.

But don’t let the boyish looks fool you into believing these kids are relying solely on the “adorable factor.” Musically, they can clearly hold their own and throw down some really tight sounds. You can hear a lot of Green Day influence, especially in the heavy use of Max’s bass lines. Some of the more poppy vocals and guitar riffs seem to be influenced by traditional Ramones, and at times you can hear hints of some surf and ska.

For being quite young, they dominated the stage with an almost awkward innocent bravado that only seems quite natural for a bunch of teenage boys. Watching them bounce around on stage, jumping in synchronization and clearly having a good time, only made the experience of watching their performance all that more enjoyable. Aspects of Green Day were definitely present in their stage presence with Max and Cole taking on power stances and facial expressions reminiscent of Billie Joe and Mike Dirnt.

Included in their set was a really fun and carefree version of The Beach Boys’ “Do You Want To Dance?” — although the way they played it, it could have been a cover of the Ramones’ version of the song. Whatever the case was, the question posed in the song was answered by some of the girls in front of the stage as they (in fact) did start to dance. The song “I Wanna Be Remembered” was dedicated to Cole and Max’s cousin Emily, who the band is named after. Emily was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis back in 1998 and in honor of Emily’s fight — and in junction with the foundation aimed at educating the masses about CF — the band changed it’s name from Raining Souls to Emily’s Army.

I walked away from this show quite impressed with the simple raw sound and talent of Emily’s Army’s music. If this is any indication of what these lads are capable of, the future looks promising. As of now, they seem like a band inspired by other musical acts they look up to musically. Like all teenagers, it’s a matter of finding yourself and defining yourself. By all accounts of this performance, Emily’s Army is well on their way to finding out what power and potential is there for the taking in the years ahead.

Show Review: The English Beat at the House of Blues, Anaheim 5/13/11

For being a band that only put out three records more than 30 years ago, The English Beat’s intricate and unique story is still being played out to this day. It’s a story of two bands divided by an ocean: one based in the UK featuring original members Ranking Rodger and Everett Morton, the other based in sunny southern California, headed up by original front man Dave Wakeling. Both bands playing the tunes that defined the Two-Tone ska sound that one day would be an inspiration to bands like The Toasters, No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, and others who would go and create the Ska’s third wave. Tonight, it would be Dave Wakeling’s band that would take the stage in Anaheim.


Tonight’s crowd was very, very interesting to say the least. Arriving to the upstairs bar area, I noticed that they had part of the area cordoned off for a private party. I came to find out there was a high school reunion taking place and by the looks of it, I would say a class from the early 1980s — right around the time The Beat were in their prime. The reunion attendees were easy to spot — well-dressed, maybe too well dressed for a Ska show, and quite intoxicated, even before the first and only opening band, The Simpkin Project, took the stage. Others in attendance were also quite mature in age. Where were all the rude boys and rude girls? Is the southern California ska scene that dead that the youngest in attendance is 30 years old?

The Simpkin Project played for maybe 45 minutes. Playing pretty chill ska-tempo music, the band from Huntington Beach, California quietly primed the crowd for The Beat. Can’t say anything great about the band, but I can’t say anything bad either. Their brand of kick-back ska reggae made for good background music, perfect for all the drunkard reunionites to rekindle old flames and brag about how great their lives are now. I personally witnessed two extremely drunk classmates sucking face. The only way I can describe the crowd is if you jumbled two conference rooms at the Marriott Hotel, one being a concert and the other a high school reunion. It was one of the most odd concert crowds I’ve ever witnessed and I’ve been to quite a few over the years.

Eventually, Dave and crew took to the stage. The rest of the band was made up of very talented musicians, none of which were original members. Absent from the line up was vocalist/toaster Antonee First Class. Dave apologized to the audience that Antonee wouldn’t be able to make it as he was stuck in Phoenix. Without Antonee, the show went on as planned. Pretty much every Beat hit off of their three albums were played — from their cover of Smokey Robinson’s “Tears of a Clown” to “Ranking Full Stop,” a song usually toasted by Antonee, which got a new spin when Wakeling gave us a taste of his toasting skills. In addition to The Beat’s tunes, the band also played a few songs from General Public. General Public formed shortly after The Beat’s break up in 1983 and was comprised of Wakeling and Ranking Roger. The band covered The Staple Singers “I’ll Take You There” and most notably wrote and performed the hit “Tenderness”, both of which were greeted on this night with huge cheers and sing-alongs.


By about the middle of the show, a few rude boys and rude girls made their way through the crowd, creating a skank pit and in essence confusing the hell out of the “Molly Ringwald” dancing reuionites. Old vs Young! Finally, worlds collide!

Watching Wakeling on stage brought an instant smile to my face that I couldn’t wipe away. Even after 30-plus years, the joy of touring and playing these classic tunes in front of a nostalgic and appreciative crowd clearly brings him joy. Between songs, he would ramble a bit with his deep English accent, telling jokes, laughing, and interacting with the crowd. Make no mistake about it, all eyes are on Dave and this is his band.

Musically, the band played off each other all night long. Dave still has an awesome singing voice, even though he can’t hit those high notes like in the song “I Confess.” Throughout the evening, each member was singled out for solos. Allowing the other members of the band to share in the spotlight that Dave basks in for a majority of the show.

By the end, The Beat played for over two hours — mainly because each song they played broke out into an “extended” version lasting at least seven to 10 minutes, including amazing versions of “Save it for Later” and “Mirror in the Bathroom.”

At 55 years old, Dave Wakeling sits atop the throne as one of the Godfather’s of the English Two-Tone ska movement. With a tour schedule that would tire many working bands today, Wakeling’s Beat continues to thrill audiences with the music that gave him that endearing title. Bringing smiles to the faces that relive those nostalgic feelings at every show, Wakeling simply smiles right back and thanks the crowd!

Show Review: Less Than Jake at the House of Blues, Anaheim 2/21/11

Chris Demakes (Left) and Roger Manganelli (Right) of Less Than Jake

Before setting sail for the Soudwave tour in Australia, Gainesville Florida’s Less Than Jake made their second to last US tour stop at Anaheim’s House Of Blues in front of a jam-packed crowd full of old and new fans alike.

Supporting the release of their latest EP effort TV/EP and the reissues of ’90s punk ska classics Losing Streak and Hello Rockview, LTJ performed a slew of older material that surely pleased the longtime fan in the crowd, but leveled it out with some of their newer tunes. They opened up with “Shindo” and “Sugar in Your Gas Tank” off of Losing Streak and then into “Look What Happened” off of the 2000 release Borders and Boundaries.

For a Less Than Jake show, it was a pretty straightforward. Throughout the years, LTJ have featured some far-out gimmicks and on stage gags that made for a unique concert experience. No dancing Skullman. Chris (guitarist/vocalist) didn’t dress up in any costumes. No crazy stage set ups. The band was fully focused on playing the show, which was never a problem before. I just miss the old days of seeing what crazy gags the band could come up with (although there was a confetti drop during “Plastic Cup Politics”).

Most of the show consisted of songs from Hello Rockview and Losing Streak. I found it quite enjoyable to hear them play “Dopeman” and “Great American Sharpshooter,” as they don’t play these songs live that often. I personally got in the circle pit during “Help Save The Youth Of America For Exploding,” singing the song with fellow fans while mixing it up in the pit.

Musically, the band was on point. Being in the game for nearly 20 years, LTJ continues to pump out shows with the same amount of enthusiasm and musical excellence as they have all along. It’s clear to see that the band is driven by their fans who continue to show up and sing along to songs that still have holding power over a decade after they were originally written in some cases.

During the show, the band played a few cuts from their TV theme and commercial cover EP TV/EP, including the themes to “Spongebob Square Pants,” “Animaniacs,” “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” and “iCarly” (sung by the bassist Roger, in which Chris commented before playing the song, “If you see Roger on ‘To Catch A Predator’ anytime soon, you’ll know why”).

Per a request I personally made during an interview with Chris earlier in the day, they played “Pete Jackson is Getting Married” as a wedding gift to me, as I was only five days away from my wedding date. They told me they hadn’t played it in a long time, but would give it a good “college effort” to get it done. It came out great for not playing it for so long. Thanks again, guys!



