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LIVE REVIEW

Warped Tour Pre-Party with Bad Religion, Gallows, Big D and the Kids Table, Kennedy @ The Glass House - Pomona

Maintain! Maintain! I was having quite the busy day and wasn’t sure that I was going to make this show. The time frame I had vs. the time the show was going to start just didn’t calculate but I knew I had to do something and get to this show. So I cut the rest of my appointments and decided to head on down to Pomona!

Since It took me forever to decide on this, I didn’t get to the show until about 8:45pm. I brought along two of my esteemed associates, Frantik Girl Relations, Viviana and tubetimes editor, Gayle, to accompany me on this wonderful trip of course. I get in to the show and Big D and The Kids Table just announced that they had four more songs to go, great, fashionably late as usual. From the four songs I heard, It was quite ok, not a big wow but it was ok. Big D sounded like ska mixed with a dash of punk rock with positive lyrics and a message. The crowd didn’t seem to dig the music too much but I thought they were doing their thing. The place was looking empty also but it said outside that the show was sold out. Huh? Well Big D and Kids Table, I’l have to try and catch them next time but they were not bad at all.

And then I noticed there was no liquor. I hit the Panic Button. How can I watch Gallows without being intoxicated? There was no way in hell. My associates and I quickly gathered up our senses, go out and the search was on for a liquor store. After a few blocks of nothing, we asked a security guard from one of the businesses and he pointed it out to us….the bakery around the corner sells beer. Thank you so much man, we shot on over and bought some beer! We hung around in my truck and downed a few, it is Pomona btw, strict about drinking in public, and then was finally ready to see Gallows.

I first heard about Gallows from their publicist, Austin. I had heard a few things here and there about Gallows but wasn’t interested until I saw the video for “Abandon Ship.” That quickly got my attention. These guys have the attitude and the swagger of a real punk rock band, dangerous, angry, violent and the “I don’t give a fuck” attitude.

Gallows were finally up. I was now intoxicated and ready to hear them destroy the stage. They quickly turned out the seemingly empty place into a full venue in a heartbeat. They jumped onstage and from the first note, it was punk rock in your face. They played a few songs from their new album, “Orchestra of Wolves” but most notably, “Abandon Ship.” Chris Carter, their enigmatic frontman, was everything I had hoped for in seeing them, angry, rude, hilarious and spastic. Now I’m not big on his voice but man this guy has stage presence for sure and he is freakin’ rowdy as hell. He did not bore me one bit. “Belly of the Shark” was one of the songs I wanted to hear live upon hearing their album and they executed the song like pros. Did I forget to tell you that the pit had already started? The crowd seemed more curious to see them hence the pit being somewhat small but nonetheless dangerous. Chris Carter sang in the pit most of the time and man this guy loves to destroy everything since he kept pummeling the mic to the floor, slamming the mic stand onstage and just terrorizing everything in his path. “Orchestra of Wolves” was the second to the last song they played and it was great. They had a guest singer come up and join them and from the howling in the middle of the song, you can tell the Gallows were having fun onstage. Gallows did an excellent job and I look forward to seeing them again live.

I was about to journey back home when I took a look at the time and it was only 9:45pm. I told myself that there was no way that’s the last band so I took a look at the list and saw that there was going to be a special guest. Now who could it be? It is a Warped Tour pre-party. Vandals? Casualties? NOFX? Who?

At about 10pm, I had this gut feeling that Bad Religion was about to jump onstage….and they did! Hole effin shit, this just made my night. I’ve seen Bad Religion a few times and they always put on a good show. This is a treat!

Bad Religion comes onstage and they quickly jump into it with “American Jesus.” By this time, the venue is completely full. They whip the crowd into a frenzy and a full blown pit breaks out. They played some old school greats like “Generator” and “No Control,” which in turn whipped the crowd up into a bigger frenzy. “Los Angeles is Burning” had never sounded better and it was great! By the time they jumped into “21st Century (Digital Boy)” I was so way happy to be here. They also played a song I have never previously heard them play before but man did it sound good live, it was “God’s Love.” Mr. Graffin then introduces two new songs of their new album “New Maps of Hell” and they sounded like instant classic Bad Religion tracks, one which is on the radio now, “Honest Goodbye.” The crowd was obviously enjoying themselves and Bad Religion was just flawless, tighter than ever. “Disease” was the last song they played and it was fucking awesome! It is my favorite Bad Religion song and everytime I hear it live, it just gets me in the mood. Man, these guys were complete pros, flawless, tight and in control. Bad Religion made my night. Thanks a grip Austin!

Static-X, Otep, Invitro - The House of Blues (Sunsetstrip)

I love Static-X. The self-proclaimed king of “Evil Disco” was going to be at the House of Blues and I was going to miss it until a friend of mine hooked me up with tickets to get in. Awesome. This will be my fifth time seeing Static-X and I haven’t been disappointed yet.

The festivities were well underway once I got into the place. Invitro was already onstage riling up the crowd and sharing their own breed of surf-rock metal sound. I’ve personally never heard of Invitro and from my opinion, they weren’t bad at all. I even liked the fact the the singer for Invitro campaigned their new album all throughout the show, even dropping the price to a buck. Now f that didn’t get the 400 plus size crowd to cough up their hard earned dollar in exchange for some good music, I’d say he did one hell of a job selling the band and stunts like that establish the band’s right to be onstage with Otep and Static-X.

It wasn’t long after Invitro left the stage that I saw Evil J crawl up onstage and start setting up. It only meant that Otep was about to hit the stage. Hallelujah. The last time I saw Otep was back in 04-05 when they were out on tour for House of Secrets. I was real excited to hear some old and new tracks, with the new guitarist and all.

The lights dim and Otep hits the stage. All members walk out one by one and of course in true Otep fashion, Otep came in last. Looking like a true metalhead, anti-hollywood fashion, Otep screams out and the music starts swingin’. I’m not sure what the first song was but it definitely got the crowd pumped. The third song up was “Ghostflowers” and Otep did an amazing job with this song, which eventually started the pit. They then went on to play classics like, “Warhead,” “Blood Pigs,” “Requiem,”and “Hooks and Splinters.” They sounded great especially when Ms. Otep would scream her brains out. The highlight of Otep’s show was when they went into “Warhead.” Man that fucking song kicked so much ass! The lyrics in that song speak volumes and did I mention that Otep encouraged everyone to impeach the president? The crowd reaction was mixed all throughout but nonetheless, the majority agreed. Otep did a great job that night and I can’t wait to see them again.

Static-X puts on a great show everytime. The first time I saw this band, no one even knew who they were, yet, but they played a sold out show at the Roxy back in 96 or so. When I saw them the first time, I already knew that Static-x was going to shake up the metal scene and shake it up they did. Their undeniable grooves and hooks were infectious and new at the time and they were really exciting!

The light sdim one more time and the crowd simmers into a frenzy. Static-X is about to begin. From the drum hits on the snare, I already knew that “Dirthouse” was going to be the first song. The second song, “Shit in a Bag,” immediately sent the packed house into one mean ass pit. The third song, “Cannibal” just inflamed the pit to a much more bigger beast. With Koichi back in the fold, I knew this was going to be just like old times and it was. Throughout the night, they mostly played old songs much to the content of the crowd. Hell they didn’t even play any songs from Shadow Zone. All they played were tracks from Cannibal, Wisconsin Death Trip, and Machine. Awesome. They played songs like, ”I’m with Stupid,” “This is Not,” “Behemoth,” and “Bled for Days.” Shit, they even played, “Destroy All.” But the true highlight for me, which drew me back in the day was, “Push It.” God I love this song until today and is one of the true metal classics to come out of the 90’s. It was fucking awesome. It was just like I was back at the Roxy and it felt great. Everytime I see Static-X, they keep getting better and stronger. Wayne’s voice was on point, the drumming was on point and Tony and Koichi were just a massive unstoppable heavy groove machine. Can’t wait to see them at Ozzfest.

By: Gian Erguiza