Strung Out – Unwritten Law – Sprung Monkey and The Implants – at House Of Blues – Anaheim, CA

SRH Clothing, founded in San Diego in the early 90s, brought together some great bands for their fest this year - The Implants, Sprung Monkey, Unwritten Law, and Strung Out. I decided to get some fresh air before heading into the soon to be humid House of Blues Anaheim on Friday.

 

While outside, I chatted with a girl who drove all the way from New Mexico for the show. She was super stoked to be here, "at a venue I've only read about and seen on TV!" She was amazed at how loud the sound system was, so I handed her my extra pair of earplugs and headed inside to catch the Implants. 

The Implants are a fairly new band, though the members are old-hat. Gathering people from Ten Foot Pole, Strung Out, Pulley, and The Tank, Implants have a very 90s melodic Southern California Punk sound. By the end of their set, the venue was pretty full, with the crowd bouncing along, a few playing air guitar, and the hardcore fans singing along. This band should be on your radar. If you like Skate-Punk, then go grab a copy of their debut album "From Chaos to Order". You can hear clips HERE

Next up was San Diego based Sprung Monkey. These guys were around the local scene for most of the 90s, taking a brief hiatus before reforming around 2005. I had not had a chance to see them before tonight, but their live performance was a lot of fun.

Their lead singer, Steve Summers, was an engaging frontman. I mean, how could he not be since he dedicated the song "Conspiracy" to the San Diego mayor? 

Unwritten Law was one of those bands that, if asked about them, I would answer with a shrug and an "I guess they're okay". After the show, I take back those words. Yeah, that's right. I'm a convert. Rejoined by original drummer Wade Youman, these San Diegans were nothing but all out fucking fun.

"Rescue Me" was the song that got the crowd geared up. Right after, UL broke into "Up All Night" and the fans started jumping up and down, shouting out the lyrics, making it feel like the anthem of the evening. Right before "Seein' Red", Scott Russo toasted the crowd with his beer, and throughout the rest of the song, the crowd was 'cheers!'ing each other with their tall-boy cans of Bud Light and PBR. "Celebration", "She Says", "Save Me", and "C.P.K." rounded out their set. 

Strung Out headlined the night. Before the curtain even opened, the crowd started chanting, "Strung Out, Strung Out, Strung Out!" Hailing from Simi Valley, the Strung Out guys have been doing this for just over two decades, and the intervening years has only tightened their sound.

As soon as the first chords emanated from the stage, until the very last, the crowd went absolutely batshit. There wasn't a lot of pitting or crowd surfing during the first three bands, so security probably expected the same for Strung Out. They were wrong. They started out with a couple of guards behind the barricade, but by the end of the third song, there was a contingent of yellow shirts in the front to handle the people going boots-first over the barricade. It was fucking awesome. 

The band is working on releasing a box-set soon, so their set included old and new songs. From "Population Control" to "CrashcrashRadio", they did it all. At some point the crowd started yelling for "Wrong Side of the Tracks", which then segued into "Unkoil".

(During this song there was an overzealous crowd surfer, and it took 6-7 security guards to get him off the barricade.) As the opening chords of "Velvet Alley" begins, the crowd starts clapping along to the beat. And during "Matchbook", it was nothing but limbs flying throughout the crowd.

Some people denigrate the more poppy aspects of Punk, but for many fans, this style was their first introduction. If you have friends (or acquaintances) who seem to be interested in Punk, but they still hold the stereotype that it's all about mohawks, pop-punk is a great gateway music to introduce them to the scene. And this line-up is a great primer for those who are interested, but still trepidatious.

 

   More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Anni Thyme-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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