An encore included a stripped down version of “Rest Of My Life” which featured Chris on vocals and guitar, JR on backing vocals, and Buddy on trombone. During this performance, they swapped out Vinnie’s bass drum, and it seems they missed the part of the song where the drums kick back in, as Chris appeared to have anticipated it about halfway into the song. At least, that’s how they’ve played this version of this song in the past live. They ended the show with “The Ghosts Of You And Me” off of Anthem.

From being a punk ska band playing frat parties at the University of Florida to 19 years later headlining yet another show in California to a crowd of enthusiastic fans who sing along with their hearts and souls, Less Than Jake still can put on a killer show that aims to please no matter the age of their fans.

Show Review: Megadeth and Slayer at the Long Beach Arena, 8/30/10

Megadeth Front-man Dave Mustaine
 

Getting both Megadeth and Slayer to tour together again wasn’t an easy feat to say the least. It had been nearly 19 years since they shared a stage on the “Clash of the Titans” tour and feuds between Megadeth’s front man Dave Mustaine and Slayer guitarist Kerry King deteriorated much of the respect between the bands over the past two decades. Through the animosity and name-calling, both Mustaine and King have buried the hatchet and moved on within the past year, thus giving birth to the “American Carnage” tour.

The tour was initially slated to kick off in January but was postponed due to Slayer bassist/vocalist Tom Araya’s need for back surgery, as the pain was too intense to tour through. The tour was eventually rescheduled in April.

“We canceled two tours, and I don’t feel great about that, but I couldn’t deal with the pain anymore, and that’s now completely gone,” said Araya in a press release. “I know the fans are excited to see the band — the tour is on, we’re keeping our word, there will be no more cancellations.”

As I pulled into the Long Beach Arena parking lot, it was clear Tom’s words were spot on. The fans were beyond excited to see both Slayer and Megadeth team up again for a tour as a 2010 version of Heavy Metal Parking Lot played out before my eyes. Fans young and old partied it up in the expansive parking lot. Taking in the loud music blasting from car stereos (mainly Megadeth and Slayer) and some brews before converging into the arena. I also couldn’t help but notice two older gentlemen holding signs reading “REPENT OF YOUR WICKED HEART OF UNBELIEF,” “YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN,” and “ASK ME WHY YOU DESERVE HELL.” Clearly these men were God-fearing faith-filled individuals who were there to confront the concert-goers of their enjoyment of the evil sounds of heavy metal. As people passed these two men in line, they were randomly flipped off and one young man even dropped his pants and bent over, exposing his bare ass. The consensus was clear: they sold their souls for rock and roll!

Upon entering the arena, I could hear Testament warming up the crowd with their music. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control, I missed just about all of Testament’s set.

As Megadeth set up for their performance, I strolled along the arena floor taking in the scene. The crowd was still pouring into the arena, filling in the seats on the upper level and taking up space on the standing room only arena floor. Shouts of “Slayer!” could be heard randomly throughout the arena, all while the PA system cranked out “Walk” by Pantera, causing the crowd to chant out the chorus in unison : “RE...SPECT...WALK!”

Eventually the lights turned off and the stage turned blood red as a heavy fog crept across the entire span of the stage. Behind the drum kit, the artwork for the album Rust in Peace was featured predominantly and Jello Biafra’s spoken word piece “Message From Our Sponsor” played as one by one the members of Megadeth took the stage.

Being the 20th anniversary of Rust in Peace, They proceeded to play the album in its entirety. Mustaine dawned a custom Rust in Peace Flying-V guitar and put that guitar good use through solos during songs like “Hangar 18” and “Rust in Peace…Polaris.” Key interaction and communication between Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson, and guitarist Chris Broderick were noticeable as all three played very tight. At times, the vocals were hard to hear over the guitars but for the most part the acoustics were rather impressive, especially for an arena show. Mustaine’s vocals were mostly on point, but it’s clear he doesn’t have the pipes he had 20 years ago (plus, look at what he did to himself over the years…the man is lucky to be alive).

At one point, during the song “Dawn Patrol,” Ellefson and drummer Shawn Drover were the only two people on the stage. As Ellefson drove out the bass line that served as the base of the song, Megadeth’s “mascot” Vic Rattlehead walked out and acted out the lyrics spoken backstage by Mustaine. Dressed in the business suit as he appears on the cover of Rust in Peace, this definitely added a theatrical feel to the show. They finished off the album set with “Rust in Peace…Polaris” and left the stage, only to come back a few minutes later to perform an encore.

