FEAR – The Dickies – at The Galaxy Theater – Santa Ana, CA

It’s been a little over a year since one of Orange County’s biggest venue, The Galaxy Theater, had closed down "permanently". Shortly after the venue was shut down, there had been speculation about the future of the venue, and what was to become of it. Rumors began to circulate during early 2009 that The Galaxy Theater would re-open once again, and when the FEAR show was announced to take place at The Galaxy Theater, many people rejoiced to hear the news that the venue was truly coming back. On Saturday, FEAR, The Dickies, Unwanted Guests, Not A Chance, and Tri-City Trashed all played at The Galaxy.

The show commenced at 8pm with Tri-City Trashed opening up the night. The band’s sound is a combination of Hardcore Punk with Thrash influences, somewhat similar to bands like D.R.I and Suicidal Tendencies. The band played a short set to the small crowd that had arrived early for the show.

Second to play was Not A Chance, whose sound is best fit in the category of Ska/Reggae/Two Tone. Despite complications during the band’s set, the band went on to play with much vigor and energy, and tried to spread tremendous positivity to the audience through their music. The band’s music was catchy and upbeat, and had it not been for the complications during the band’s set, the set would have been one of the most enjoyable and fun performances of the night.

Unwanted Guests went on after Not A Chance, and despite the band’s uninviting name, the band provided music that made you question the origins of their name. Unwanted Guests put on one of the best performances of the night, both musically and physically. The band’s set was composed of half Punk Rock songs, and half Thrash-like songs, and provided fast beats with a Punk Rock attitude. The band also had stage props and stage on-goings that made the band all the more fun to watch. A man in a gorilla costume made guest appearances by either playing inflatable guitars, throwing glitter and beach balls into the audience, or just dancing senselessly on stage. Unwanted Guests compensated for the mishaps that occurred during Not A Chance’s set and brought back the positive energy into the venue during their set.

By the time The Dickies went on, the venue was finally full and unbelievably hot and humid. No one seemed to mind the heat when the band arrived on stage, and when vocalist Leonard Graves Phillips welcomed the crowd and introduced the band, the audience cheered wildly. The band’s pit was surprisingly intense; for being known as "the clown princes of punk", the mosh pit for the band was almost as intense as a pit for a Heavy Metal band. Leonard Graves Phillips went on to say during the set how grateful and relieving it was to finally have The Galaxy back and running. The audience cheered and clapped in agreement with the statement. The Dickies went on to play crowd favorites such as, "Gigantor", "You Drive Me Ape", "Paranoid", "Manny, Moe, Jack" and more. When the band finished their set, people were yelling in unison for an encore and demanding one more song. No encore was given, but people were thrilled to hear that FEAR would finally play next.

The heat was hard enough to endure when The Dickies played, and before FEAR went on, the heat became an inferno. Lee Ving’s arrival on stage was met with furiously excited fists in the air and screams that were almost frightening to hear. The band opened with their classic, "I Love Livin’ in The City" and the pit was excruciatingly packed and vicious. The floor was so full and forceful, that it was like witnessing the consequence of someone shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater. People were flying, bodies were stacking on top of one another, and the movement of the circle pit was so fast and full of force, it almost seemed like people were running away from something with great passion. The action of the floor alone and the chaos that was being provoked was enough to let you know how much people were enjoying themselves, and how great of an impact FEAR’s music was having on the crowd.

During FEAR’s set, Lee Ving, who is known for his crude and comical jokes, did not disappoint the audience by providing laughs with his inappropriately appropriate comments throughout the night. Among Ving’s statements, one joke stated, "When you don’t know what to do with women anymore, you marry them!" Females in the audience took no offense to his sometimes chauvinistic jokes, mainly because it was plain to see that for the most part, it was all for laughs and not told in a negative spirit. Lee Ving’s notorious jokes helped to lighten up the mood of the night.

FEAR went on to play "Let’s Rodeo", "Beef Bologna", "I Don’t Care About You" and other FEAR favorites. When the set was over, half of the venue left, but the other half that remained shouted and begged for an encore, or at least another song. When the band came back on, they ended the night with "Let’s Have A War" and people in the audience were singing along passionately during the song. FEAR finally said their farewells and concluded their night at The Galaxy.

The re-opening of The Galaxy Theater was important for many, and essential to the Orange County scene. The FEAR show was just one of the many nights The Galaxy has in store for us, and the appreciation everyone has for its return is immense. Although the FEAR show had a couple of complications, the bands themselves put on good sets and all performed with enthusiasm and tenacity. Galaxy Theater, it’s great to have you back.

-Stephanie M.-
Big Wheel music scene reporter

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
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