Cock Sparrer – at The Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA

Last weekend was Pirates Press Fifth Anniversary party in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall. Five years is a great accomplishment for any punk label. Oh yeah, and Cock Sparrer made their triumphant return to California after a nearly 10 year absence. No big deal, right? They say the weekend was sort of like the 60's, in that if you remember it, you weren't really there. Let me try to refresh your memory.

The show spanned two nights, with Cock Sparrer headlining both, but different support acts Friday and Saturday. Tickets sold out fast, and there was a healthy trade in scalping going on outside, with the record I heard being $280 for a single night's ticket sold to a guy who'd come all the way from Germany.

Friday night, after holding court at Edinburgh Castle, the seedy rock bar up the street from the Music Hall, we headed over to catch Detournement, NJ hardcore and the first openers for the night. Detournement are new to me, and possibly to you, they've only put out two albums so far, but the most recent "Awaken with Millions from One Heart" was produced by Pete Steinkopf of the Bouncing Souls. These guys are hard, fast, and a heck of a lot of fun. Their lyrics have a definite political edge, and there's an unmistakable anger at out failing economic system and everything else that's wrong at the moment, but they avoid coming off as preachy, and their songs are ultimately as catchy as they are stirring. The crowd seemed to agree, as the band's energetic stage presence had no trouble capturing the interest of those just arriving, and they finished off their set with a cover of Blitz's "New Age" to raucous applause.

Harrington Saints were up next. Featuring members of Step One and Romeo's Dead among others, these boys weren't shy about starting the Oi for the night. They may not be breaking new ground, but who cares? Sometimes you just want hard rocking songs to lace your boots to, and the Harrington Saints will give you that and more. Their set included "Working Class Friday Night" and "Claret and Blue" as well as another Blitz cover of "Razors in the Night". The crowd loved it all, and there was a healthy pit for most of the set.

The final support act was San Fran's own Reducers SF. What can I say about them that hasn't been said already? They've been playing for well over a decade, and they've got a massive following. And for good reason. They play good old punk rock anthems, the kinds of songs you live your life by, and not just because the words are easy to remember when you've been drinking. They kept the energy and spirits high, as the Music Hall was getting packed. The floor was a nonstop pit and the front rows kept their fists pumping for pretty much their entire set. It was clear that the band was having almost as much fun as the crowd, as they wrapped up and cleared the stage for the mighty Cock Sparrer.

Perhaps one of the most endearing things about Cock Sparrer is how, to an extent, they still seem unaware of the full scope of their influence, and are still genuinely surprised and pleased by their popularity. When the band took the stage, they were greeted by a wall of raw sound, as the crowd roared them welcome, and wasting no time they launched into "Riot Squad". They played for nearly two hours, doing most of their classic hits, and a couple new songs from the "Here We Stand" album released two years ago including "Spirit of '76" and "So Many Things". Colin's not big on chatter, but he did stop several times to thank Pirates Press, and everyone who made it out to the show. The band played an encore which included "England Belongs to Me" and "Sunday Stripper", though they were unsuccessful in convincing any of the ladies in attendance to act out that particular song on stage. Finally, they said their final goodnights, Micky crowd surfed over the audience, and we all wandered out into the rainy San Francisco night to find another drink before last call.

Saturday was a bit more sedate. We'd spent the day drinking at the aquarium, and if you've never sipped whiskey while petting a shark, I highly recommend the SF aquarium next time you're in town.

Saturday night opened with the Re-volts, whom I've reviewed before, and were fun as always. They definitely seem to be coming into their own, showing a lot more confidence on stage, and really having fun with their infectious Briefs-esque pop punk. The next band was Smalltown, who seemed to have trouble connecting with the crowd. Melodic Swedish power pop may just not have been the right choice for a crowd eager to see the kings of Oi, but the band powered through their set, and if you're more on the side of the Mods and melodic punk, you should definitely give them a whirl.

Off With Their Heads came next, and brought it all back. It's hard to say enough good things about this band, rumoured to have recently signed to Epitaph. They're originally from Minneapolis, but they've been touring non-stop for months, if not years at this point, so there's plenty of chances to catch them here in California. They've got aggression with a smile down, and these are great songs for when you realize your girlfriend just took off with your car keys, half your record collection, and the bassist from your buddy's band, or even for when you just don't want to go to work. Whatever you've got going on, Off With Their Heads doesn't give a fuck. They stormed the stage playing crowd favourites like "Die Today", "I Am You", and "S.O.S" leaving the dance floor covered in sticky beer, and the crowd riled and breathless.

Cock Sparrer once again arrived onstage to wild adulation. The set list was relatively similar, but with "Chip On My Shoulder" and "Sussed" thrown in for some variation. They also mentioned the charity auction benefiting Strummerville which is on now, featuring a set of autographed Cock Sparrer test pressings packaged in a casebound 12" boxset and autographed by all members. After another wild two hour set, the band said thank you one last time, and we all picked ourselves up off the floor and limped to the bar to lick our wounds and revel in the afterglow of a truly amazing weekend.

Detournament: http://www.myspace.com/detournementband
Harrington Saints: http://www.myspace.com/harringtonsaints
Reducers SF: http://www.myspace.com/reducerssf
The Re-Volts: http://www.myspace.com/sfrevolts
Smalltown: http://www.myspace.com/smalltownsweden
Off With Their Heads: http://www.myspace.com/offwiththeirheads

If you'd like to bid on the autographed Cock Sparrer test pressings check http://www.piratespressrecords.com/store/ and for more info on Strummerville charity, http://www.strummerville.com/
 

 

-Jo Problems-
Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter

 

 
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