As an encore, They played “Trust,” “Headcrusher” (off of their newest album Endgame), “À Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)”, “Symphony of Destruction,” and, lastly, “Peace Sells.” After a rousing cheer from the crowd, Dave and crew left the stage…now it was time for Slayer.

I will say this for the record : Slayer has some of the most loyal and hardcore fans ever. Even while watching Megadeth during their encore, this guy stood next to me — clearly enjoying what he was hearing and shouted “Megadeth!” only to back it up with “…but it’s all about Slayer!” You could feel a difference in the crowd once it was time for Slayer to take the stage. Like a calm before a storm, you knew you were going to be witnessing something special. Once the house lights turned down, the music started and the huge white sheet covering the stage dropped to the ground revealing Slayer and all hell broke loose.

They started out with the title cut off of their newest album World Painted Blood and then went into playing Seasons in the Abyss in its entirety, since it also is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Musically, Slayer is about as fast and as brutal as you are going to get when it comes to thrash metal: lighting fast guitar riffs provided by Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, backed up the driving deep bass lines of Tom Araya and insanely fast drumming of Dave Lombardo. These guys have been on top of their game since the ’80s, and tonight’s performance was no exception. Sporting his usual getup of catcher’s knee-pads and a Raiders jersey, Hanneman was simply unstoppable with his screamin’ solos on songs like “War Ensemble” and “Dead Skin Mask.” A few times during their performance, King and Hanneman had dueling solos, one trying to one-up the other. Araya seemed to be feeling fine as he belted out song after song, even allowing the crowd to fill in for him on “Expendable Youth” and “Dead Skin Mask.” Lombardo’s drumming is something amazing to witness live as he pounded out song after song for a good 80 minutes with amazing accuracy and power.

As they finished up with the album set, they continued on playing a few songs as encores including “South of Heaven,” “Raining Blood,” and ending the show with “Angel of Death.” Throughout the show, the crowd sang along almost louder than Araya’s vocals and many let their long locks fly as they banged their heads to the music.

Much like Megadeth’s set, Slayer played very tight and the guitar solos were nearly flawless, but one thing set Slayer’s performance aside from Megadeth’s was their relentlessness. Slayer’s ability to relentlessly manhandle the crowd with their music and energy proved to be the highlight of the evening. Honestly speaking, Slayer’s set proved to be one of the most energetic musical experience I have witnessed. Don’t get me wrong, Megadeth put on one hell of a show as well, but when you factor in Slayer’s rabid fans and the excitement instilled by Slayer’s music, there’s no doubt about it that Slayer stole the show!

Seeing one half of the “Big Four” in thrash metal was an amazing experience. As I was leaving the arena, some random guy slaps me on the back and says, “That was one hell of a show, wasn’t it?” Yes, my friend, yes it was!

Show Review: Lebowski Fest LA 2010

James Hoosier, who plays Liam O'Brien Re-Creates the approach to his "Belly Shake" at the Screening Party at The Wiltern Theater in LA

Shortly after winning his Best Actor award at this year’s Academy Awards for his performance in Crazy Heart, Jeff Bridges was asked this question by the press:

“As we’ve seen tonight, for a lot of your career you’ve been defined by one movie: The Big Lebowski. Will this put that to rest, and how have you felt about that for the last two years or so?”

“No, I’m diggin’ The Dude. I love him!” proclaimed Bridges with a huge smile and a laugh. “It’s wonderful the success that it had. I was a little disappointed when it first came out and didn’t do much, you know? But now we got Lebowski Fest and all kinds of things.”

The Big Lebowski was released in 1998 as a follow up to Joel and Ethan Coen’s largely successful, award-winning film Fargo. The movie tells the story of Jeffrey Lebowski (AKA, “The Dude”), a laid-back unemployed stoner who enjoys a simple life of white russians and bowling. He takes life very easy: no stress at all, almost Zen-like. One day, he returns to his bachelor pad to find two thugs out to collect a cash payment owed to a loan shark and pornographer Jackie Treehorn. They mistake “The Dude” for another Jeffrey Lebowski, who happens to be a millionaire with a trophy porn-star wife. In the middle of explaining his innocence, Woo (one of the thugs) urinates on The Dude’s rug (it really tied the room together). The movie plays out with The Dude (along with his Vietnam vet bowling partner and best friend Walter Sobchak, played by John Goodman) getting involved in a very complicated situation involving a kidnapping, a severed toe, and a marmot among other things.

