Bad Reaction farewell gig with Gestapo Khazi – Gross Negligence – Knives – No Spectators – Unity Church Basement – Long Beach, CA – December 12, 2009

It was a rain filled night in Long Beach for Bad Reaction's last show at the Unity Church with No Spectators, Time Bombs, Knives, Gross Negligence, and Gestapo Khazi. With traffic from the rain on the way out to Long Beach it seemed like I was going to miss No Spectators, but upon getting there I saw that they didn't start yet and were still bringing in drums and such.

 

 

So starting a little late is No Spectators first up. Ditch started out by saying when he got to Southern California the two bands that really got his attention we Tippers Gore and Bad Reaction and how he would miss Bad Reaction. No Spectators played a great set, and playing a Minor Threat cover.

It was my first time seeing Time Bombs and i didn't really know what to expect. I had heard that they were extremely loud and seeing them roll in full stack amps i knew what people were talking about. The blasted in to the first song, I really couldn't understand what was going on musically and vocally, it just sounded like a lot of noise. Lots of fast riffs and screaming. A few kids were pitting to them and it seemed to end just as quickly as it started.

Up next was a band that everyone was excited to see, Knives ( First show; ex Tippers Gore ). So with all the usual heckling about playing old Tippers Gore songs they started playing they new tunes. They sounded a little like Tippers Gore but a lot more punk and not as straight forward hardcore like the late Tippers Gore was. One song that i liked was called "Shotgun Religion". I just wish i could have heard more of the vocals, they were pretty good for their first show. Check them out www.myspace.com/knivesband.

Gross Negligence was up and you could tell they were a crowd favorite. They had a whole bunch of kids singing along with unlimited amounts of enthusiasm. They played a somewhat short set and left with kids yelling and chanting for one more song, but one more wasn't in the cards.

Gestapo Khazi was next, a small crowd gathered to see what they were all about. They have a surfy, rock n roll, Punk, and somewhat rockabilly sound that mostly everyone was enjoying. They covered a Boy's Next Door song " Somebody's Watching Me ". They ended their set and everyone was excited to see Bad Reaction come up next.

Kash the singer for Bad Reaction is moving to New York, so this is the last time they are playing for a long time but they are not breaking up, they wanted to me sure everyone knew they weren't going to break up. Kash thanked everyone for coming out and supporting Bad Reaction thought the years and then they broke in their first song "Bad Reaction".

Everyone rushed the stage jumping over each other to sing along. I noticed that everyone in the band except Kash was wearing a "I heart LA "shirt which was a nice touch. Later on in their set they played "Pay to Cum" by Bad Brains which was one of their more hectic songs. Further along in their set someone brought up the idea of doing a wall of death, so everyone lined up on both sides of the dance floor and when the song started everyone ran full speed at each other creating a huge pit. I thought it was hilarious thing to do in such a small building. They played a bunch more songs then they stopped so the bass player could explain why this was their last show, he ended by saying "Even though Kash is leaving for New York. I live in Hollywood." and they went straight into one of their best songs of the night "I Live In Hollywood" that re-energized the crowd that was gathered in front of band. They ended with their best songs like "Plastic World ", "Hate My Job", "Gatorade", "Dare To be Dull".

They ended their set after those songs and they gave the crowd an encore after some cheering. It was a great way to say good bye. I hope to see them play again soon, hopefully they don't go too long without playing. The whole band hung out for while and got pictures with everyone and said their good byes.

No two bands sounded alike at this show, I wish more show were that way. It was a great show to say good bye to a great band. You can find Videos from all the bands from show here. www.youtube.com/user/kstreaesa.
VIDEO of the show can be see below

 

-Matt C. / Dead Man Photo-
Big Wheel photographer / Music Scene Reporter

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
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