Duane Peters – Middle Class Rejects – Slime Kings – Tyranis – False Prophet- at House of Blues – Anaheim, CA

False Prophet was the first band up on the House of Blues stage. The crowd was a bit thin, but that was probably because it was early on in the evening and a great majority of folks hadn't yet arrived. If thrash is to your liking, you would probably enjoy these guys.

Next band up was Tyranis. By the time they rolled the curtains back, the lower level of the venue was starting to get full. And with the first few notes, the floor up front was packed with bodies anxious to slam into one another. These guys had a clean, polished sound, and even though they were a bit too metal for me, the guitar and drum work especially made me want to helicopter swing my hair all over the HoB (if I had hair that is). There were a few songs that evoked a Zeppelin-like blues/funk/rock buzz that I quite liked. Tryanis put on a solid set, and even though their style isn’t my thing, I enjoyed them.  

Third up was Middle Class Rejects (MCR). From the pull of the curtain everyone in the joint knew, without any doubt, that these folks had some real Orange County pride.  That theme continued through their set as the singer made mention that this was his "backyard" as he asked everyone to "respect the House of Blues". Being born and raised in Orange County, I get the sentiment. However, now residing on the east side for the last 5 years (Philly represent!) I just had to laugh at the eagerness to "claim" for good 'ol OC to all the younger punks in the crowd.

Throughout their set I was having flashbacks of the pop-punk that played on Southern California radio stations in the mid-to-late 90s. This show was their CD release party, so the energy on stage was high octane, and they opened up with one of their new tracks, “Civil War”. I caught myself digging their cover of Dramarama's "Anything, Anything", and "Rat Race", which closed out their set. 

A bit late to arrive (they were originally slated to go on third), but well greeted nonetheless, were Slime Kings.  They are young, but have a sound so tuned that I have no doubt we'll all be hearing of and from them in years to come. They had great diversity in their set, with songs that were a bit pop, some that were ska'rific, and a couple that actually had a bit of an 80s vibe (in a good way). The vocals were clean and the singer's voice was great. I really liked the energy they brought with them and it was obvious the crowd did as well. 

What can be said about a Duane Peters performance that hasn't been said already? Not a single goddamn word. Again, I was born and raised in Orange County and spent my late teen/early 20's in the disgusting haze of the Nirvana-fueled musical shit-swamp known as the 1990s. Thankfully, there was no shortage of dive bars around where I could go see the U.S. Bombs play alongside the likes of the Stitches and other local Punk bands. If you want to know anything about punk rock music being the voice of Punk rock life, sit yourself down and listen to anything Duane Peters has recorded.

When the Gunfight took the stage in Anacrime, the crowd had thinned down to those of us who appreciate a real living legend. Duane and company brought the raw, pulsing, spinning, dancing energy to the stage that he has for decades. Sometimes assisting on drums, before singing a verse, then doing some sort of radical punk rock jig (something resembling the Meposian dance of joy), the crowd that remained were treated to a brilliant performance.

The whole band was ready to put on a show and they sure as hell did. At one point, Duane passed the mic to a fan in the crowd and he belted the shit out of the song (I think it was during "Opium"?) Seeing the Gunfight close out the evening made the entire show more than worthwhile. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Duane Peters and his band mates for that.

 

   More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Chris D.-
Big Wheel Contributor

 

 

 

 

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