As mentioned above by Bridges, the movie didn’t do so well in the theaters, but it has become a huge cult favorite since being released to VHS and DVD.
This brings us to the not-so-distant past.

Lebowski Fest: what started in a small Baptist church bowling alley in Louisville, Kentucky back in 2002 has grown exponentially into a behemoth of a celebration of all things Lebowski. Founded by Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt, the fest has reached both coasts of the United States and points in between, drawing in thousands of Achievers (the self-applied title given to fans of the movie) over the years. It has even hopped across the pond, spawning the first-ever Lebowski Fest UK event in 2007.

The idea for the fest came when Will and Scott were vendors at a tattoo exposition in Louisville. Being bored out of their minds (attempting to sell t-shirts for Scott’s business), they started reciting lines from The Big Lebowski. Others around them started to chime in with their own favorite pieces of dialogue, the idea was born, and the rest is history.

This year’s event here in The Dude’s hometown of Los Angeles, California would be the fifth time for the Lebowski Fest crew. The first of two days of events took place at The Wiltern Theater in LA with a movie screening and performance by Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band Paddy and the Poor Boys. When arriving at the Wiltern, the line to get in stretched about halfway around a city block. There were a lot of people, although not too many in costumes. Once inside, the bartenders were busy making white russians and film crews and photographers scurried about taking pictures of those who came in costume.

The evening kicked off with Will and Scott onstage welcoming everyone and bringing out the first of many special guests of the evening. Robin Jones, (Ralph’s checkout girl) and Andrea Nunn (Julianne Moore’s body double) joined Will and Scott on stage to talk about the filming of the movie. Peter Exline, whose real life experiences with a rug and stolen car inspired some of the Coen brothers’ plot line for the movie, also came onstage to share stories with the crowd. Joining Peter was Jeff Dowd.

Jeff is essentially the real life Dude and inspiration for the Cohen brother’s character portrayed by Bridges. Dowd can always be found at both nights of the LA Lebowski Fest with a large Caucasian (white russian) in hand, mingling with the crowd and rambling on about, well…anything while onstage with a mic in his hand. Dowd is definitely the life of the Lebowski Fest.

At this point, Paddy and the Poor Boys took to the stage. According to comments made by the band during their performance, they are not normally a cover band and apparently go under a different stage name, but on this particular evening they would be a CCR cover band. Hailing from Berkeley, California (interestingly also the same part of the Bay Area where CCR got their start), the four piece band covered some of CCR’s timeless and Lebowski-inspired tunes like “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” and “Run Through The Jungle.” Instrumentally, these guys are pretty spot-on, but the lead vocalist was quite off-kilter and really didn’t reproduce the vocal styling of John Fogerty, something that’s a tough feat in the first place.

At one point during the set, both Jeff Dowd and Andrea Nunn took the stage to sing backup for the band. Most of the crowd sat in their chairs and watched and listened. Some patrons made their way to the lobby of the theater, where there was a meet-and-greet with some of the stars of the film taking place during the show.

After about an hour of waiting (due to the very long line of fans wanting to get pictures and autographs with the stars of the movie), Will and Scott retained their position on stage to bring out the next round of special guests. They introduced Jim Hoosier (Liam, Jesus’s bowling partner) who performed his signature “belly shake” celebration move for the crowd. Hoosier has been a consistent attendee to the nationwide Lebowski Fest, always humble and beyond appreciative to the support and kindness of the fans.

Jack Kehler (Marty the Landlord) was next up onstage, talking about how he created his “cycle” dance and went on to recreate it for the crowd. It was one of the most crowd-pleasing parts of the night.

Lastly, Peter Stormare (Uli the nihilist/Karl Hungus) strolled on stage. Stormare was also in Fargo and has been seen in many commercials and other feature films. Stormare talked about how he’s recognized by people worldwide as being in The Big Lebowski and how grateful he was to the fans for all the kind words and support.

