Subhumans – AHeads – Cross Stitched Eyes – The God Awfuls – Animalitos – at Glass House – Pomona, CA

June 5, 2010

To say that a Subhumans show is taking place at a venue near you is rare; seeing as how the band resides on the other side of the world, has gone through several breaks and breakups, and their last visit to the U.S was over 2 years ago, it is definitely safe to reach the conclusion that for the Subhumans to embark on a tour in the U.S, a rare moment in the band’s time has arrived at last. On Saturday, Subhumans prepared for the tour’s first performance in California, which also made it their first performance in the Los Angeles area. Pomona’s venue, The Glasshouse, hosted the show and attracted what appeared like hundreds of fans; fans which in turn attracted police attention that stemmed out of fear and paranoia. The crowd however regarded the presence of the police with apathy, and each individual member made it clear that their agenda that night was to witness the force of the Subhumans, and nothing else. Along with Subhumans, Animalitos, AHeads, The God Awfuls, and Cross Stitched Eyes also performed the sold out show that night.
Subhumans in Pomona
2nd Street witnessed a tremendous surge of people, and among the wave, a variety of Punks dominated the street as most stated that they had been waiting outside the area as early as 5pm. When the doors opened some time after 7pm, a small proportion of people proceeded to go inside and catch the opening bands, but a large majority of the people outside resumed their social activities for a longer period of time. The environment outside the venue was almost as refreshing and interesting as the show’s happenings inside, and as the night progressed, the majority of the people outside soon realized that the band everyone had been longing to see was nearing the time of their arrival on stage.

The inside of The Glasshouse was just as colorful as the setting outside its walls. The floor of the venue appeared vast and infinite in size, though it was amplified with a great amount of people. Cross Stitched Eyes performed prior to Subhumans’ set and while Cross Stitched Eyes played, the vast size of the venue was quickly becoming filled and more chaotic. Cross Stitched Eyes exerted their hardcore Punk sound onto the anxious crowd and prompted a wild circle pit. A little before 10pm, the band finished their set and left the stage. Although the stage had cleared, the floor was still being augmented by Subhumans’ fans and followers.
Dick Lucas of The Subhumans
A while after 10, vocalist Dick Lucas arrived on stage and was greeted by cheers and applause from the audience. Dick Lucas scanned the audience and appeared to be taking the time on his own to examine the setting and analyze the environment. He soon drew back and quickly prompted the band to begin their performance, and the band then opened with "All Gone Dead". Upon the band’s first song, the immensely populated floor managed to open up and make room for a large sized circle right in the middle of the venue. Kids were crowd surfing, heads were rolling, fists were in the air, and all in all, a good time was rapidly captivating the entire audience.
Crowd at The Subhumans
Subhumans performed songs from just about every album they have, most notably from albums, "The Day The Country Died", "Worlds Apart", and "Internal Riot". The band included a few songs from other albums, "EP/LP" and "Time Flies/Rats", but the majority of the band’s set consisted of their other work. Songs the band played featured: "Work-Rest-Play-Die", "Joe Public", "Society", "Apathy", "Adversity", "Pigman", and "New Age".
Subhumans UK
40 minutes into the band’s performance, Subhumans began to play "Minority", which foreshadowed the performance of a song which is considered by many to be the band’s most popular song. Not surprisingly, the band followed the song with "Mickey Mouse Is Dead", which even people who have never taken the initiative to listen to Subhumans on their own, can say they’re familiar with the song that gave Punk fame to dear Mickey Mouse. "Mickey Mouse Is Dead" brought the hype inside The Glasshouse to a radical and frightening level! Kid after kid swam across heads as each one crowd surfed through the duration of the song, and the circle pit became a furious mess with people who energetically shouted along to the verse, "1, 2, 3, 4, LOOK WHAT YOU DONE TO MICKEY MOUSE!"

After the song was over, the band began to play the renowned bass line of the song "No", which resumed the vigorous antics that had been displayed during the previous song’s performance. After "No" was played, the band left the stage and concluded their 45 minute set. The crowd stomped their feet in unison and shouted either, "ONE MORE SONG!" or "SUBHUMANS!" The band returned to the stage and thanked the audience for their loyalty and support and immediately began to play "Subvert City". Subhumans ended their encore with "Religious Wars", which caused yet another frenzy that the audience carried out onto the floor. Once the song was over, Subhumans waved goodbye and made their permanent departure from the stage.
Subhumanz in Pomona
As everyone made their way outside, police cars were cautiously lined up outside 2nd street and attempting to evacuate all Punks from the area. Everyone left peacefully as most were exhausted from the enlightening performance that Subhumans had projected moments earlier. Subhumans’ set was short, but while the time may have been insufficient, the quality of their performance was incredibly dynamic. The band captivated their audience and left them in a submissive state even long after the show was over. The rare experience of a Subhumans show proved to be worthy of the wait as the band held nothing back during their prominent showcase. Mickey Mouse MAY be dead, and truthfully, we all may be to blame as Subhumans have made it clear, but Subhumans are still here, still full of life, and we may in fact be the reason why the band will never die, as we will never ever allow it.