Northern Soul and Boss Sound Revue with Gwen Owens and Roy Ellis Mr. Symarip – at The Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA

The Echoplex in Echo Park played host to another wonderful night of live soul and Ska.  In recent months Los Angeles has had a run of amazing shows with a who’s who of the scenes most respected and beloved artists and Friday night was no exception.

 

Under the banner headline “Northern Soul & Boss Sound” expectations were set high, matched then surpassed in every way imaginable. First to storm the stage was San Francisco’s The Inciters.  Sadly on a rainy night, traffic to The Echoplex lead to less than ideal driving conditions so to my disappointment I happen to walk in on just the last twenty five seconds of their set, quickly followed by an immediate expletive from my mouth when I realized the set had concluded. In just that small sample, I knew there was more there I had to hear, after purchasing their eleven track album “Soul Clap” I now know just how much I missed out on The Inciters -They are a great soul act with rich female harmonies backed by solid musicians and definitely worth leaving earlier for.

Up next was the elegant Gwen Owens looking as energetic and vibrant as ever. Mrs. Owens was accompanied onstage by her two children helping to providing vocals and energy, its easy to see the apple doesn’t not fall far from the tree as they looked happy and right at home on stage with their mother. Unfortunately Mrs. Owens was under the weather and was battling a sinus infection in turn only allowing her to perform a shorter set, that being said she still sounded amazing and was lively throughout it was a real treat for everyone in attendance.

Setting up next was The Original Aggro Band with their strictly heavy approach it got the boots warmed up in a big hurry incorporating heavy Rocksteady and Reggae sound with a upbeat two tone energy, the tone was set for the man of the hour.  Roy Ellis “Mr. Symarip” - “The Boss” live and direct, with the crowed in a tizzy the boots started stomping right away, performing timeless classic after timeless classic and iconic versions, skins and byrds were well on their way to the moon.

The Boss

With his smile and sunglasses as present as ever it was impossible not to notice the smiles and sweat on the folks in the crowed as they raised their fists and sang along to gems like “Stay With Him” “Must Catch a Train” and “You’re Mine”. It may have been chilly and rainy outside but inside on the main stage it was nothing less than a scorcher. Mr. Symarip was a man possessed jumping and dancing and rolling on stage all with a set of broken ribs… even though he was on the mend, his enthusiasm shined through, only to be given back that same enthusiasm ten fold.

 

 

Songs like “These boots were made for stompin” (A Nancy Sinatra version) and a personal favorite of mine the E.K Bunch Version “Banana” washed over myself and everyone else as we joined in together to sing along and dance away with The Boss. Fittingly Every lovely Skinhead girl in attendance made it a point to be on stage for “Skinhead Girl” and the same for the fellas on the iconic “Skinhead Moonstomp” helping to end the night together on stage as one.  In what was no doubt a wonderful year for live Reggae Ska Rocksteady and soul Mr. Symarip continued the trend delighting the appreciative L. A crowed as only the Boss knows how.

-Gio Van Dam-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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Municipal Waste – Napalm Death – The Dwarves – at House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA

There comes a show every year where despite being sick with the flu and having a fever in the triple digits you find yourself head banging with hordes of friends to the unholy sounds of whichever rad band is in town that night. Never one to turn down a bitchin time, I found myself at “that” show this week, and instead of one sweet band setting the place off, there happened to be a full bill of 5 bands set to go in for the kill!

One of the most talked about shows of the last few weeks finally rolled into town and burnt a black cross over the city as thrash masters Municipal Waste, grindcore gods Napalm Death, hardcore Punks The Dwarves as well as Exhumed and Attitude Adjustment  put on a show that attendees will be talking about for a long time to come. Everyone was there in full force that fateful Wednesday night; the old metal heads from the 80’s, older Punks as well as the new school Punks, teenagers and of course everyone in their mid to late 20’s who fit somewhere in between.
Leather, denim, skulls, spikes, studs and boots seemed to be popular as well as dyed and bleached hair. Evil was in the air as every band that night had something very similar but very different to offer to the large crowd that gathered nice and early from the get go.

As great as Attitude Adjustment and Exhumed are things really didn’t get too nutty until The Dwarves hit the stage. Their lewd and perverted style of Punk rock hit the right chord and had the crowd going ape shit till the very end of their fast paced set. There were no moments of on stage nudity or any other G.G. Allin like incidents, though perhaps next time! Vocalist Blag Dahlia is sounding great as ever and we can only hope The Dwarves swing through LA again more sooner than later as headliners on their own tour.

Soon after the Dwarves blistering set came Birmingham England’s own Napalm Death who had a huge amount of the crowd cheering them on for most of the long changeover. Their time on stage seemed a bit longer than every openers thus far and with every minute they made sure that fans were getting their moneys worth of grind. Newer era Napalm saw its fair share of playage, though older material owned the heart of their fan base and when an older song was played the crowd certainly reacted like it was the last show on earth. It must be noted that covering “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” by The Dead Kennedy’s really hit the mark with the Hollywood crowd, especially older Punks. Napalm Deaths vocalist even made a few remarks about our recent US election, it was expected and welcomed as he said unkind things about loser Mitt Romney.

By the time Municipal Waste hit the stage the crowd had survived a few hours worth of music and were warmed up for everything The Waste had to spew their way. Without hesitation the Waste sent the crowd into a frenzy with tracks off their latest release “The Fatal Feast” out on Nuclear Blast Records. Their comedic breakneck tongue in cheek style always goes over so well with the local crowd, and the capacity reached House of Blues crowd was no exception. The proper concert began to resemble a heavy metal house party with no parents in sight! It was then that security had its hardest time on the main floor. Many fans handled themselves accordingly and dove off whatever fixed item there was to use for maximum hang time, unfortunately though it resulted in many fans getting escorted out by the strict guards. Bummer!

Most of their set did go over without any incidents or any crowd commotion other than one of the gnarliest pits you could imagine to take place in 2012, you’d swear you were in the 1980’s judging by the looks of things. Tracks off earlier releases are what most fans were familiar with and fans got an ear full of thrash as Municipal Waste played their full arsenal of back catalog hits. For some extra fun they even managed to throw in a S.O.D. cover in for good measure, the place was a madhouse!

They ended the show with confetti cannons littering the House Of Blues and everyone in it as they ripped through an hour and 10 minutes of pure thrash metal mania. Municipal Waste were there to fuck things up and that is exactly what they did Wednesday night and we were glad to be apart of it. We’ve watched them grow from playing bars to small clubs to mid sized clubs to the House of Blues now, one can’t help but feel that this band is on the rise and setting their sights on big horizons. We are stoked to say that we support Municipal Waste and look forward to them coming back through LA whenever that may be again. Face The Waste!

-Louie Bones-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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The Young Idea – War Paint 7″

The Young Idea are a Bay area band featuring members of Whiskey Rebels, Tried and True, Hub City Stompers, Stagger and Fall and Mental Disaster. They're sound can be described as Street Ska. It's Ska Punk but not your usual ska because the sound of street Punk runs through their songs and while they're tunes are catchy they are not over-ally catchy or too poppy. They're just awesome.

I couldn't wait to have their record in my collection and I bought it as soon as it came out from corpitus.com, for anyone who hasn't heard of that site it's really good for any Punk, Oi, and street Punk and for sure worth checking out.

As soon as I pulled the 7” out of the packaging I noticed the cool cover art, it has a really nice design of a gypsy style woman with banana styled art neatly placed around her with roses and the band's logo. This record also comes with a download card which is great for any iPhone heads like me and and a lyric sheet too. I was stoked to put it on.

As the record spun I instantly heard that nice Ska influence that I mentioned and I really like the singers voice, his words are easy to hear and sang in catchy upbeat way that I really enjoy.

There are four songs on this record and they're all really super good and nicely placed, the first song “Citadel” is a good blend of fast and slow and blends right into the next track “Wretch like Me” a faster number with a super good chorus and a great bass sound that rings through the entire song.

The other two songs are rad too and have a nice surfer Punk kind of sound too them. This is definitely worth checking out and I can't wait to hear what the boys come up with next.

 

 

 

-Brian McCann Jr.
Big Wheel Contributor
 

 

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Show Preview: The Technicolors with Trail of Dead – at the Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA – November 9, 2012

Embarking on their west coast tour in support of their new album, Listener (Deluxe Edition), The Technicolors will be joined And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Playing a handful of dates, catch them here in Los Angeles at the Echoplex November 9th, this Friday.

 

The Techinicolors band blew the doors off their South X Southwest set last spring. Which may have been why they teamed up with the Austin born powerhouse, Trail of Dead.

The Technicolors mix rock and roll and blues with heavy guitar riffs, reminiscent of Wolfmother or Jack White. Their cover of Chris Isaakʼs “Wicked Game” does its maker justice while showcasing the bandʼs strength as musicians.

Drawing influence from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Thin Lizzy, The Cars, and Led Zeppelin; The Technicolors take their cues from the best. A rocking and eclectic sound, the new album is of top notch production value, but they are most revered for their live shows. Often filling venues to capacity. Come out with us, and the Fire Marshall, to the Echoplex. Itʼs this Friday, November 9th, come see what itʼs all about.   

Trail of Dead certainly needs no introduction. If you are unaware, Conrad Keely and this amazing band can easily shake the rafters during a live performance. Composed primarily of multi-instrumentalists, this three-piece outfit will crank out anthems with ease. Grafting melodic compositions to face-melting riffs, and profound lyricism. This show is certain to be memorable. Trail does a serious number on their instruments, as an encore . . . Pete Townshend style.

Photo by Ryan Fanizza

-Chad M.-
Big Wheel Contributor

 

 

 

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Anti Nowhere League – at The Beat Generator Live – Dundee, UK

The Beat Generator is a small club in Dundee, just right for intimate punk gigs where you can get up close and personnel with the bands. Straight from the fist chords of “We are the League” to the end of the show we were treated to a good night.

 

 

They stormed through old classics “Snowman”, “Streets of London” and “Woman”. “Woman” is one of my favorite all time punk tunes and (to my amazement) is also a lot of the ladies favorite song too!

 

Played early on in the set was “So What”, the infamous B-side to the 1981 single “Streets of London” that had the British police seize all copies of it from the bands distributor under the obscene publication act. Lots of bands would keep what many people come to hear till last, but not the League; they had the place going wild. It is quite funny that there are people out there who think ANL do this as cover of a Metallica song, not realizing that its Metallica doing the cover.

“I Hate People” has the crowd singing along at the top of their voices. ANL also do newer songs like “Pig Iron” and “My God is Bigger than your God”

 

Animal commanded the stage in his usual leathers complete with menacing look. Scowling at the crowd, dropping to his knees and thumping the ground - the crowd love it. These guys haven’t lost any of their energy over the years, catch them if you can. Shady and Tom come to front during some the songs playing guitar and bass like rock stars, meanwhile Nato on drums is banging away like a man possessed to make this a tight outfit and a great live act.

 

They finish the night with another rendition of “We are the League” and the lyrics sum it up nicely:

 

“You criticize us, you say we we’re shit
But we’re up here and we are doing it
So don’t you criticize the things we do
No fucker pays to go and see you”

 

Couldn’t put it better myself!

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

-Dod Morrison-
Big Wheel Overseas  Correspondent  

 

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The Devil Makes Three – with Jonny Fritz Corndawg – and Sean & Zander – at House Of Blues – Los Angeles, CA

After a slew of shows in California, Friday night would bring the infamous 3 piece string band called The Devil Makes Three to The House of Blues Sunset Strip for their last show before they were scheduled to descend on their proclaimed home town of Santa Cruz.

 

Los Angeles' very own Sean and Zander opened up the show. While their music as a duo is primarily a mix of Blues, Folk, and Outlaw County, these guys have a strong history in the Punk scene and brought just the right amount of edge to this show. Zander Schloss sang a song about how Punk may have saved many lives, but it almost killed his ass. It was a funny description that I think most Punks from the 80's and 90's can relate to. They closed their set with the crowd favorite "Retalbo". As always Sean and Zander killed it and set the stage for an amazing night of music.

Johnny Fritz accompanied by his fiddle playing counterpart Josh Hedley played an entertaining set. Their sound was very Country, but had just the right amount of lewdness to keep my my attention focused on the act. It was like Waylon Jennings meets Blag Dahlia. Johnny and Josh have a lot of talent and delivered a great performance for the packed house of DM3 fans.  

During the short intermission (that seemed like a lifetime) some concert goers bought drinks, rifled through merch and and took a chance for a quick smoke. Most found their spots in front of the stage anxiously waiting for the main attraction of the evening.

The Devil Makes Three made their way onto the stage around 10:30 and were met with the cheers of hundreds of people. They started their set instantly with "Piano". The crowd erupted into song and dance from the first chord.

The power and energy this trio delivers is nothing short of amazing! They powered through more than 25 songs without losing any momentum whatsoever. This was more of a show that you dance your ass off to rather than forming a pit, however the square dance transformed into more of a square dancing slam pit at moments One overzealous guy even thought it would be fun to crowd surf. Against the will of the security he climb up and jumped into the crowd for the biggest stage diving FAIL I have ever seen. It was reminiscent of the scene in the movie PCU where during The Parliament Funk show one guy stage dives and the crowd separates leaving him to fall on his face. Both security guys looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and laughed. 

The set consisted of favorites such as Old Number 7, Graveyard, Bullet, All Hail, and many more.

Around 11:35 the band thanked the audience and walked off stage. Of course the whole house chanted for an encore which was obliged as The Devil Makes Three walked back on stage. The encore consisted of the songs "St. James" and "Banger Mash". Lyrically this band is phenomenal, their recorded material is great, however, to experience them live is such a treat. They are on key in every way, true professionals. Pete, Cooper, and Lucia come together and execute their songs in harmonic perfection.

After nearly an hour and a half performance the show finally came to an end and the sweaty and elated concert goers poured out onto the Sunset Strip to continue their fun. Keep an eye on The Devil Makes Three's tour schedule and be sure to check them out every chance you get!

You can Like The Devil Makes Three on Facebook HERE 

or keep up them on their official band website HERE

 

  More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-J.Moncrief-
Big Wheel Journalist

 

 

 

 

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