Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Last night, I was invited to attend the “family and friends” screening of Filmage, a documentary about the Descendents and ALL. How cool is that? The filmmakers were in attendance and so were many of the film’s local contributors and friends of the band. My friend Sandy Yang (Red Krayola) came along, too!
Of course, Redd Kross were totally amazing at Amoeba last night. What you might not have expected is that they’d play for about an hour! The set was heavy on the supremely catchy and totally ripping new songs (“Downtown,” “Uglier”) which will grow on you like fungus, but dug back to the very oldest and rawest cuts (“Linda Blair,” “St. Lita Ford Blues”) for the old timers who saw the McDonald brothers when they were teenagers. Me? I’m in the middle somewhere, having discovered them on the Neurotica (“Frosted Flake”) tour when they played a free lunchtime show at UCLA.
Even under the bright lights of Amoeba at the ungodly hour of 6:00, they rocked like hell and how could they not? Jeff and Steve McDonald (not to mention returning monster drummer Roy McDonald from The Muffs with Celebrity Skin ripper Jason Shapiro sitting in for the mighty Robert Hecker) were obviously born to rock with smiles as big as their chops. Over the decades, the band has cranked out the most awesome punk, glam, garage, and pop, and their first LP in 15 years concentrates it all into 2- or 3-minute doses of perfection for your earholes. While the dark and loud record-release show at The Roxy was the group’s official homecoming, last night’s in-store at Amoeba was more like a reunion where old friends and conspirators could spot each other and catch up. Such a rad set! So many friends! You had to be there. But if you weren’t, here’s a little extra video from the front row. If you are moved by rock ‘n’ roll in any manner, don’t miss Redd Kross at FYF next weekend or various other festivals, shows, and special appearances.
Did I mention that Tuesday night’s Redd Kross gig at The Roxy was a record release show? Here’s a review on that long-awaited LP as well as some other new music that you should check out…
Holy shit! Redd Kross ruled last night at The Roxy. But first things first. On Sunday night, My brother and I drove past the Orange Curtain to this place called the Observatory in Santa Ana to see Down By Law. Thinking we could just walk in to a mellow crowd, we rolled up 45 minutes before Dave Smalley said their set was going to start only to find a huge line of Mohawks, liberty spikes, and vatos. Punks not dead in OC! We bought tickets just as we heard “The Last Brigade” begin…
Down By Law played a jam-packed 30-minute set, but I don’t know if I ever saw them play longer than that when they headlined the Anti-Club or Spanky’s in the early ’90s. Because it was the last show of a package tour, they played not one but two songs by one of Dave’s old and most beloved bands, Dag Nasty: “Values Here” and “Under Your Influence.” If you know anything about DC punk or Dischord Records, you know this was a big, big deal.