No For An Answer – Chorus Of Disapproval – Headfirst – at Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA

While the legacy of late 80's/early 90's hardcore bands from Southern California is often overshadowed by the legacy of their East Coast counterparts, this show proved that many of these West Coast bands were worthy of a higher stature. The show, which featured some of the most prominent bands of that particular era, was a benefit for Genaro "Chicanito" Hernandez, a former World Junior Lightweight champion boxer, who is currently battling cancer. and none of the bands made any profit off of the venture.

By far the most lighthearted band of the night were Ice, who opened the show and vocalist Evan Jacobs appeared on stage dressed in a wig, clown makeup, and an orange correctional facility uniform. Throughout the set he made several costume changes and gave out crappy DVD's in gift wrap to members of the audience. After doing a cover of "Jenny" ("867- 5309") he revealed that under the uniform he was wearing a foam muscle suit and announced that it was a tribute to Micky Rourke. The band then went into "Metal Health" and a man made his way into the audience dressed in his own wrestling costume. Amidst the song the two of them had a mock wrestling match and after Jacobs "won" he returned to the stage and put on a championship belt.

Ice were followed by Blackspot and Headfirst, who both played hardcore with a much heavier sound and a much more severe attitude. Chorus of Disapproval (sometimes affectionately refered to as XChorusX) were definitely seen as one of the highlights of the night and I even ran into a friend who had travelled from Vegas via a rental car to see them. Their brand of heavy hardcore borrowed significantly from Judge and throughout their set audience members were singing along to every word. "Replacement," which is perhaps their most well known song was particularly well received, as well as their cover of DYS's "Wolfpack."

No For An Answer concluded the show with a set of classic West Coast hardcore anthems. They played with the same lineup that recorded the "You Laugh" E.P.- featuring vocalist, Dan O'Mahoney , guitarist, Gavin Ogelsby (bassist John Mastropaolo, and drummer, Casey Jones. They played several songs from "You Laugh" as well as a few songs from "A Thought Crusade," including "I Spy." Dan O gave a short speech making it clear that there were no financial gains for the band from playing this show and that the intentions of doing a reunion were to help out a friend in need. Aside from some mistakes made during "Without A Reason" which caused the band to start the song over, their performance was completely spot on and everyone in the audience seemed completely stoked.

Part way through NFAA's set John Mastrapalo and Casey Jones left stage and were replaced by "Big" Frank Harrison and Steve Insted on bass and drums to play some Carry Nation songs. This was clearly the high point of the night for many members of the audience as the response was massive. After Carry Nation played their short set, Matrapalo and Casey Jones returned to play a few more No For An Answer songs, including "Man Against Man," "Liar," and a cover of Agnostic Front's "Last Warning." Throughout the set Dan O'Mahoney was in good humor and at one point when he was heckled by an audience member he responded, "I was prepared for you guys to say things about me drinking, but I wasn't ready for any of this."

Overall the show was a huge success and everyone was smiling at the end of the night. No fights occured during the whole show and the atmosphere was great with tons of people reuniting with old friends and giving support to the bands and the cause. Hopefully there will be more shows like this with a positive vibe in the future.

-Ditch.-
Big Wheel Asst. Editor

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
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