Then, without any further delay or interruption, it was time for the big screen showing of the movie. The experience of watching The Big Lebowski with a group of extreme Achievers is pretty amusing. Imagine a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show where intoxicated viewers hurl the F-word rather than pieces of toast or toilet paper. The only complaint I had about the screening was that someone cranked up the volume beyond eleven. I mean, it was seriously too loud. Night one was in the books. The next night would be the bowling party at Cal Bowl in Lakewood.

After a little pre-bowling party get-together at my apartment, we caravaned to Cal Bowl for a night of more costumes, more white russians, and unlimited bowling. Once inside, we got a lane and started to bowl it up with fellow Achievers. Bowling is not essential when it comes to getting the Lebowski Fest experience. I find myself having a better time walking around with a white russian in one hand and my camera in the other, taking pictures of people in costume and talking about the movie.

I have to admit, though, that I was a little bit disappointed in the creativity of this year’s costumes. I ran into a guy who attended last year as a carton of half and half (very true to scale) and he too was disappointed in the lack of creative costumes. The costumes that were displayed, however, were excellent: plenty of Dudes, Walters, and Jesuses were represented, as well as a whole slew of Maudes (including a group of male and female Maudes who made up “The Maude Squad”). There were a few Jackie Treehorns and two entries as The Dude’s car (one was awarded “best costume”).

There were also a few nihilists dressed up in the full red jump suit featured in The Dude’s dream sequence. One couple (with whom I bowled last year; they were the Knutsens, Bunny Lebowski’s parents) came as “dead beets” in reference to what Treehorn’s thugs call The Dude. For the first time that I can remember, someone came dressed as Donny (Steve Buscemi’s character, and Walter and The Dude’s bowling partner and friend).

The bowling party also brought out a few stars from the movie. Jim Hoosier and Mike Gomez (the Auto Circus Cop) made it out, as well as Jeff Dowd who did his share of mingling with the crowd.

In all, the 2010 LA Lebowski Fest was a good time for all who attended. Sure, it’s a bit nerdy obsessing over a movie made 12 years ago — but hey, we’re talking about one of the funniest movies ever made! The movie is almost universal in appeal — find yourself reciting lines from The Big Lebowski at any social gathering and you are bound to have someone come up to you and start a conversation. It is truly a film that brings people together. There’s no doubt in my mind that Lebowski Fest will continue to grow as word of mouth spreads. The love people have for this film is deep and it brings people together in droves nationwide.

Don’t be an amateur…grab a white russian, a DVD copy of The Big Lebowski, and enjoy life as The Dude would.


Lebowski Fest will be in Orlando, Florida on May 21st and 22nd; Louisville, Kentucky on July 16th and 17th; Chicago, Illinois on September 17th and 18th; Seattle, Washington on October 15th and 16th; and New York City on November 4th. Find more information at www.lebowskifest.com

Show Review: Bad Religion at the House of Blues, Anaheim 3/18/10

The year was 1980. Motorhead released the iconic album Ace of Spades. The US Olympic ice hockey team defeated the powerhouse Soviet Union squad in the infamous “Miracle on Ice” game.  Ordinary People wins best picture at the Academy Awards, and Americans elect California governor and former movie star Ronald Reagan to be the 40^th president of the United States. In 1980, the state of punk rock in southern California was thriving in the underground scene. Bands like The Circle Jerks, Black Flag, X, Fear, and The Germs dominated the Los Angeles punk underground, while Agent Orange, The Adolescents, and Social Distortion were running the show down in neighboring Orange County. It was at this time that Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz, a couple of high school students in the San Fernando Valley, started a band with fellow classmates Jay Bentley and Jay Ziskrout. This would be the beginning of a 30-plus-year history that would forever change the way punk rock would be perceived by the masses.

Bad Religion took the rough and nihilistic sound of punk and polished it up in a way that some punk puritans might have seen as being practically sacrilegious, utilizing vocalized harmonies in lieu of outlandish vocal stylings used by contemporaries such as Black Flag’s Keith Morris. Bad Religion’s lyrics (and lyrical content) also set them apart from the pack — most of their songs are topically geared towards social ills, religion, politics, and science. Their music makes you think, or, at the very least, makes you pick up a dictionary to find out just exactly what they are talking about (“Is your fecundity a trammel or a treasure?”). No, Bad Religion never tried to dumb it down for their audience.

For 30 years, fans have flocked to their shows to sing along to these anthems of deep intellect, and the scene was no different on March 18th as Bad Religion celebrated their 30th anniversary to a sold out crowd at The House of Blues in Anaheim, California. This performance was one in a string of southern California and Nevada shows celebrating Bad Religion’s milestone; 30 years that have produced 14 studio albums, countless tours, and accolades from fans worldwide.

To the sound of a roaring crowd, the band took the stage. The current lineup includes Greg Graffin on vocals, Jay Bentley on bass guitar, Brett Gurewitz, Brian Baker, and Greg Hetson on guitar, and Brooks Wackerman on drums. They started out the show with “Do What You Want” from their 1988 album Suffer, and that lead into “Overture/Sinister Rouge” from 2004’s The Empire Strikes First. This was the overall theme for the evening — a little bit of the old and a little of the new (no Into The Unknown either. Into The Unknown was a 1983 album that was a total departure from Bad Religion’s punk roots. It was a progressive rock album and has been widely denounced by the band in several interviews). Song after song, they performed a variety of highlights from three decades of making music.

Graffin asked the crowd if this was their first time seeing Bad Religion; approximately 20 to 30 percent of the crowd cheered, definitely a surprising amount. This fact was supported by the large amount of applause and crowd participation during more current selections like “Los Angeles is Burning” and “New Dark Ages,” as well as the lack of crowd participation during older songs like “Best For You” and “Change of Ideas.”

They also played a new track from their upcoming untitled album called “Resist-Stance,” which was well received by the cheering audience. For me, the highlight of the evening occurred during the last seven songs of the regular set: it started with “I Want to Conquer The World,” which led into “We’re Only Gonna Die,” “No Control,” “21^st Century Digital Boy,” “Resist-Stance,” “You,” and, lastly, “Generator.” The crowd responded with terrific enthusiasm, and it seemed as though the band could feel that energy. For the encore, they played “Fuck Armageddon…This is Hell,” “Infected,” and “Sorrow.”

For having been at it for 30 years, Bad Religion still puts on a killer show with a grip of energy. It’s clear that the band feeds off the crowd, and there was no shortage of electricity in the air. Graffin might have packed on a few pounds over the years, and his voice might have dropped an octave or two since the ’80s, but he still can belt out some of the oldest songs in the Bad Religion repertoire — although I noticed that during the song “Germs of Perfection” (a relatively new song), Graffin had some lyric cheat sheets at his disposal taped to the stage. Having Brett Gurewitz there to add that critical third guitar part really captures the full Bad Religion sound (Gurewitz usually only plays with Bad Religion at southern California shows due to his obligations at Epitaph Records). Hetson’s energy level is amazing — not only because he’s going on 49 years old, but also because he can jump around like nothing while belting out some stellar solos and riffs. I’m convinced he’s one of the most underrated punk guitarist of all time. Bentley and Baker dominate the left side of the stage with their own focused intensity. Bentley continues to look like he loves playing for the crowd as he displays a smile on his face through a good majority of the show, all the while bopping and hopping around the stage. Brooks continues to kill the drums with his tight, smooth playing — each time I see Bad Religion perform I’m continually impressed with his amazing drum skills.

Musically, these guys might be considered “old,” but they still can hit the solos, the “oozin’ ahhhs,” and the overall tightness that makes Bad Religion such a memorable band to witness live. I have to admit, there were a few “fuck up moments” throughout the show; I noticed that Hetson biffed it on at least one guitar solo (I noticed he shrugged his shoulders as he ended his solo as if to say to himself, “Eh, that sucked…oh well”). The guitar solo during “Sorrow” by Gurewitz didn’t sound right at all, and they did screw up the beginning of “How Much is Enough,” resulting in a restart.

When all was said and done, Bad Religion performed a total of 30 songs that well-represented their 30-year history. They can still put on an awesome show while achieving a sound that remains consistently solid, year after year. One can only hope they will quit while they are ahead; I don’t think us punk rock fans want Bad Religion to become the joke the Rolling Stones have become. But this night’s show is proof that they are far from being worn out and washed up. Will we see a 50^th anniversary tour in 20 years? Time will tell on that one. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction.