SOCIAL DISTORTION DELIVER UNFORGETTABLE HOMETOWN HEROES SHOW AT OBSERVATORY SANTA ANA
Social Distortion came out Sunday night to do the first of three nights at the Observatory in Orange county. They were celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of their self-titled album. People of all ages showed up from eight-year-olds to sixty-something-year olds. Mike Ness hit the stage wearing a Jerome’s boxing t-shirt, bearded and obviously fully tatted.
Social Distortion came out Sunday night to do the first of three nights at the Observatory in Orange county. They were celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of their self-titled album. People of all ages showed up from eight-year-olds to sixty-something-year olds. Mike Ness hit the stage wearing a Jerome’s boxing t-shirt, bearded and obviously fully tatted. The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter played on the speaker setting the mood of the show. The crowd screamed as Ness walked on stage and strapped a Gibson Les Paul to his body. He grabbed the mic and said “It’s so great to be back on the west coast, the best coast”, and the crowd roared. With Social Distortion getting its start in Fullerton, CA — the energy was unreal for these hometown heroes.
Social Distortion kicked off with the first song off their 1990 self-titled album, “So Far Away” and they would go on to play the entire record except for one song. In between songs he was reminiscent and told a few stories about him getting sober and writing the album. As most longtime fans already know, Social D went through changes musically. The band went from punk to a more rockabilly sound. With that came criticism, which Ness was open to discuss. He let the crowd know he didn’t like the rules people were trying to instill in him and that he does not take to rules to kindly.
When he finished their album there was one song missing. The band went on to play songs from 1992’s Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell. The band blasted through memorable tracks such as “Cold Feelings” and “This Time Darlin.” They also covered the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses,” which was a nice touch.
Encore two happened and Social D had two more in them. The last two songs would be covers of Johnny Cash, the first one was “Folsom Prison Blues” and the next was, of course, “Ring of Fire” which closed out their 25th anniversary celebration (for their self-titled album).
The night was full of raw energy and the pit was going pretty hard. I even had someone hold my camera for a bit so that I could jump in. I don’t get to do that too often these days but I can’t miss a Social Distortion pit. The show was all-ages and definitely showed. From toddlers to senior citizens, it didn’t matter who was on the floor. Everyone was there for all the same reasons.
During “Ring of Fire”, Ness had some children come up on stage and he gave them a little lesson in life: to think for themselves. This little key piece of advice which surely build strong individuals out of them, and probably piss their parents and teachers off in the near future.
Superb performance.
Words & Photography: Wes Marsala
Written for GrimyGoods.com, September 15, 2015
INCUBUS, DEFTONES, AND DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 GIVE THRILLING PERFORMANCES AT THE FORUM
This past Friday there was an amazing rock show happening at The Forum: Deftones, Death from Above 1979, and Incubus. Right off the bat, I did not understand Incubus’ placement with both Deftones and DFA 1979. It was an odd pairing. I thought that there was no way that Incubus could compare to the hard hitting Deftones or the badass duo of DFA 1979. But much to my surprise it worked.
This past Friday there was an amazing rock show happening at The Forum: Deftones, Death from Above 1979, and Incubus. Right off the bat, I did not understand Incubus’ placement with both Deftones and DFA 1979. It was an odd pairing. I thought that there was no way that Incubus could compare to the hard hitting Deftones or the badass duo of DFA 1979. But much to my surprise it worked.
Incubus’ sheen was kind of left behind during their prime in the early 2000’s. Now it’s just a bunch of housewives of Orange County—reliving that high school crush and wishing that lead singer Brandon Boyd would sing “Stellar” to them—that still put the band on a pedestal. For the rest of the general population that liked Incubus in their high school and early college days, they’ve moved on. It has somewhat become douchey to like Incubus. They almost carry that same stigma that haunted Nickelback, but not quite as bad. They unfortunately got shuffled in the deck of 90s bands that just aren’t “cool” anymore; but never say that to a MidWest transplant.
Incubus was the headlining act of the evening. Back in the day Morning View was the soundtrack of my forty-five minute drive to San Clemente to go surfing each weekend; it was literally on repeat for a good three months. I eventually saw Incubus live, and I was not super thrilled by their performance which led me to assume this current tour lineup would smash Incubus. However, Friday at The Forum, Incubus blew it out of the water.
Boyd was packed with so much energy and hitting every note perfectly. The band seemed to be having so much fun up there. At times you would see them look at one another and just smile. Bassist Ben Kenney and guitarist Mike Einziger would look at each another and make some hand gestures only they—I’m guessing—would know and start laughing from across the stage. Incubus played flawlessly. Except for when Boyd missed a beat a couple times while playing the drums. He seemed to laugh at his own mistakes which made it all the more better. I was pleasantly surprised by Incubus’ honest and high-octane set. They were relentless.
Deftones. What more can I say about how astounding these guys are live. Chino Moreno came out and didn’t stop. That guy was going so hard that he was sweating through his denim jeans! At one point he slowed things down a bit and played a guitar that was adorned with an image of Eazy-E on it. It was quite fitting for the current times of NWA being back in the headlines with “Straight Outta Compton.” The crowd was pretty nuts over Deftones. The only request that I would have of them is, and I hope they are reading because I am going to beg, can you please play “Bored”? I have seen them live multiple times and I have never heard this song performed live. I always go in with hope of hearing this song and I never get it. Okay, that’s enough complaining from me.
I have to be honest and say, that I have seen both Deftones and Incubus in the past, but I was most interested catching their opener, Death From Above 1979. Between their 2006 break-up, and then reforming again in 2011 where they played their first gig (which resulted in a riot) at SXSW, I somehow missed out on all of their reunion shows. I even missed out on their recent tour for their incredible 2014 release, The Physical World.
As you can imagine, I was more than thrilled to finally see DFA 1979 live. They surpassed all expectations I had of them. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people who just showed up to see Deftones and Incubus so the house was not packed. Those late-comers reliving the 90s definitely missed out. Drummer and vocalist Sebastian Grainger’s voice was impeccable. The guy has so much style and power behind that drum kit. I don’t know how he can play so ferociously while still maintaining his vocal range.
Equally stunning was bassist Jesse F. Keeler (who is also one half of MSTRKRFT) who never stopped moving and looked like a total rock star on stage. Keeler knows how to work the stage and deliver those riveting bass lines all the while holding a badass stance. Watching Death From Above 1979 tear it up on stage was chilling. These guys know ho to do it right, and they do it dam well.
I can honestly say it was an epic hat-trick of live music at The Forum. Fully engaged by all three performances, not one fan left disappointed.
Words: Wes Marsala / Sandra Burciaga
Photography: Wes Marsala
Written for GrimyGoods.com, August 31, 2015
MARILYN MANSON DELIVERS THEATRICS AND SHOCK-ROCK; SMASHING PUMPKINS NOT MUCH FOR TALK, BUT PERFORM MASTERFULLY AT IRVINE MEADOWS
The End Times were happening at Irvine Meadows last Thursday night. I would have never really expected that Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson would tour together. With their past historyand the fact that their shows are very different, it was most definitely an odd pairing.
The first headliner was Manson. It was still light out. The sun, unfortunately, had not set for Manson. He came out as expected, with his face painted goth pale and morbid-looking. The stage was decorated with faux Christian iconography but instead of the image of Jesus Christ painted into the fake stained glass it was Manson, the Anti-Christ Superstar. The music was loud, hard and fast, and Marilyn was mesmerizing. Of course along side of him was long-time bassist Twiggy Ramirez who was absolutely stunning as well. Manson played music spanning his career from his first album Portrait of an American Family to his most recent, The Pale Emperor. I stood below him in awe of his performance as I snapped photos continuously and he at one point reached down and grabbed my lens, I thought he was going to take it out of my hands but instead he moved his hand and put his face directly into my lens and looked dead into my lens as I shot. That was pretty exciting. We only had one song to shoot which was unfortunate because his theatrics proved to be 100 percent photo worthy for the entirety of the show. For example, when he did his cover of The Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)“ he came out in stilts and crutches which gave him somewhat of a demonic-haunted-psycho-ward kinda feel. I was in the stands when I saw this and I was wishing I could have been shooting, but that’s just how it goes.
At the end of Manson’s set he did an encore. A podium was set as if he looked like the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler. He rose high on the podium and lit the Holy Bible on fire and then went into the song “Anti-Christ Superstar.” He then ended his set introducing “Beautiful People” by singing Beatles lyrics “how does it feel to be one of the beautiful people.” Manson put on a spectacular show and my only complaint would be that it would have been nice to see him do his act with the sun completely set.
Smashing Pumpkins was up next. They started the set with “Cherub Rock” and after that it was pretty much one hit after another. Unfortunately there was a douche bag behind me complaining that there was nothing but hits being played. He was loud and obnoxious yelling out “just play hits all night long Billy!” He did not just say this one time, he may have said it about five or six times. Man shut the fuck up bro, and enjoy the show and maybe let the people around you enjoy the show instead of listening to your ignorant ass. Who in the hell complains about that?
The Pumpkins’ set, as expected, was a much different set form opening headliner, Marily Manson. Corgan did not interact much with the crowd. He even said “the more I talk, the worse it gets, so we are just going to play music all the way through”. That was cool and all, but I think people would like to hear the artist, especially one as iconic as Corgan. I hate to say it, since I am huge fan of the Pumpkins, but I do feel a little like Corgan was out there just doing a job and making that money. He and the band played fantastically, but at the same time there was a sense of ambivalence from Corgan. I could be wrong but that’s what I felt.
When the Pumpkins left the stage, I watched Corgan as he as he walked off and he made a facial gesture as though he was a bit disappointed, which I think he was. When they came back out for their encore he made note that he noticed all the people who left after “1979,” which I definitely noticed too. Too bad for those people because the Pumpkins ended the show with “Geek U.S.A,” which was unexpected.
I am not sure what was going on with Corgan, I think he may be jaded on the state of music these days, he has been vocal about it lately and I agree with him.
Regardless, Smashing Pumpkins played fantastically, and Jimmy Chamberlain is a mad man on the drum kit. This is definitely a show to see. If you can see the show in another area, you should definitely do it.
Words & Photography: Wes Marsala
Written for GrimyGoods.com, July 13, 2015
BODIES FLY THROUGH THE AIR AT LOS CRUDOS’ UKRAINIAN CULTURE CENTER SHOW; ALICE BAG MAKES GUEST APPEARANCE
I went into last night’s Los Crudos show at the Ukrainian Culture Center knowing what to expect. I knew that if I placed myself at the front of the pit that I would most likely get kicked in the head numerous times; however, I didn’t fucking care. I knew that there would be some pretty bad ass moments to capture and indeed there were. I would say that this article is more for the fans of Los Crudos, Blazing Eye, Ausencia and Strangers.
I went into last night’s Los Crudos show at the Ukrainian Culture Center knowing what to expect. I knew that if I placed myself at the front of the pit that I would most likely get kicked in the head numerous times; however, I didn’t fucking care. I knew that there would be some pretty bad ass moments to capture and indeed there were. I would say that this article is more for the fans of Los Crudos, Blazing Eye, Ausencia and Strangers. Man these people never let up once Blazing Eyebegan their performance. The pit was circling large and bodies were flying overhead. It was incredible.
Needless to say, the action really started when the headlining act came on: Los Crudos. Not only was the pit going off with bodies surfing the crowd, but fans rushed the stage and superman-ed over the crowd creating a constant motion of stage dives. It was a truly remarkable site. It was total anarchy, but at the same time, as weird as it may sound, it was respectful. Not one fight broke out. And the awesome thing was, I don’t even think there was security present. Everyone seemed to managed themselves fine, lifting their brothers up if they fell. If only this could be the metaphor for how life and society should be.
Los Crudos put on a very positive show. Frontman Martin Sorrondeguy came out before the show started wanting to calm people down a bit and start the show off with a positive message. He introduced Los Angeles Chicana-Punk Icon Alice Bag who then read a poem from her book “Violence Girl”. The iconic woman kicked off there reading with a scream. After she finished the poem Sorrondeguy came back out and the rage was let loose.
Between songs he had some positive words and messages to say, the one that stuck out to me most was his discussion about women’s rights and defending the woman instead of abusing the woman. I think his message worked at least for this show. There were plenty of women there and very small women who were probably some of the toughest girls I have ever seen. They got just as crazy as most of the guys and not a single one got hurt, at least not to my knowledge.
Blazing Eye got the party started. Lead singer, Austin Delgadillo was a maniac on stage. For an opening act they held back no punches. He knew what it was to put on a punk show and get the crowd moving and involved. I’ve never seen or heard of them before, but I will definitely be down to check them out again for sure.
Opening the show was Strangers and Ausencia. Ausencia half way through their set wanted to send a message, especially to Donald Trump and I figure that I may as well help them spread their message since I do have access to a publication that does have a healthy viewership and that message was: “Fuck You! Fuck you Donald Trump for saying that the Mexican people are nothing but drug dealers and rapist and that there are just a few good ones.” I’ll second the words of Ausencia (and so does our editor).
Words & Photography: Wes Marsala
Written for GrimyGoods.com, June 25, 2015
ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT, THE BRONX AND DEAD HEAVENS DELIVER KNOCK-OUT PERFORMANCES AT THE OBSERVATORY
It was a night of pure rock n’ roll at the Observatory in Santa Ana, California last night. Three bands would play, Rocket From The Crypt, Los Angeles punk rockers, The Bronx and Dead Heavens. All three bands brought their own style of rock and each kept the crowd engaged.
It was a night of pure rock n’ roll at the Observatory in Santa Ana, California last night. Three bands would play, Rocket From The Crypt, Los Angeles punk rockers, The Bronx and Dead Heavens. All three bands brought their own style of rock and each kept the crowd engaged.
Rocket From The Crypt was the headliner of the night and they came out at about 10:30 or so in there navy blue floral Elvis-esque jumpsuits and lead singer John Reis (aka Speedo) came out and rambled on a bit explaining and apologizing for their banner being so small, especially in comparison to The Bronx’s banner. He kept going on about how The Bronx’s was so much bigger than their’s. Anyway, they started out with “Dick On A Dog” and that got the crowd going and the moshing ensued.
The Bronx came on before Rocket, and man did they get everyone involved in the show. After the second or third song singer, ferocious front-man, Matt Caughthran jumped off stage and grabbed a male audience member and started pushing people along to get the pit going. He said “I want to see all you pussies moving,” and everyone happily complied. He also put his money where his mouth was and got the pit started himself. He hopped back on stage and fell to the ground and when he got up you saw blood running down his cheek just below his eye. I don’t think he realized he cut himself till much later in the show. His white t-shirt was blood stained all over by the end of their set. This would not be the last time that Caughthran would enter the pit. Towards the end he stood in the center of the pit and sang his heart out while people moshed around him. He then climbed the back barricade and finally did a dive into the crowd where he would then get back on stage. The Bronx were pure untamed energy from start-to-finish; stunning performance.
The opener was Dead Heavens, and all I can say is that they will soon be headlining their own show.s They were pretty fantastic. When they first went on, the place was not packed and people were standing in the back seated areas. Nobody was in the pit except for a couple photographers and maybe about six others. After their first song everyone came down into the pit and people applauded and cheered after each song. It was a real fun night at the Observatory. The spectators really did get their money’s worth for a Saturday evening.
Words & Photography: Wes Marsala
Originally written for GrimyGoods.com, June 1, 2015
