The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Western Standard Time – The Interrupters – at The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA

On a hot and muggy Saturday evening, Hollywood and The Fonda Theater would be treated to something refreshing. First to quench the musical appetite was Los Angeles natives, The Interrupters. Alot of the talk going into the evening's show was centered on The Bosstones, understandably, but the same couldn’t necessarily be said at the end of the night.

The Interrupters are a four-piece Ska/ Punk band with all the grit and attitude Hellcat Records have been known for. With Aimee Interrupter and her smooth but tough as nails voice and lyrics covering all things from family, to shitting on the Police State. Flanked by the Bivona Brothers: Kevin, Justin and Jesse, The Interrupters sound is fast, aggressive and churned perfectly with Ska’s up-tempo rhythmic scratch and energy. Song after song The Interrupters established themselves amongst some of the young and brightest to emerge in the local music scene. Bands like the Bosstones have made a career off of wonderfully mixing the two elements but The Interrupters have given it their own personality and flair, tunes like “Judge Not” take the classic Robert Nesta Marley song about A individuals right to expression and give it a set of liberties and tattoos. Its that good. With a brand spanking new self titled album just released on August 5th via Hellcat Records, its no surprise that the word is out on The Interrupters. These Cats are definitely worth keeping one good eye on; keep your other eye out for a review of their album coming real soon. To get your copy of The Interrupters newest album, go to Hell-cat.com

Up next to the legendary Fonda Stage: Western Standard Time, a 20+ piece Ska/ Jazz orchestra comprising former members of The los Angeles Ska scene including The Aggrolites, Hepcat, and Yeska. WST specialize in the mastery of traditional Ska music and in particular a magnificent, one of a kind big band tribute to The Skatalites. WST has made its name in Los Angeles as the only Ska Orchestra to give the catalog of The Skatalites the justice it deserves. With only one founding member still with us today (Lester Sterling) The Skatalites music is one to be cherished and revered,WST got The Fonda Theater as close to seeing Tommy, Roland, Don, Lloyd,Lloyd and Jackie as humanly possible. Wasting no time, Long time Orange County Ska personality and radio host of “Ska Parade” Tazy Philips, greeted the crowd and introduced them with a familiar backwards countdown from Ten to One..Freedom! And so the Musical onslaught began. Pulling from all parts of The Skatalites catalog, WST delivered a heavy, precise masterful performance.

Oozing class and talent from every instrument and corner of the stage, but there’s always room for more as made apparent by the surprise guest performance of Alex Desert and Greg Lee of LA third wave trail blazers Hepcat. Alex and Greg’s vocal harmony echo out with style and class that very few can even compare to, and paired with WST, it’s a match made in heaven. As the two launched into ‘Bobby & Joe’ and ‘No Worries’ fans could be overheard in the front screaming “We’re not worthy!” all the while Greg and Alex put on a dancing Clinic we here in Los Angeles have been lucky enough to see over the decades.

With their set expertly maneuvered and executed, fans may not have been given enough time to fully applaud and cheer on Western Standard Time as the curtain descended too early from the rafters,but nothing has stood in the way of fans rushing to social media to follow the band, As you should too.

The wait was now over for the predominantly Mighty Mighty Bosstones crowd, as Dicky Barrett and the boys from Beantown made their way to a deafening roar from their loyal fan base. Making their name in the early 90’s the Mighty Mighty Bosstones have reached all levels of success in the music industry and popular culture as seen and heard in such cult classics like the 1995 film ‘Clueless’ and 1996 film ‘Kingpin’.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have over ten studio and live albums under their hat and on Saturday August 16th  they touched on damn near all of them. Even getting a helping hand from Western Standard time’s Eitan Avineri on Trumpet for a couple songs including ‘The Impression That I Get’all the while the dancing enigma that is Ben Carr “Bosstone” never missed a step. Fans were treated to other classic songs like ‘Dr.D’‘RascalKing’‘Someday I Suppose’‘Hell Of A Hat’‘Don’t Worry Desmond Dekker’‘Toxic Toast’‘The Pirate Ship’‘Wasted Summers’ and for good measure,a sick rendition of The Clash’s ‘Rudie Cant Fail’ with Kevin Bivona of The Interrupters on guitar.

All in all, the night went down as another LA-Boston mash up but this time without the Kevin McHale cheap shot clothesline more like a Kobe Bryant 5th championship ring, because after all, This is LA not Boston.

