Big Wheel poll question archive of music and lifestyle

[page_polls]

Music play list for the week ending December 19, 2010

Top 25  - In no particular order -

TSOL - Wash Away
Interpol - Slow Hands
Descendents - Suburban Home
XTC - Senses Working Overtime
The Crowd - Letter Bomb
Pussy Cow - Jello Biafra
Resilience - Beat For The Beaten
The Germs - What We Do Is Secret
Litmus Green - Hegemony
Redd Cross - Puss 'N' Boots
The Clash - Brand New Cadillac
X - Come Back To me
Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
Propagandhi - Nation Sates
Sin Dios - Canción De Amor
The Briefs - Silver Bullet
Oxymoron - Crisis Identity
Adolescents - Rip It Up
One Man Army - SOS
Bonecrusher - Hell I've Already Been There
Stellastarr - Stay Entertained
Against Me - You Look Like I Need A Drink
The Dollyrots - My Best Friend's Hot
Wesley Willis - Rock And Roll Power
Lower Class Brats - I'm A Mess
The above list are some of the top played songs amongst our staff this week.

Download the above songs HERE at the iTunes Music Store

Message of the week:
When you choose your friends, don’t be short-changed by choosing personality over character
-W. Somerset Maugham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X – at House of Blues – Anaheim, CA

Christmas season is usually the time of year that is full of nostalgia, gift-giving, ornaments, and God awful Christmas music on repeat at nearly every department store and mall. If there's ONE cool thing about Christmas however, it's that X bestows upon Punks "Xmas with X" shows that bring us cheer, joy, and Punk rock fun through their timeless music and presence. On Friday, X performed at the House of Blues in Anaheim and made the night all about the band. A documentary regarding the band's history prepped the audience right before X's highly anticipated appearance on stage.

The night at House of Blues began around 8:30 p.m. with a Punk documentary called "The Unheard Music". The documentary that was screened contained lots of goodies by the band, including a few of the band's practice sessions, interviews, shots of live shows, and more. The film was shown for about an hour, and around 9:30 p.m., X finally arrived on stage and began their hour and a half long set.

X opened up with "Your Phone's Off The Hook (But You're Not)" and immediately imposed life and meaning onto their loyal fans at the show. The show was completely sold out, and it was easy to see that the venue was indeed overflowing with people of all ages. The majority of the people in the audience were older and appeared middle aged, but the crowd belonging to this same demographic was just as energetic as the younger kids in the audience. Both young and old rejoiced in the fact that the members of X were standing right before them, playing the music that they had grown up with and grown to love.

The band performed every song off "Los Angeles", however, the band performed every song off the vinyl version, not the CD version. Other songs the band performed consisted of "Breathless", "Year One", "We're Desperate", "The Once Over Twice", "The Hungry Wolf", "Adult Books", "Beyond and Back", and "Blue Spark". During the band's performance, vocalist Exene Cervenka sang in such a manner that audience members were floored by her voice and pitch. Even when Cervenka was simply providing back up vocals to bassist John Doe's melodic voice, Cervenka's vocals were able to genuinely capture the mood and setting of each X song performed that night.

After an hour of the band's enigmatic music, the members of X thanked the audience and walked off the stage for a few moments. The audience began to chant, scream, and push each other, all in an attempt to rush the band and acquire an encore. A short while later, the band walked back onto the stage and performed an acoustic set of "See How We Are", which the crowd demonstrated appreciation towards by waving their arms in the air and lighting up their lighters. After the somber song was over, the band performed a 20 minute encore that consisted of songs such as "Because I do" and "Motel Room In My Bed". Once the band finished their encore, the curtains drew to a close and the lights illuminated the venue again. X had finally ended the night, and ended our "Xmas with X" experience.

X was able to once again provide Punk aficionados an event worthy of the sometimes intolerable Christmas season and atmosphere. The Xmas show at House of Blues upheld Christmas joy in the fashion of X's classic and great music. Truly, if there's one thing Punks look forward to every December besides second-hand presents under the Christmas tree, it's Xmas with X, and nothing else compares.

-Stephanie M.-
Big Wheel Senior Staff Reporter

 

Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

The Vandals Christmas Formal – at Slim’s – San Francisco, CA

The holidays are here and everyone knows what that means: annoying Christmas songs on repeat, obnoxious holiday parties, fruitcake, and the Vandals. Friday night they set their legal woes aside to provide the city of San Francisco with a little holiday cheer; Punks gathered to the "Winter Formal" decked out in Santa hats, elf hats, and ugly holiday sweaters to celebrate the only way they know how. Accompanying the Vandals with their celebration were ska-Punk group Assorted Jellybeans.

Assorted Jellybeans commenced the formal to an extremely welcoming audience. The Jellybeans have already had a strong connection with the Vandals and their fans; They were the reason the Vandals decided to form their record label, Kung Fu Records. They performed ska-Punk music similar to that of Operation Ivy. The crowd kept a consistent and exuberant pit of both skanking and moshing throughout the set, as if Assorted Jellybeans were headlining rather than opening.

Moments later, the screen that was blocking the stage began to rise, lights began to dim, and fans began to scream for the moment they've been waiting for. However, instead of the Vandals, a giant inflatable snowman was in front of the crowd while "Overture" played. After taunting the crowd, the band finally emerged and performed a large portion of their Christmas album, "Oi to the World", including "Christmastime for my Penis", "My First X-Mas (As a Woman)", "Thanx for Nothing", and "Grandpa's Last X-Mas". The crowd proved to be incredibly responsive; A young man donning an ugly Christmas sweater was crowned the "mayor" of the show for coming on stage numerous amount of times (he was eventually escorted out by security) and a young boy around the age of 4 crowd surfing to "I Don't  Believe in Santa Claus".

The group wrapped up their Christmas portion of the set and began to play "Happy Birthday to Me", "43210-1", and "I've Got an Ape Drape". They only performed one song off the album "Peace Thru Vandalism", which was the hit "Anarchy Burger (Hold the Government)". They ended their set with the Queen cover, "Don't Stop Me Now" and "My Girlfriend's Dead", which was followed by a demand for an encore. Shortly after, Warren Fitzgerald appeared and began to serenade the audience with "Hang Myself from the Tree". The band then performed "I Have a Date" and the most infamous Christmas song by the Vandals, "Oi! to the World" which created the most vigorous pit of the night.

People may argue that Union Square is the best place in San Francisco to feel the holiday spirit, but the Vandals proved those people wrong. Giving the Punk scene the gift of holiday classics, profanity, humor, and a giant inflatable snowman, it's safe to say that Christmas came early this year. Sorry Santa, but the Vandals have come to town and have given you a run for your money.

-Sarah K.-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

Youth Brigade and T.S.O.L. Preview: at Key Club in Hollywood, CA on January 6, 2011

Starting the new year 2011 on the right foot, the Key Club will be hosting a show that displays of some of the finest names of the 1980's Punk scene. On January 6th, Youth Brigade and T.S.O.L will be performing along with "Nardcore" group Ill Repute, Back to Zero, and Knocked Out Cold that gives a quality sampling of classic Punk rockmusic.

T.S.O.L, otherwise known as True Sounds of Liberty, has been classified under a wide variety of genres: hardcore Punk, horror punk, and deathrock. The band burst into the Punk scene in 1978, wearing white face paint and performing songs that were strongly political, such as "Abolish Government" and "World War III" that are featured on the T.S.O.L. EP. As they moved on, they've released albums that have become works of art and masterpieces for fans, including Dance With Me and Beneath the Shadows. After many legal turmoils during the 90's, T.S.O.L has been playing numerous shows, including many Warped Tours, and have been featured in a variety of documentaries and films about the Punk music scene.

Lead singer Jack Grisham was also given a "Distinguished Artist" award by the city of Huntington Beach in October, 2010.
   TSOL performing Abolish Government


Youth Brigade has proved to be one of the most inspirational bands in the Punk scene; the group holds on to the philosophy that "youth" is not an age, but an attitude and every generation has the ability to change what they feel is wrong in the world. Based on this ideology, Mark and Shawn formed the record label Better Youth Organization,or BYO, in 1982. They made Punk history with the "Youth Movement '82" show at the Hollywood Palladium, where roughly 3,500 Punks showed up to see bands including Social Distortion and T.S.O.L grace the stage with Youth Brigade. The style of the band has evolved throughout the years as they were known as the Brigade for 2 years, then Mark and Adam became involved with a swing band titled Royal Crown Revue while Shawn was in a melodic Punk group That's It! .Youth Brigade has kept busy with BYO Records Split Series, making the documentary Let Them Know, and touring extensively, performing single shows and playing festivals such as Punk Rock Bowling.

If you weren't old enough or even alive to experience the Punk music scene in the 80's, or simply just want to catch some Punk legends, then January 6th at the Key Club is the perfect place to be. Each band playing will bring their own style and attitude to the table but no matter what, the performances put on every group will reaffirm your love for Punk music, whether you're into the dark side like T.S.O.L or making the world a better place like Youth Brigade.
   Youth Brigade - LIVE

Youth Brigade MySpace: www.myspace.com/youthbrigadebyo

TSOL MySpace: www.myspace.com/tsol

Youth Brigade and T.S.O.L. with Ill Repute, Back to Zero, Knocked Out Cold
at Key Club in Hollywood, CA on January 6, 2011
       and
Youth Brigade and T.S.O.L. at Brick by Brick in San Diego, CA on January 7, 2011

-Sarah K.-
Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter

Check out more show previews HERE

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

Show reunites bands from 80s, 90s El Paso Punk scene

Punk rock is all over the place. What is really cool is how much we all have in common with each other and do pretty much whatever it takes to have bands play. Check out this article below that puts a spotlight on the El Paso, Texas Punk scene.

Surrounded by the strip malls, thrift stores and countless car dealerships that still line this seedy stretch of Alameda real estate was a place that everyone in the local punk scene at the time (or those who frequented it) remember as the The Rugburn. The venue with the graffiti-scrawled walls was home to many a Punk show in the valley from the early to late 1990s. But before then, if you wanted to catch a hardcore, Punk or Ska show in the area, it was usually in the backyard of a home, a high school gym, maybe the now-defunct Golden Age Center in Downtown or the Forum near the airport.
     Read the entire article >>> HERE over at What's Up

 

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »