The Germs – Krum Bums – at Toad’s Place – New Haven, CT

I arrived at Toad's Place around 9, the time when the show was slated to start, walking in the door only to discover that I had missed the first band on the bill, a local band whom I'd never heard of, Murdervan.

The Krum Bums set up pretty quickly and came out blazing, playing their Austin, Texas brand of Lower Class Brats-esque street Punk with a little hardcore flavor. I had seen these guys a couple years ago with the Street Dogs, but they have improved tenfold since then. The Krum Bums played about a half hour set, covering their entire catalog and even throwing in a 7 Seconds cover, "Young 'Til I Die", which was pretty cool to see. There was no one too involved for their set, the crowd being both very sparse and just plain unfamiliar with the band.

After about a 40 minute wait, the Germs and Shane West came out and broke right into their classic, "Media Blitz". Their set was peppered with all the Germs classics, from "Lexicon Devil" to "Circle One" to the last song of the set, "Richie Dagger's Crime". Shane West, or as drummer Don Bolles referred to him all night, "Shane West: rapper, actor, and singer extraordinaire", was all over the stage, climbing everything in sight. Shane spent a good 25 minutes of the 50 minute set up in the scaffolding of Toad's Place, having various beers and objects thrown at him every time he tried to talk between songs, accompanied by shouts of "Play a fucking song, Hollywood!". Shane seemed like he was really trying to personify Darby Crash while onstage, forcing the crowd to at one point wonder if he was going to jump off the 20 foot high scaffolding just below the ceiling of Toad's. His singing was spot on, but his onstage antics were not overly inspiring and did nothing but get the crowd to throw more empty beers towards him.

The crowd during the Germs was very uninvolved, with no real circle pit going on despite the band's desire to see a good one get started. The turnout was typical for a Connecticut Punk show; horrible. Talking to Lorna Doom after the show, even she was saying the show was no fun in the sense that no one was getting involved, but was fun in the sense that she could let loose on stage and just do whatever, since most of the crowd seemed unfamiliar with the Germs music, they had no expectations going into the show.
 

-Scott R.-
East Coast Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter

 

 
                                          Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews
 

 

 

Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records

Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records
is soon to be released


Youth Brigade will be supporting the upcoming release of the BYO Records 25th Anniversary Boxed set with shows on the East Coast. Touring with them will be Minneapolis’ own, Off With Their Heads. The two bands share key interests that include a penchant for Punk rock with more hooks than a fisherman’s tackle box and a love for each other’s bands! A third band will be joining them starting the September 17 date and will be announced in the coming weeks.

The full-length documentary Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records will screen in select cities in conjunction with these tour dates. More details on the release and movie screenings to come. This is only one leg in Youth Brigade’s planned touring which will extend into winter of ’09.

In the meantime, check out the recently launched website www.letthemknowthemovie.com for more on what’s coming up.

For more info on Youth Brigade: www.byorecords.com
For more info on Off With Their Heads: www.myspace.com/offwiththeirheads

9/14/09 Detroit, MI at Small’s Bar
9/15/09 Cleveland, OH at Peabody’s
9/16/09 Pittsburgh, PA at Belvedere’s
9/17/09 Philadelphia, PA at North Star Bar
9/18/09 Asbury Park, NJ at Asbury Lanes
9/19/09 Brooklyn, NY at Europa
9/20/09 Boston, MA at Middle East
9/21/09 Pittsfield, MA at Hall

 

 

VANS Warped Tour – at 10 Seaside Park – Ventura, CA – June 28, 2009

The Warped Tour in the last few  years hasn't had the strongest punk presence. When I saw the line up for this year, I was amazed at the prospect of having so many great Punk bands sharing one event! TSOL, Fear, Flipper, The Dickies, Guttermouth, Bad Religion, NOFX, and Thrice. Right away I knew this was a show I couldn't miss.

My 10 year old son Alex has seen more Punk shows than most adults. And even though I planned on taking him in a few years, I couldn't get over the fact that this might be the last chance he would have to see some of these old school punk pioneers and legends. Every summer Alex gets a mohawk, this summer is no exception only this year it's a bright blue one!

From the time we arrived at Seaside Park, it was evident that other people shared my sentiments. So many old school Punk fans had brought their children for an experience of a lifetime.

First thing I heard was the sweet melodic screaming of Thrice, I ran over to get a few shots, but I couldn't stay long, The Adolescents were rocking the old school stage. Looking at the set list, I realized I would be having this dilemma all day long! I never thought there could be too many good bands but this year Kevin Lyman really pushed the envelope. I came in on my favorite song, "Kids of the black hole". These guys were great to photograph and after the set, they were cool enough to take the time to take a picture with my son and talk a bit. Considering these guys have been playing for 30 yrs, I had to ask Tony, what advice he would give newcomers in the music scene. Simply put he said, "Get in a van with your friends and see the world!" Beautiful! That's what music is ......the experience, not the money or flashy Hot Topic trends. It's about enjoying what you do, no matter if your a pro-skater, musician, photographer, or hell....even if you work at subway. Enjoy life to the fullest.  He summed it up for me! That's what The Warped Tour is all about.

Next on the old school stage was The Duane Peters Gunfight. Duane Peters is an old pro skater, he's also the frontman for the U.S. Bombs. He has a crazy stage presence, as a photographer , I'm never disappointed with this guy. His set was a blast!

From there we checked out the kids at the skate ramp and chilled with Pro Skaters Brad and Travis and Pro BMX Rider Rick Thorn. These guys were so cool, it was just like hanging out with friends. All the sudden you hear,"I love livin in the city!" Hell yeah! Fear, the warped tour web site said that they weren't going to be at the Ventura show, when we saw it on the bill, we about had a heart attack! Alex was elated! I hadn't seen the pit as fierce as it was during Fear all day. Alex had to get in on it! Fear is one of his favorites. I couldn't believe I was watching a punk legend! After photographing their first three songs, I just sat back and took it all in. After all these years the music of Fear still could insight the baddest pit ever!

Next up! NOFX and TSOL at the same time. I got a few shots of NOFX, then got back to the old school stage as fast as I could. I mean, I like NOFX, but I have heard all their songs a million times and can listen to C.D. without having to hear all Fat Mikes views of the world. TSOL was one of the main acts I've been dying to see.

I looked into the crowd to see my 10 year old crowd surfing, even though the pit was crazy! I knew he was alright, his dad was right there monitoring the situation, and Alex loves that shit! TSOL rocked their whole set, I was so caught up with their performance, that I missed press time in the pit with Bad Religion. Oh Well! It was worth it. Plus I still got to enjoy Bad Religion for the remainder of their set. If you've seen Bad Religion, you'll agree, they are by far the best sounding live performance there is, and the energy at a Bad Religion show is insane!

I took a break to check out some of the merch tents. Then he was called over by a man named Edward Colver. He checked out the Angry Samoans shirt Alex was wearing and confirmed that was one of his pictures. This was the highlight of my day to meet Edward Colver. He's a third generation Southern California resident, who has been documenting the music scene for over 30 years with his photography and art. I have seen his work everywhere and have always admired it! I told him how much respect I have for him, getting the shots, he has made famous with a film camera. In this day and age of digital photography, everyone thinks they are a photographer, but this guy is the real deal.

Raw talent that surpasses anyone who has ever shot digital. He explained to me how he got his shots with a 35mm film camera and 50mm lens without auto focus. WOW! He gave Alex a picture of Lee Ving and signed it. Alex had met Lee Ving with his dad earlier in the day in the press tent and actually hung out with him for a while, while my boyfriend Scott who is 37 years old recounted his appearances on Who's the Boss and the blues band he started his career in music with. Needless to say, Lee Ving didn't have a problem taking out a few more moments to sign Alex's  Ed Colver picture and share in a Punk rock kodak moment with us. He even gave us his personal e-mail and told us to keep in touch. He was one of the most down to earth people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

By this time I think we were all ready for a break! I stood in line VIP style for a chicken and ribs dinner.

I was just chattin it up with this nice guy and his girlfriend, who just happened to be the bass player for Coheed N Cambria. I brought my plate outside and enjoyed the sounds of The Dickies while I grubbed and tried to gain up enough energy for the last set of the night with Guttermouth. I told my boyfriend Scott to take my camera and get some pics. I was spent! Alex still was full of energy, oh how it is to be 10 yrs old! So my brother grabbed him up onto his shoulders and headed for the pit! I was socializing with friends, when I hear ...Hey you with the purple mohawk, get your ass up here! Instantly I was a little concerned Mark can be a lot to handle. I think my motherly instincts came into play. He made a comment about the Darlings sticker someone had slapped on his shirt earlier, he ripped it off and called him a retard, then said I think instead of Alex I"ll call you Dick. I started making my way to the stage as he's conversing with my son, asking him what kind of beer he drinks and spitting bud light on him. Then he asks Alex what do you like about Guttermouth, and after all that Alex responded, "because I think your funny!" At least he thought so. Then Mark asked him what his favorite Guttermouth song was. Alex responded,"123 slam" He handed the mic to Alex and Alex started to sing, but the drummer started out with the wrong song. Mark stopped and said maybe we'll call you Dick to the drummer, since he didn't know the difference between the 2 songs, then ordered Alex to cuss him out, so to my surprise I hear my son shout into the mic, your a fucking asshole!

Oh my! Then the music started and Marc and Alex sang "Asshole" together. Then "123 Slam" After the song Marc exclaimed " o.k. now get off the stage Dick!" Alex responded "Well, if my name is Dick, yours must be Asshole." Marc asked him if he wanted to fight, they squared off and Alex hit him on the chin, Marc drug Alex to the ground where they wrestled around on the stage for a few minutes, but it was all in good fun. As shocked as I was to hear those words come out of my kid's mouth, I was glad he held his own. To be on stage at warped tour singing in front of thousands of people. I knew he was on cloud 9! A perfect end to a long day of punk rock! My kid along with so many others were able to enjoy a day of old school punk, the way it was intended to be. A big thanks to Kevin Lyman for the great line-up!


Official website: www.warpedtour.com

MORE coverage from the Pomona stop of the 2009 VANS Wapred Tour is HERE

-J. Moncrief-
Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
                                          Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews
 

 

Glastonbury Festival June 2009

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or Glasto, is the largest Greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. The festival is best known for its contemporary music but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts including craft, healing and charity fields. It has 180,000 people in attendance each year including ticket holders and workers.

I don't think there is any-where else in the world where you could go from watching Rolf Harris to watching The Specials, then go to the healing fields to get a massage or wander into a tent at 2 am and find a couple of DJs dressed as power rangers spinning a wheel with different genres of music on it and playing whatever it lands on.

The festival takes place in South West England at Worthy Farm between the small village of Pilton and Pylle, six miles east of the town of Glastonbury. The site is overlooked by the Glastonbury Tor in the mystical "Vale of Avalon". The area has a number of legends and spiritual traditions and is a "New Age" site of interest: several ley lines are considered to converge on the Tor.

After a trek to our campsite (usually the worst bit of the festival) we made camp and met up with all the rest of our friends. Even with no acts playing on the Wednesday an unprecedented 105,000 people turned up on the first day. Each year it is getting fuller and fuller on the Wednesday.

There are so many stages to mention and various fields to visit it is impossible to mention or visit them all. The Pyramid stage is the main stage hosting up to 100,000 fans.

Starting the festival (sort of!) were Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs. EFestivals organized a charity football match in front of the main stage on the Wednesday to raise money for Water Aid. Considering the fact it wasn't an ‘official’ event there was quite a crowd enjoying the music and sun. Hobo Jones play ‘skunk’ music – skiffle punk. Their songs are amusing and their enthusiasm infectious. All watching were drawn in and smiling merrily. It was amusing when a TV crew asked the crowd to be quiet while they filmed one song – the boo’s were deafening as everyone wanted to join in and cheer the band! It was all in good jest, and the Hobo’s finished their set with the ever fantastic “Drunken Sailor”. If you get a chance to these boys make sure you do. After they played the football started, England vs the rest of the world. We didn't stay to watch but heard that England won by quite a few goals. The organiser of the festival, Michael Eavis, even came along to present the trophy to the winning team.

The line up on the main stage this year was great - we saw Lilly Allen who had her own tribute to Michael Jackson by wearing 1 glove. She put on a super show belting out old and new hits.

The Specials were on after her and I had made my way to the front of 100,000 fans to get close and boy they didn't disappoint. Straight from the first chords of “Do the Dog” the fans were dancing away. Then “Gangsters” before playing “Doesn't make it alright” they commented on the fact that the B NP had got a seat on the European elections. “Concrete Jungle” was sung superbly by Roddy. Lynval, Neville and Horace all ran about the stage playing like men possessed and Roddy was awesome on the guitar Terry just kept his dour persona all the way through. They finished the set with “Ghost Town” which had everyone in the crowd singing.
www.thespecials.com

Tom Jones was another act on the Pyramid stage that was highly entertaining, belting out hits like “Delilah”  “Green Green Grass of Home” and “Kiss”. There was a mountain of woman’s underwear laying all around the front stage! He hasn't lost his mojo!

Madness came on and did what Madness do best, they got the crowd singing along to most of their tunes only going quiet when songs from the new album were played such as “The Liberty of Norton Folgate”. The highlight for me was “Baggy Trousers” which featured Lee Thomson being hoisted up on wires and playing his sax up above all the rest of the band.  Chas and Suggs strolled along the stage singing and interacting with the audience. On their last song they invited all their families on the stage, boy did we wish we could join them!
www.madness.co.uk

Other highlights on the main stage included Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Nick Cave and Blur.

The Park Stage was host to reggae legend Horace Andy. He has one the most distinguished voices in reggae and Jamaica. He has also collaborated with massive attack. He performed “Skylarking”, “Government Land” and other songs.
www.myspace.com/mrhoraceandy

Also there were the Easy Star All stars, a reggae group who are based in New York and specialize in doing reggae versions of popular albums. The first was Pink Floyd’s “Dark side of the Moon” called “Dub side of the Moon”. We were given a show of “Radiodread” (Radiohead’s “OK Computer album”) featuring “Paranoid Android” and finishing with “Karma Police”. Hearing these songs with an eerie reggae/dub feeling is a great experience.
www.easystar.com

The Jazz World stage hosted Rolf Harris, who was on at the early time of midday. I don't know why he was on early as the field was full to capacity, he should have been on a main stage. Totally entertaining with a crowd of all ages and people even dressed up as him. Rolf played hits including “Two Little Boys” “Waltzing Matilda” and “Tie me kangaroo down” , whilst in between songs telling jokes. The rapport with the crowd was awesome.
www.rolfharris.com

Also to be seen as we were wandering around was Big Hand putting on a ska show at 1 am in the Bimble Inn. Everyone was weary and tired but true to form Big Hand had everyone on their feet singing and dancing in the tent. Also the next day we saw Robert Llewellyn (‘Kryten’ from the Red Dwarf series) doing a stand up show in the comedy tent.

Glastonbury Festival isn't all about the music. The Green Fields area incorporates Craft Fields, Healing Fields and Green Futures, as well as the more organic food stalls.

This year we paid a visit to the Craft Fields and joined in a jewelry workshop. Five of us spent a good few hours making out very own silver rings from scratch. It was a wonderful experience which resulted in a fantastic souvenir. Other workshops in the craft fields include weaving, felt making, stone carving, wood carving and even glass blowing.

The Healing Fields were set out in their usual arrangement of the four elements. Here you can have a range of treatments including meditation, massage, reflexology and reiki, all done for a modest donation.

Green Futures were as ever full of green political messages, this year with an ‘airport departure lounge’ and a wooden airplane in the center of the field.

As the complete opposite of the Green Fields Shangri La, Arcadia and Trash City were more vibrant and crazy than ever. They are only in their second year but manage to push out all the stops. Shangri La was based on a Blade Runner future with dark neon lit alleys and projected images on stark walls. Arcadia joined Shangri La to the main Trash City field, which contained some of the immense structures from last years Trash City. Trash City itself had its usual array of weird monsters, strange bars and fire plumes. There was even a vampire bar with pole dancing vampires who'd swoop down and ‘attack’ unsuspecting victims. The only downfall with these areas are that at night they turn into an overcrowded ‘sheep pen’ which takes away most of the enjoyment.

Glastonbury is a huge festival with so much going on. I don't think anyone can truly appreciate what it has to offer until they actually go and experience it for themselves. The atmosphere alone is something to be amazed by. On arrival people suddenly change in considerate beings and anything goes. The ‘Glastonbury Spirit’ is something to be marvelled at, allowing you to talk to anyone, be anyone and generally have a sense of well being. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but mostly people find a spiritual home there.

During the day people tend to stick to the areas they want to experience, be it main stages or circus acts, or a bit of healing. Often punters can be found sampling the fabulous Bar Brothers pear cider in Jazz World, one pint of which happily sets people up for the rest of the day. The many food stalls get the mouth watering, too much to choose from! Food from all over the world.

At night people can be found in clusters enjoying music all over the festival. Obviously the main stages have the biggest crowds, but all over site people gather to dance or watch shows in the strangest of places. Little food stalls with sound systems often have a crowd nearby dancing, little tea tents are a haven for relaxing in and catching obscure music, and there are so many secret pleases it definitely pays to wander around until you get lost and stumble across something unexpected.

The atmosphere at night in the campsites is almost serene. Punters can sit around their camp fires hearing distant music in the background, watching the fire lanterns as they float up into the sky from the Sacred Space (where the stone circle is). General chit chat often turns to what everyone’s highlight of the day was.

The worst bit of the Festival…?  Leaving on the Monday and knowing it will be a year until you get to experience the magic again.

 

Words by Dod and Sally M

-Photos; Dod M.-
Big Wheel Overseas Correspondent

 

More photos of the event can be seen HERE

 
                                          Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews

 

 

Music play list for the week ending June 28, 2009

Top 25  - In no particular order -

The Seeds - Pushin Too Hard
Beach Boys - California Girls
Michael Jackson - Beat It
Social Distortion - Another State of Mind
Regal Beagle - Summertime
Angry Samoans - Right Side Of My Mind
The Mansfields - All Dressed Up
The Varukers - United We Stand
Minor Threat - Think Again
The Gears - Last Chord
Joan Jett - Bad Reputation
Bad Religion - Sorrow
Antidote - Do You Remember
T.S.O.L. - Send My Thoughts
Dead Milkmen - Serrated Edge
Anti Heros - Fuck Hollywood
M.I.A. - Boredom Is The Reson
Sid Vicious - My Way
Christian Death - Deathwish
The Runaways - Cherry Bomb
AWOL 69 - AWOL
Anti Nowhere League - Never Drink Alone
Municipal Waste - Accelerated Vision
Clit 45 - No Surrender
Johnny Thunders - You Cant Put Your Arms Around A Memory

The above list are some of the top played songs amongst our staff this week.

 

This weeks playlist brought to you by: No Way Records

 If you would like to sponsor our weekly playlist - Contact us

 

 

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Shows and events calendar for Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura, San Diego, San Bernardino, California and states all over the United States and the world. Complete and extended listing covering Punk, Indie, Rock, Psychobilly and more.

The Dead Ponies – Obedient Waves – 1/2 Ast – Double Down Saloon – Las Vegas, NV

When I arrived at The Double down I wasn't expecting to be as small as it is, as you can see by the photos it is very intimate, you are totally up close and personal with the Bands.

The first band to hit the floor is a local Las Vegas band called 1/2 AST. Not knowing what to expect. Their first song was the Chicken song, they just played like there was no tomorrow. The lead singer was just flapping his arm and crowing like a chicken. It was Pretty awesome.


Their music to me is a cross between OI, Hard Core and Thrash Metal. Needless to say they kicked ass and got the crowd ready for Obedient Waves. They put about 15 songs into a 25 minute set.

Up next came Obedient Waves, An awesome band out of Los Angeles. Billy Gruber on guitars, Joanna Devoe vocals, and Dylan Halacy on drums. They did a kick ass set with some of their songs from the 4 song e.p. like Cool As Hell, OM Song, If You Only Had A brain, Drink Fuck Love, and we never liked you. Billys vocals and guitar playing rocked the Double Down, along with Jo's vocals and Dylans incredible drumming this trio is on it's way to the big time. If you get a chance to go see them I highly recommend them.

Finally The Dead Ponies took the floor. These guys just totally thrashed out a 25 minute set, It would have been longer but somebody from the audience slammed a guy into the drummer and knocked his kit over, and they got really irritated and cut their set short.
 
If you get a chance check out any and all of these bands they all are worth seeing. The music ranges from OI Hardcore to Thrash metal.


Bob Mandoki
Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
                                          Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews
 

 

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