-Gio Van Dam-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

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Nardfest II – ILL REPUTE – In Control – Stalag 13 – False Confession – Aggression – Burning Dog – Circle One – The Last Priority – and Boxheads – at The Fox Theatre – Ventura, CA

Promoter/musician Jeff Hershey can really put on a show. NARDFEST 2014, at the Ventura Theater was a good one! Oxnard has always had its own scene and its own bands. Some of the coolest people come from the Oxnard/Ventura area.

It was always a blast hanging out with them in the early days when things were new and exciting. I have many fond memories of my friends in Oxnard. One of these important persons in the scene is Big Bob Porter. Bob is the original bass player for the Legendary band Aggression. He is one of the main figures in the original Nardcore scene and today was a special day for Big Bob. Bob wanted to share his wedding ceremony to all of his Nardcore friends and family so we started this days event with the wedding of Big Bob and Cece. John Phaneuf from Ill Repute did the honors and did a great job. It was very touching, everyone seemed really happy to see Bob full of life and happiness. This guy really deserves it as he has had a bit of some hard times, however he has managed to rise above it all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we come to the music. First band up were the Boxheads: a tribute to RKL. RKL is another legendary Nardcore band. Out of the Santa Barbara/Ventura area, these youngsters put out some of the best original Punk music in the 80's. The Boxheads played some of the classic's and did a really good job. I'm glad newer bands as well as older bands are recognizing that RKL were a very important part of the scene and need to be remembered. These guys were great musicians as well as really good people.

The Last Priority were up next. These guys are somewhat newer of the bunch (formed in the late 90's I believe). Every time I see them they get better and better. One of my favorite newer bands from Oxnard (even though some members live in the L.A. area now). They have a great old school sound with good musicianship.

Up next was a band not from Oxnard or Ventura county but had played with all of the original Nardcore bands back in the day: Circle One. You could say that Circle One is the only adoptive band to be in the Nardcore scene. Ill Repute's first show was with Circle One at the Port Hueneme Community Center along with Beer Guts. Circle One also did small tours with Aggression in the early 80's. Also, another unknown fact: Kyle from Dr. Know and Mark Aber from Agression played in Circle One for one or two shows in the 80's. Lots of Nardcore roots with this band. This line up was with Danny Dorman on bass who is on the Patterns Of Force LP and  founder of the band Mike Vallejo on guitar. Also in the band was Jeremy on vocals and Sean (Gears drummer) on drums. They played a tight set with a lot of old classic's.

Burning Dog was up next and was a more heavy "Helmet" type band. Loud guitars and a heavy beat is what you can expect from these guys. Not really old school, but a nice addition to this line up of bands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mighty Aggression were up next. The band is currently fronted by Jess Leedy on vocals, he does justice to the late original singer Mark Hickey. On guitar was Rob Thacker. If you close your eyes and hear Rob play you'd swear it was Henry Knowles playing. Both these guys are keeping Aggression's music alive. Danny Dorman also plays bass along with Mark Aber on drums. Mark is also an early drummer for the band and played many of the early 80's shows with them.  It wouldn't be Aggression without the presence of Big Bob, he came on stage and played a few songs with Aggression. They played all of their well known tunes and did a really good job. Mark Hickey's little brother also came up on stage and did a song or two. A very nice touch. Aggression is synonyms with Nardcore and their wouldn't be any Dr. Know, Ill Repute, Stalag 13, False Confession, etc without them.

A very influential band to this day, False Confession, was up next. At first I thought it was Black Sabbath playing but then looked up on stage and saw Isreal, Fred, Ismael, and Harry. One of my favorite Nardcore bands. Their not your typical hardcore band. They add a little Goth/No Wave/Post Punk/and I dare say "Prog". Isreal  is one of the best dressed front men in the scene!! Got a great voice,too. Fred is one of the most underrated guitarist around, Ismael keeps looking up for that UFO that hasn't picked him up yet (just kidding...) but keeps it all together with that bottom end, and Harry is another underrated musician. Together, they play great classic Punk like no one else can. Very cool people,too.

Stalag 13 came on next with the In Control line up minus Ron. Very intense, powerful and exciting Hardcore from yet another legendary Nardcore band. They still have all the energy from the old days and put on one hell of a show. "Conditioned" and "No Excuse" are among my favorites, along with "In Control". Check them out if you have the chance.

