The Adicts – Brothers of Brazil- and Dirty Filthy Mugs – at House of Blues – Anaheim, CA

The second night of the "All the Young Droogs" tour at House of Blues Anaheim was amazing. The Adicts put on a great show, as per usual, but along with their showmanship, they always choose some phenomenal opening acts. Friday night was no exception. 

 

When we walked up to House of Blues about 2 hours before the doors opened, there were already a handful of fans lining up. After grabbing some food and running around Downtown Disney, we came back and the line had already snaked past the chain-link barrier. The people in line were excited, and that energy was contagious. The doors opened and the hardcore fans ran to stake out. 

Openers, Dirty Filthy Mugs, were off the hook. I had heard of them, and listened to a song of theirs here and there, but good god! Their live show? AH-MAZE-ING! They started off at 10, and then turned the dial to 11, and did not let up. The stage antics and vocals of Matt, combined with the song-writing panache of guitarist Ace Facial, made for one of the best live shows I've seen. Fans were singing along, and their energy fed DFM, who then turned that back to the crowd. The non-stop relentless energy (along with a cover of Peter and the Test Tube Babies "Banned from the Pubs") had me wishing that their set went longer than the allotted 30 minutes. Though Dirty Filthy Mugs do headline smaller venues, it won't be long until they are the main act. If you like Cockney Rejects and Street Dogs, you'll like Dirty Filthy Mugs. Raw, engaging, energetic: these guys are not to be missed. 

After a short break, Brothers of Brazil took the stage. One aspect of seeing The Adicts perform live is that they always have new and interesting bands open for them (many times with a group the crowd might not seek out on their own). BoB was no different. The duo from Brazil (and actual brothers) have a unique melodic style, in many ways reminiscent of Talking Heads. Supla and Joäo combine the traditional sounds of Brazilian music with rock, pop, and funk which makes for a fun and interesting mix. Joäo's guitar style has overtones of rockabilly and his brother Supla counters those chords with incredibly tight drumming. Their cover of The Smiths' "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" was an unexpected, and awesome, surprise. 

Almost as soon as the curtain fell on Brothers of Brazil, the crowd started in with the chant of, "Adicts, Adicts, Adicts!" The venue was packed, and you could see the steam rising off the crowd. Monkey and the guys from Ipswich consistently put on a great show, so the crowd is always energetic, but the energy level was incredibly high on Friday, in part, due to their new album coming out this week. Would they stick to their older tunes, or would the set be full of new songs off of "All the Young Droogs"? As soon as the opening notes hit, and "Joker in the Pack" started playing, we knew it would be a combo of old and new. Fans were crowd surfing left and right, Monkey was tossing out Joker cards, confetti was flying, and I couldn't be happier. (Though I did miss seeing/hearing Dan on fiddle.) 

The Adicts, as always, put on a phenomenal show, full of showmanship, musicality, and love for their fans. There are few bands that I will see multiple times, live. However, The Adicts are one of the rare ones that I will always go see if they are playing locally. They are playing Monday and Tuesday night at The Key Club in Hollywood and, if tickets are still available, grab yours now. This tour is not to be missed!  

 

                             More photos of the show can be seen HERE

                                                                         

                                                                          

-Anni Thyme-
Big Wheel Staff Journalist

 

 

 

 

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