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8/26/2005 - THE INSANITY THAT IS THE GROWING FINGER ROSTER
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RANTS?
THE INSANITY THAT IS THE GROWING FINGER ROSTER
Current mood: enthralled
So I was standing there, at the Anaheim House of Blues, transfixed. Stunned at the sheer power of all that is right about punk rock and locked in on the charged atmosphere as a packed house roiled and seethed with music of the Adolescents. Christ almighty, it was something.
The Adolescents played one of the most insane shows I have ever witnessed. Not physically insane like people got tore up and everyone fought. Not the usual self-destructive damage that has historically made such shows a stopping point for the movement going forward. Insane because in one night, The Adolescents took everything they ever meant from the past and melded it into everything they are doing now proving that, indeed folks, punk is far, far from dead.
The house music played just before the curtain lifted was a surreal montage of Disney hits, made all the more appropriate due to the 'unlikely' locale-the HOB Anaheim sits smack in the middle of Downtown Disney. How appropriate then, that the first song would be Monsanto Hayride, a poisonous ode to the laundry list of evils perpetrated by the corporate chemical giant (for over 20 years the Monsanto corporation sponsored various feel good rides at Disneyland, extolling the virtues of chemical America).
Tony was on fire. You could see it in his eyes as he leered over the monitors as if he would launch at any moment. The band was incredibly tight...they blasted out five straight songs before they even paused. Amoeba was second, but it was from the opening moment on that you could feel that everything The Adolescents had done in the past was now fired by what they have delivered with their new album O.C. Confidential.
This album is scathing in a surgical manner. The targets (corporate evil doing, human inhumanity, political partisanism, personal tragedy and an overall longing to escape all the ongoing madness, even as it unfolds) are not so much blasted with a shotgun as they are taken apart with a dull surgical knife and sliced into little pieces.
And so it was mayhem in Downtown Disney, which pretty much is a metaphor for the faux suburbia which is Orange County, and, perhaps much of American suburbia. Genuine rage, delivered by force by The Adolescents. The house shook. This was the same rage that fueled the OC punk phenomena and would be shared by every good band in America (not to mention the rest of the world). Old School punk doesn’t deserve its place in musical history, it has a place. Those who ignore that simple fact define themselves by ignorance.
The band was phenomenal. Frank Agnew was incredible with those signature leads, and Frank Jr., carrying that Second Generation banner was so solid you'd have thought he had actually been there in the immortal 'Black Hole'. Steve Soto showed why he is an icon, plowing through the old material with power and dropping bass lines on the new songs like sonic bombs. Derek O'Brian continually amazes me with his precision and a drumming style that defies the ordinary. To say the backing vocals are good would be an understatement.
Lockdown America, Rip it Up, Kids of the Black Hole, O.C. Confidential, it all was so seamless. The pit was so packed the skinhead couldn't even get a break (good!)....it was the kind of wake up night we all needed. Was this show in the top 10 that I'd ever seen? Without question. Here's to hoping that you get to experience a night like that. In fact, here's to more nights like that....from The Adolescents to any band that can bring it like that.
Oh, and before I go, a word about D.E.K., the opening band. Two albums into their young career (Boner and Wattatatta), this band plays angular crazed rock like they mean it. Forget about the fact they don't have the punk image down, real punks never relied on image anyway. This is Good Charlotte in reverse, great songs about getting drafted, the uncertainties of growing up in this world, and fighting someone else's stupid war inspersed with moments of musical insanity and a force that belies the 'we could care less' image.
These kids bring it too, and are well on their way to forging yet another avenue that will define the Second Generation sound (bands that are the sons and daughters of the first generation of old school punks). Nick, Brett, Mark and Thani all made mincemeat of the dreaded 'opening slot' by rocking heavy, hard and with energy. And then to close with "Sick in My Head," a T.S.O.L. cover.
And speaking of Second Generation rock, a huge prop to Joe Harrison, the phenomenal guitarist of the Wrecking Crew who filled in for Frank Agnew Sr. on the recent tour. The kid is an amazing guitarist, and what a blend of Frank Jr. and Joey. By the way, for any of you lucky enough to be in New York on 9/9 or 9/10, the Adolescents will be playing a spectacular bill at CBGB’s with Channel 3, The Circle Jerks, D.I. (that will be interesting with Casey’s linage) and with Electric Frankenstein on 9/9, 45 Grave on 9/10. Joey will be playing those shows as well.
So, the Wrecking Crew you say? The Wrecking Crew will be releasing their first EP on Finger Records entitled Static Dream, with a street date set in November. For those of you who don’t know, The Wrecking Crew play charged punk in the vein of the Adolescents, with more of their own rock stylings. Cues straight from the old school, but with the fresh blood and youth necessary to make it true Second Generation.
Also coming up in November, will be the long delayed album by Unit F, American Shutdown. Political, sonic and perhaps the best work turned out by the band, American Shutdown was produced by Steve Kravac and Greg Hetson, to be mixed by Jim Monroe.
Speaking of Jim Monroe, he who also remixed The Adolescents O.C. Confidential; Jim has been tracking and recording the new Uprising (the old El Centro) album which is coming out bombs. Jim Lindberg from Pennywise sings guest vocals on a track, and Greg Hetson of Bad Religion/Circle Jerks even did a bit of guitar work. Christ, what’s with all the love from the punk rock superstars? Must be a fucking slamming album….look for it in early 2006, and watch for the band.
In fact, watch for all the bands. Coexist in Texas, Unit F in NoCal, The Adolescents in the NYC, D.E.K. in the Northwest, The Skulls at the Wasted Festivals along with Narcoleptic Youth and Broken Bottles, El Nada wherever they get free beer, and last but not least, The Fast 911’s (Jaysin Novocain ex-the Rolemodels) in the Midwest. We got the rock and we are bringing to you, thanks mainly to all your great support everywhere we have been (Warped Tour was ripping this year!).
By the way, a huge thanks to Joe Sib, Dicky Barrett and all our friends at Indie 103.1 fm in Los Angeles who has been playing Shattered Faith (that’s a Finger classic- the Bootleg Album), Firecracker 500 and the Adolescents. Radio play….thats a new one! In fact, thanks to all the independent radio stations who have been playing D.E.K. and the Adolescents as well…we all still need to take over radio.
Also we have launched our nationwide Indie Stores campaign. If you can’t find a Finger release at your favorite store, email us either here or on MySpace and we will try goddamned hard to get it there. By the way, watch for the upcoming Sounds of the Anarchy Library compilation, which will be in stores soon featuring tracks from all our old school friends like The Adicts, Circle Jerks, CH3, Dr. Know, The Adolescents, D.I. and even Unit F. As Mike Vraney would say….blah, blah blah.
Goddamn what a night. Do yourself a favor and get those two albums, OC Confidential by the Adolescents, and Wattatatta by DEK, and stay the course, this revolution has just begun. And if you don’t believe me, just stay tuned for the upcoming releases from Finger Records, Unit F, Wrecking Crew, Firecracker 500 (ex-Shattered Faith) and The Uprising. Listen, Think, Act. The future is ours, let’s own it.
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