The Full Eight Fest Featuring: The Dickies – Wrong Beach – Narcoleptic Youth – Cheap Sex and many more – at The Vex – Los Angeles, CA

This was the "Full Eight Fest" brought to you by GITBAM Records at the Vex Arts Center. GITBAM is putting on a lot of really good shows in the L.A. area! You should really go and support these guys. This was an all-day and all-night fest with ska and classic Punk bands.

 

The first band up on the indoor stage seemed to be whoever wanted to go up and play. And it seemed to be amongst friends. (Later, I found out that the band scheduled to open were stuck in traffic and couldn't make the show.) This opening band played a few covers and actually did quite well. It reminded me of when I first started playing (heck ... we, and they, were kids having fun). 

The first band on the outside stage was Cannabiscuits, an 8 piece Ska band. There has been an explosion of Ska/Punk bands in the L.A. area lately (especially in East L.A). These guys (a 3-piece horn section and a percussionist) were pretty good. A *very* cool band to start off the event with. 

A young band that plays good ol' Hardcore, Dirty Rebels started playing inside and got the crowd going. The guitar player showed some class, as he started playing Lynyrd Skynyrd and  then went into a hardcore tune. With songs like No Freedom/Final Solution/and Civilized Disorder, these youngsters played a really good hardcore set. 

Rundown Kreeps was next. A nice "Punk'n Roll" type band with a bit of Ska thrown in for flavor. This is a power trio, with the guitar player playing and singing. At times, they reminded me of Stiff Little Fingers. Check 'em out, they are good. 

After Rundown Kreeps, I went outside to see Blanco Y Negro play. They bring with them a very nice blend of Ska, Reggae, and Soul. With a strong vocalist and horn section, these guys did some really good jams. Honestly, the vocalist made this band with his powerful soulful voice. If you have a chance to see these guys, please check em out. They're good! 

Local favorites, Corrupted Youth, played next on the inside stage. This band is great "in your face" angry Punk Rock! Every time I see Corrupted youth, they just get better and better. The singer, Nacho, gives it his all. During this time on the outside stage, East Side Agents (a 7-piece ska/punk band with a female vocalist) started their set. They had a nice horn and rhythm section. 

Back on the inside stage, The Bad Samaritans started their set with their great 80's style Punk Rock. These guys were older than the previous bands and it showed in their music. My favorite was "I Was Born Old". The singer, Eric, is one of the best front-Punkmen I've seen in a while (and he kept his clothes on!!).

On the outside stage, another Ska band was just about to start. This was a 6-piece band called Nino Zombi, who have very danceable tunes with nice changes; a strong vocalist and good musicianship round out their sound.

Wrong Beach started playing the inside stage and started with "Pipeline". This band is an all-star Punk band which features Rikk Agnew, AJ (Das Klown), and others from the late 70's/early 80's punk scene. They did classics such as "Cherry Bomb" and "Creatures", just to name a few. You can't go wrong with the great Rikk Agnew on guitar! 

Red Store Bums, traditional ska sound with no horns,  played next on the outside stage. Red Store Bums was the fan favorite so far, as the crowd really got into them. Good latin-style Ska.

Narcoleptic Youth was next and did their usual good "Dickies-style" set. Joey Bondage is a great frontman. Even though it was a short set, they played extremely well!

On the outside stage "South Central Skankers",  6-piece, very hopping, Ska band played. This band was a bit different than the other ska bands--some of their songs get heavy and hard, and then switch to a steady Ska beat. Nice touch guys! After that, 8 Kalacas was the last Ska band to play, which was comprised of two vocalists with horns. Again, a very latin-style Ska band. The crowd seemed to really get into them!

The great DICKIES finally hit the stage! They did their classic's such as "Rosemary", "Fan Mail", I'm OK, You're OK"," Got it at the Store", and my favorite "Give it Back". Lenard and Stan have to be the oldest Punk rockers still rockin it! They had really good players with them, as every song sounded perfect.

The Dickies have to be one of the funnest bands to go see! They always put a smile on your (well, at least my) face. The crowd went crazy as they went into "You Drive Me Ape" and "Gigantor". This band has too many classic songs--they even did a segment from "Tommy". Great stuff! The Dickies still have it, as though there was any question about that. 

Cheap Sex played last and got the crowd pogoing! Mike Virus and the boys played a really good and solid set. Most of the crowd was here to see Cheap Sex. They don't play too often, so when they do, you should check them out!

Over all, a really good, well-worth-the-money fest. I'm looking forward to more GITBAM shows. Please support promoters and shows like this, as these are the shows put on by the fans themselves, and not big money-hungry corporations.

 

             More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Mike Vallejo-
Big Wheel Contributor

 

 

 

 

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