In Control was up next and played a good set of Hardcore. They were another of the newer bands that fit in really well. Did they get their name from the Stalag 13 song? Cool name and a good band. Got all the young kids going.

Finally....the Oxnard legends ILL REPUTE. This was their 30th year anniversary of the "What Happens Next" LP. What can I say about these guys that hasn't been said already. So important in the Oxnard scene/came out with lots of diverse LPs/great musicians/great bunch of guys. Ill Repute is much more than just a band out of Oxnard. If you know these guys you know what I mean. All of the band members are first class acts and first class people!! Very hard working back in the day when you had to really work hard to get your band out there. They discovered a lot of cool bands back in the day and helped out local and out of town bands. Just all around GREAT people. I'm proud to have them as my friends, and once shared the stage with Tony (Thanks Tony for putting up with my shananigans). As usual,they put on a great show. Played all the hits (still waiting to hear songs from the Big Rusty Balls LP!!!) and did it all with Ill Repute class! These guys rule!! Plain and simple.

Thanks again to Jeff Hershey for putting on such a great event. If you weren't there...boy, you missed out!

 

 

 More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Pix Tracy-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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Rewind Scotland Festival – at Scone Palace – Perth, Scotland, UK

Saturday, despite the damp day punters streamed into the sold out Rewind arena ready for the day ahead. It rained most of the day but this didn’t dampen spirits. The Sugar Hill Gang brought rap to the festival and started it off with a bang. Their songs “Rapper’s Delight” and “Apache” pleased the crowd.

Bjorn Again provided a fun Abba sing along.

 
Steve Augeri, the former lead singer of Journey, pulled a big crowd, and provided one of the best two sing alongs of the weekend with “Don’t Stop Believing”. The other was Dr and the Medics with “Spirit in the Sky”.

 
Jimmy Somerville was the small man with a big voice singing hits like “ Don’t leave me this way”

 
Billy Ocean ended the day on a high with “Caribbean Queen” and “The Going Gets Tough”.

Sunday, In the baking sun The Selecter got most of the crowd off their seats and dancing. Classics such as “Too Much Pressure”, “Three Minute Hero” and “On My Radio” got the whole arena bouncing to these ska legends. We were even treated to a ska version of the James Bond soundtrack.

 
The Boomtown Rats were due on just as monsoon style rain came down. The band walked on stage after announcement said “give it up for the best fucking band in the world!” Bob Geldof moved around the stage like he owned it, strutting and gesturing, really entertaining the crowd. After talking about how in this day and age there’s always someone watching you, we got the same titled song, although it was amazing how many people videoed this song! The moving “I Don’t like Mondays” captured everyone’s attention. At the line “today’s lesson is how to die” the whole band paused. Whilst the crowd cheered, Bob had his arm raised, which he dropped when the band kicked back into finishing the song. During “Like Clockwork”, Bob waved his hands around the sides of his head like a malfunctioning robot. They finished off with “Rat Trap”. This was definitely the set of the weekend, and all too short, Bob Owned the festival and one of the best live acts around at the moment.

 
My surprise of the day was Roland Gift’s reggae version of the Buzzcock’s “Ever Fallen in Love”. A great tune done in a new and interesting way.

 
Mark Almond pleased people with his classic “Tainted Love”, which even had the song “Where Did our Love Go” in the middle of it. And also played “ Something Gotten Hold of my heart” dedicated to Gene Pitney.

 
Hall and Oates have sold platinum selling albums for decades, but unfortunately they didn’t really have the energy for a headliner act. They started off with “Maneater”, but too many of their songs were mellow.  Quite a few fans believed the Rats high energy show would have been the ending to the weekend.

 
The spectacular fireworks at the end made up for the lack of big ending of their set.

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

-Sally Morrison-
Big Wheel Overseas Contributor

 

 

 

 

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Bad Religion and X – at The OC Fairgrounds – Costa Mesa, CA

Southern California based bands X and Bad Religion took the stage at the annual Orange County Fair Concert Series.  A large auditorium, the Pacific Amphitheater has hosted big names for decades, and in spite of the rows of seats from the back of the stadium to the floor, it continues to produce some of the best live music sound around.

A South OC tradition, live music at the annual Orange County Fair is a crowd pleaser. This night was no different and opening act, X , was fantastic, highlighting many songs from arguably their anthem album, Los Angeles (Slash, 1980) and sticking to a set list that would satisfy their most adoring, old school fans.

Seated to my left were ladies who embodied the spirit of old school punk following, meeting this X venue with the same enthusiasm they have undoubtedly carried to countless shows over the decades.  Behind me sat three thirteen-year-old boys who could not contain their excitement in getting to see headliner, Bad Religion, live.  What struck me was the level of enthusiasm in both groups, the seasoned veterans were just as excited as the kids finding their Punk rock roots and as I walked around the large Pacific Amphitheater venue I saw people smiling and laughing; singing along with their favorite bands playing their favorite songs.



In true Bad Religion tradition, their show was political, motivating, and professional. Bringing a higher standard to the alternative music scene, Bad Religion demands respect from a wide array of fans. I love going to Bad Religion shows, businessmen and punks, young and seasoned, exuding music enthusiasm. Bad Religion appeals to a large audience making for an always stellar and memorable concert-going experience. Lead singer, Greg Graffin connected with his band and his audience, delivering the trademark powerhouse performance that fans have come to expect of Bad Religion. The highlight of the evening was when Graffin suggested the band's Canoga Park roots, prompting fans, who were taken by enthusiasm and a desire to show their appreciation of the band's influence on the music scene, to respectfully decline security's suggested stadium protocol, ejecting the folding seats in the pit before exploding, in true Punk rock tradition, into a tenacious quarry of O.C. style, brotherly pitting and crowd surfing.  The band's encore echoed the tradition of their influential sound with "Infected" (Stranger Than Fiction, 1994), holding the attention of their fans to the last cord.

Both bands brought it on Thursday night and the Amphitheater did their usual excellent job of making sure that the beer was cold and easily accessible, the seats were filled and the sound was, as always, perfectly managed, making for an intimate feel in spite of the stadium's girth. The bands had fun, the crowd had fun, old school supporters were reminded of their roots, and a new generation of punk enthusiasts was born.

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Robin Mairs-
Big Wheel Contributor

 

 

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Levellers – at The Lemon Tree – Aberdeen, UK

Tuesday seemed like an odd night to have a Levellers gig and Mark Chadwick, lead singer, said as much when they came on stage. This did not impede anyone’s fun and a thoroughly good night was had by all!

The Levellers have been playing together since the 80’s and it shows in their performance. Each member is an accomplished musician and they all bounced off each other perfectly. From Jeremy Cunningham’s lively guitar playing to Jon Sevink’s amazing ‘fiddling’ and accompanied by the recognizable vocal tones of Mark, they truly are an enthralling band.

 
The set consisted mostly of their well known songs including “One Way”, “Riverflow” and “Beautiful Day”. Everyone was jumping around after the first couple, you would have thought it was a regular Saturday night gig. Stephen Boakes came on for his usual couple of songs with his ‘wooden trumpet’ (as said by Mark), otherwise known as a didgeridoo!

 
Some members of the audience had obviously been so many of their gigs that they could predict what was coming next, and were even given the opportunity of counting in Simon Friend on the harmonica before “Carry Me”.

 
It was roasting hot but this just added to the atmosphere of fun, friends and frolics! For the encore we were treated to “Another Man’s Cause”, “Beanfield” and finished up with their fast passed rendition of “Devil Went Down on Georgia”. It was a real treat to see the band in such a small venue for a change.

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

-Dod Morrison-
Big Wheel Overseas Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult – at The Whiskey A Go Go – Los Angeles, CA

When I heard Thrill Kill Kult was playing the Whisky-a-Go-Go I went online and bought 4 tickets without even blinking. I’d always wanted to catch them live and planned on crossing it off my bucket list without a thought.
 

Then the tickets arrived in the mail and a burning question loomed in the back of my mind: but what if they suck? It’s true, when you’ve been a die-hard fan of a band that’s been around for over 25 years it’s natural to second-guess their ability to perform well “these days.” But, what’s different about TTK is the fact that their new album, in this humble goth’s opinion, is their most amazing record yet. I figured that alone made the TTK-acid trip worth taking. After all, the self-described kings of “Industrial Disko Elektro Sleaze” wouldn’t dare disappoint, would they?

My friends and I arrived just in time to catch DJ Toxic Rainbow walk on stage to begin his set, and let me just say, I really hoped his performance wasn’t a barometer for the type of night I was about to have. His set sucked so much ass I couldn’t decide between downing my vodka tonic in hopes of blacking out, or downing it so I could smash the glass, cut my ears off, and end my misery. It was a dub-steppy, pre-recorded, train wreck of a mess. As a fellow DJ I didn’t even care about the pre-record so much, but more about what it represented. Hey, asshole, stop waving your arms around like you’re conducting your own pretentious symphonic cacophony and LOOK THE FUCK UP AT THESE DISAPPOINTED FACES AND ACT ACCORDINGLY!!!! A DJ has just one job when he or she opens for a band: get the crowd ready to loose their minds. All he needed to do was set the scene for TTK to take the stage, get everyone pumped, and mic drop in a blaze of sleazy glory before the band took the reins. Unfortunately, he didn’t—and it was the audience who had to suffer through it. But I’m a silver lining kind of girl, and so I can say with all honesty that thank you fucking Jesus that was the only thing about this show that sucked.

About 15 minutes after the sweet and silent relief bought to us by the ending of Toxic Rainbow’s set, the house lights began to dim. I had elbowed and shoved my way right to the front and was rambling on with other fans about the classic tracks we hoped to hear. I began hooting and screaming like a white girl when I saw Buzz McCoy and Mimi Star walk on the stage. Honestly, Buzz didn’t look all the different from the classic TTK days, so it was Mimi’s sexy ass that really caught my eye. Dressed head to toe in go-go silver, purple hair in long pig tails, and her bass stiffly positioned at her upper thighs like a cock, I knew before Groovie Mann even walked on the stage that this was going to be a night to remember.

Almost immediately the whooping and throbbing of the lead track from Spooky Tricks” began echoing through the room, skipping the intro featuring sampled b-film-like female vocals as Groovie Mann strutted as arrogantly as ever onto the stage, grabbing the mic and asking the crowd in a his signature smoker’s cough growl, “If I give you some money, will you come to my room?” BOOM! The beat dropped, as my heart leapt, eyes rolled back in my head and every party of my body was throbbing to the bass line screaming, “yes, yes, yes!!!” From that point on every ass was shaking for the rest of the show. There was even a guy in a wheel chair next to me who couldn’t sit still through TTK’s mind blowing new set of spooky tricks.

The second song they launched into was “Daisy Chain for Satan,” a classic and one I’m sure the whole crowd was waiting to hear. I was blown away when I heard it! It took about 30 seconds for me to realize what song it was when I heard the sample “I live for drugs. It’s great,” and Groovie Mann—leaning far back exposing the shiny silver zipper that ran from the belly of his jeans to the back of his crotch, leather vest exposing his bare and sweaty chest—began whining in the scuzziest tone he could muster “Here where I will sit alone, lost here I will dream, why give me a drink, I need to think…” and it was then I realized how truly special this set was. Buzz McCoy, keyboardist and producer for TTK seamlessly meshed the industrial scum of classic tracks like “Do You Fear for Your Child?” and “After the Flesh” with the new Spooky Tricks sounds full of elements of disko, and industrial, along with Chicago house, dark electro, and even some break beats. It was faultless and glorious in every way. Groovie Mann delivered the scuzz, Mimi cared the bassline that I could feel in my knees for the entire set, filling in some of the vocal samples for songs like “Bella Piranha.”

The last song of TTK’s set was chosen perfectly. If the point of this tour was to show that they’ve still got it and to rub the crowd’s faces in a little bit of tantalizingly welcome sleaze while promoting the new record, then Groovie Mann, Buzz, and Mimi delivered. The tune they chose to close their set with was indulgently braggadocios—a goth anthem—and it was a track composed to celebrate what else but TTK themselves. As soon as the crowd heard Mimi’s sexy robotic chant: “And this is what the devil does…” it was like pure ecstasy. The song ended with an extension of the chorus “My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult…” Who else but TTK could so unapologetically congratulate themselves in a song that had the crowd in a uproar, reduced, and yet elevated, to cult-like followers of the church of TTK chanting and singing their band name over and over with them?

After what seemed like forever, the crowd still wasn’t satisfied. We needed another fix. TTK was happy to oblige, returning to the stage for a 3-song encore, the highlight of which was a Spooky Tricks-style rendition of one of their most well-known and beloved tracks, “After the Flesh.” It hit hard. It was aggressive, it was groovy, and it left me feeling like I needed a shower. It was over too quickly, like most good times feel. But the memory, the sleaze, the bass booming indulgence into all things taboo and “naughty” will live on forever. Thrill Kill Kult: after 25 years as the soundtrack to my life, I love you more than ever.

-Princess Darkness-
Big Wheel Contributor

 

 

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