Duane Peters Gunfight – Lords Of Altamont – Dirty Eyes – Barrio Tiger – Los Creepers – Skaal – Embalmers – L.A. Crooks – at The Vex – Los Angeles, CA

A special Sunday afternoon/early evening gig at the Vex. For those that don't know, the Vex has alot of history in the early L.A. Punk scene. With literally no where else to play except in Hollywood, The Vex opened its doors to Punk/Rockabilly/and New Wave bands in the late 70's through the early 80's.Bands like Black Flag/Fear/Circle Jerks/TSOL/and many touring bands such as Minor Threat/DOA/ and the Dead Kennedys to name a few have played the Vex during this time.

Joe Vex was behind it all and supported the LA Punk scene when club owners turned their back and banned most of these bands. With that said,you now know somewhat of the history of this historic venue. Todays show was a benefit to help out an injured bike rider Jason Wilson get back on his feet. The promoter for this show was "VON BADSVILLE" who puts on many great shows in the L.A. area/San Gabriel Valley. Todays shows also had bike venders along with other misc venders which added a very nice touch to this event.

First band up were the LA Crooks. A 5 piece Ska oriented band out of Boyle Heights. A nice touch of Ska/rock/and Punk.

The Embalmers played 2nd with their "Cramps" meets the "Dead Boys" style of music. The band played tight and with alot of energy. They did a very good cover of the Damneds "New Rose".

Skaal were up next. Good old fashion 80's hardcore. The way it was meant to be played. Classic hardcore with nice background vocals. Loud, powerful and nice changes. Kinda Oi sounding at times, but then they speed it up and tear it apart.

Up next, Los Creepers out of East LA. They did their usual ripping blitz-sounding hardcore. This 5 piece can REALLY rock. Following the tradition of East LA greats such as: The Stains/Violent Children/and The Brat, Los Creepers keeps the music of East LA alive.

Next were one of my favorite bands: Barrio Tigers. The band with the best hair and best band name!! These guys look, sound, and play awesome. High energy Rock N Roll is what Barrio Tiger is. These guys could possibly be the modern MC5. Oh...did I mention they were great?

OK...my 1st time seeing the Lords of Altamont. I heard alot of good things about them. As they get ready to play, I notice 2 dancers...one on each side of the stage. A nice touch. These dancers went well with the music and added a nice visual. A very good "Cramps" meets mid 70's hard rock. As a matter of fact,the drummer played with the Cramps. The organ added a very nice touch to the music and they were very tight and played like season vets. The singer kinda reminded me of Joey Ramone with some of the moves he was busting out. Overall,they played a very good set. Well worth seeing.

Duane Peters "Gunfight" is another band I have never seen and they were on next. As they were setting up I noticed that the drummer looked really familiar. Why, it's Sean,the guy who plays in like 200 bands. I don't know how he does it, buy he has got to be the most sought after drummer in the LA scene. The guy plays for The Gears/Stains/Weirdos/Duane Peters/and god knows who else. Anyways...they started their set with Black Flags "Nervous Breakdown". Duane is a very good frontman as he was all over the stage rantin and raving. This line up played very well and they did a really good high energy Punk set.

Last up was Dirty Eyes. Strong rockin guitars and really nice stage performance. Pretty tough going on after the Lords of Altamont and Duane Peters, but they pulled it off pretty good. Overall...a really good show with some great performances and all for a good cause.

            More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Mike Vallejo-
Big Wheel Contributor

 

 

 

 

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