Bad Brains – H2O – Year of the Dragon – at The Fonda Theater – Los Angeles, CA

The rain came down pretty hard Saturday night, but all the rain in the world couldn’t keep away the legions of fans who came out to see the legendary Bad Brains in Hollywood. Opening the show were two bands that were more than qualified to be on the amazing bill, those being New York hardcore stalwarts H20 and the LA based Year Of The Dragon.

The legions of fans who came out to this show were from a variety of backgrounds, and that was apparent as you looked around the dance floor during Year of The Dragons set. Their mix of heavy metal meets George Clinton and Hip hop was met with an overall excitement from a crowd that obviously had an open mind and clear sense of the beauty in musical diversity. It appeared that a sizeable amount of their fan base were made up of Fishbone fans which YOTD vocalist Walt Kibby is also known for fronting.

With their metal riffing and rap like vocal performance over hard heavy drumming and funky bass playing, the general admission floor saw a combination of fans slamming while some busted Soul Train’s robot dance moves. Year of The Dragon are amongst the best new bands out of LA and may not have been as accepted at the majority of hardcore shows, but on a Bad Brains bill they were most certainly home. We hope to catch them again at a show more sooner than later.

Before H20 hit the stage, a DJ spinning a variety of classic Punk tunes kept the growing crowds nodding their heads to Ramones, Misfits and other favorites as fans began to make their way close to the stage. After a brief introduction by Max Morse, H20 hit the stage with a ferocity that amped the crowd to start a circle pit right from the get go. Unfortunately for many in the audience the wet dance floor didn’t help with those in the pit to keep their balance. Many fans slid around uncontrollably while more than a handful wiped out. Despite the slippery floor, H20 and fans kept things moving at a breakneck pace with hard dancing and the bands hardcore flow of positive anthems. Their choice of songs were pulled wisely from their 5 full length releases. Tracks like Faster Than The World, EveReady and One Life One Chance had fans crowd surfing and singing alongside Toby Morse who made his way to the barricade in what was to be many of his collaborations with H20 fans that night.

The last few songs of their set had guest appearances on stage by Travis Barker (who drummed for 2 songs), Scott Vogel of Terror who lead vocals on Guilty By Association and Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio who also lent his vocals to much of the crowds appreciation. H20 may have been main support Saturday evening, but they played with the professionalism of a headlining act and had the crowd going ape shit all the same.

Bad Brains came on shortly after H20 finished (their backline was already setup) their powerful set to a thunderous crowd anxiously awaiting to go off. The venue was filled to capacity into the theatres spacious areas and things were ready to explode. That is exactly what happened when Bad Brains took the stage and opened with the 1982 classic Attitude, the old fans and young fans had their anthem and reacted oh so appropriately in the circle pit that was furiously churning like a cyclone. Following this was Right Brigade and Sailing On in which kept the high energy flowing thru everybody under the roof.

It must be noted that lead vocalist HR resembled what can best be described as a classy looking gentleman at Sunday morning church services, but despite his overall calm appearance he was more than ever set to lead a choir of ferocious hardcore fans for well over an hour in PMA inspired Punk rock Reggae jams.

As previously mentioned, the diverse sounds coming from the stage throughout the night made for an interesting palette of meaningful noise. Bad Brains may have been the finest example of this as their set would go from gnarly 80’s hardcore to a slowed down dub reggae jam session one moment to the next. This variety had every kind of fan satisfied and probably helped the band who are well into their 50’s play as long of a set as they did that night. Guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jennifer and drummer Earl Hudson had moments of their own where they were at the forefront of the action on stage when HR would sort of space out and do his own thing, which was kind of cool as it was not a one man show.  Their set managed to also pull from more recent releases that were at times more instrumental and of course reggae influenced.

The newly released album Into The Future had its share of live songs that put newer flavor into the semi classic set which was nice and fresh, but it was the two classic closers Pay To Cum and I Against I that ended the show on a high note and made every fans night as every must play song had been done justice live. The beauty of this was their sat was not too long and not to short but just right with all the essential tunes placed in an order that fit like a glove. Satisfied Punks, Rastas, hardcore kids, skinheads and skater stoners got along together and shared a sense of unity that Bad Brains strive to bring forth with their music, the impact was felt and shared even as the show came to a mighty end.

   Enjoy the video overview of the Bad Brains show that you missed



As with every show that features legendary bands, it’s a safe bet that notable musicians from the scene will come out and support old pals. We noticed Circle Jerks/Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson in the crowd and Pete Dee from clockwork Punks The Adicts having a rad time to music that broke new ground around the same time of their own classic releases. Old school Punk promoter Gary Tovar was also in the crowd, perhaps planning the next huge GV Punk fest…

Bad Brains, H20 and Year of The Dragon put on one of the most memorable shows of the year and one that couldn’t have gone off any better, especially for a rainy Saturday night. Young and old shared the dance floor to songs that changed hardcore 30 years ago and that still remain important to our scene today by simply playing from the heart. Sincerity is what is missing from a lot of bands these days, but when it comes to the legends we’ve looked up to for years they surely don’t let us down and Bad Brains are a fine example of such a band.

                             More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Louie Bones-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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