February 3 2001, Campbell, CA:  The American Legion Hall

 

What a fucking great show. Got there about 6:30 but the doors weren't open yet. So we sat in the car and got started on a sixer of Sam Adams and a sixer of Heineken. Good stuff. The doors finally opened around 7:30 or so. The American Legion hall is a small dance-hall type building with low rafters and a few side rooms that they were selling merch from. I figured it could probably hold about 300 people at the most. Some flourescent lights and some white christmas lights were hanging from the rafters. When we first walked in, I was looking at the merchandise, which was pretty extensive for such a small show. The Bastards had about four shirts, Pressure Point and the Forgotten had a shirt each, and there were lots of cd's and vinyl albums available. As I was looking through the stuff, I looked up to see who was selling stuff. The guy on the left was Craig from Pressure Point. Cool guy. I glanced towards the guy on the right. Some dude with a mohawk. I had to do a double take to notice it was Lars. I was totally shocked to see Lars Frederickson selling his own merchandise. He gave a little chuckle when he saw the shocked look on my face. I said hello then I went up front to see the first band, Vex.

 

The first band was Vex. They weren't half bad. It was the first time I had heard them. The singer looked like Teen Wolf though, which was kinda funny. They reminded me a little bit of the Nerve Agents. The Teen Wolf singer was very intense, and even when he was just talking to the crowd, he was screaming into the mic.

 

The second band was Uncle Lucifer. They were pretty boring. Basically a bunch of 40-50 year olds trying to be punk. My uncles are younger than these guys. They should be called Grandpa Lucifer.

 

After Grandpa Lucifer, I went back out to my car and drank some more Hieneken and had a few cigarettes. Lars was in the parking lot talking to the fans and he walked by and I said hello and told him I've got much respect.  He went out of his way to find out what my name was and thank me for being at the show.  Its was very cool.

 

Next was the Odd Numbers. Again, boring. Im not sure if they are ska, rock n roll, or something else. Kinda reminded me of Rocket From the Crypt, as they all wore suits and stuff. Kinda out of place at a punk show. Lars said that these guys were around for longer than he's been alive. I don't doubt it at all.

 

Pressure Point was next up.  They were pretty damn cool.  They had quite a few fans that came down from Sacramento, where they are based.  Good old working-class Oi!.  If you haven't heard them, they remind me of the Anti-Heroes.  They are pretty talented, although there sound seems somewhat restricted to a single style of music.  Its straight forward traditional skinhead anthems.  Nothing more, nothing less.  I happen to like this style of music, so I was into it.

 

Next was Lars Frederickson and the Bastards. H-O-L-Y S-H-I-T. I was fucking blown away. Lars said that the Bastards were created because Tim came up to him and said "hey Lars, I fucking love all of your stories about Campbell, CA. I wish we had someone on Hellcat who could represent that place" So Lars said he would love to start a side project, and if Tim would be willing to sign them to Hellcat, he would do a record and a tour. So Lars got together with the guitarist from The Forgotten, some drummer that I heard was from Hepcat, and a big skinhead bassist who looks strikingly similar to the Dropkick Murphy's bagpipe player. The band took the stage around 9:30 and played a nice long set of sing-alongs. Lars explained alot of the songs and told the crowd what the chorus was so that everyone could sing along with him. The crowd was totally going off. The circle pit was in full effect, and because there was no stage, the crowd was right up face to face with the band. No fuckin bullshit barriers, no fucking bullshit bouncers or security. The only security was the singer from Pressure Point who was trying to keep people from smashing the drum kit. Because of the close proximity of crowd-to-band, it was totally easy to sing right into the mic. One of the songs that I remember best was "Campbell, CA", which Lars said is a tribute to his hometown. He said that of all the places he has played, he has never played in Campbell. I yelled out "always remember your roots!" and he repeated that into the mic. It was a minor thing, but I felt that was fucking cool that the band actually was listening to what the crowd was saying. The actual sound of the band was amazingly versatile. There were some fast, furious songs reminiscent of "Dead Bodies" on Rancid 2000, and some streetpunk singalongs in the style of the Forgotten. There were even some songs that had a hard-edged ska undertone. Anyways, guy called the "Mysterious Bastard" came out to sing for a few songs after this. He was wearing a green ski mask so it was impossible to see who he was. Reminded me of the Dwarves kinda. Anyways Im pretty sure it was the lead singer of the Forgotten, but I can't be positive. Another cool song (without the "Mysterious Bastard") was called "Wine and Roses". This was the best song of the night. The song, according to Lars, was about growing up in the economic depression of the Reagan years. The chorus, catchy as hell, was "These are the days of---wine and roses!…..Riot squads and---fire hoses!" There was at least 20 kids yelling into the microphone, the pit was going off, and believe it or not, kids were hanging from the fucking low rafters! Kids somehow got up there and were singing along from the beams and jumping off down into the pit. It was fucking amazing. What a sight to see a kid with ripped denim jeans and a big multi-hued mohawk hanging from the fucking ceiling beams pumping his fist to the choruses. It was surreal. Another cool song was about standing up for what you believe in. The chorus was "ITS YOU, ITS ME, AGAINST AN ARMY OF ZOMBIES!". Again, it was catchy as hell and the crowd of 250 or so was totally digging it. Punks, skins, metal heads, everyone was having fun. It was like a fucking punk rock party. Intimate as hell in the small, cramped dancehall. Couldn't ask for more. I can't wait to hear more from them. Im definately buying the record.

 

The Forgotten closed out the show. About half the crowd left after the Bastards played not out of disrespect for the Forgotten, but presumably because they thought that the show was over after the Bastards played. I too thought that the Bastards were headlining, so I was pretty surprised when I heard music coming from back in the Hall. The Forgotten were fucking great. The crowd was again screaming along into the mic and pumping their fists into the air. The highlight was definately "Fists Up" to close out the show. I didn't see anyone in the crowd that wasn't chanting the chorus "Fists up, Backs against the Wall". The Forgotten are awesome. I think everyone should go out and get their newest album "Keep the Corpses Quiet". They are an amazing band, fucking awesome live. I wish more people knew about them and went to their shows. If you like Rancid, you probably would like the Forgotten because Rancid is one of their main influences. They are playing with punk legends T.S.O.L. at the Cactus Club in San Jose on Saturday, February 17th. At least give them a chance. You won't be dissapointed.

 

Anyways thats all I got about this show. I had a blast and I can't wait to see the Bastards again when they come back with the Dropkick Murphys and I can't wait to see the Forgotten again when they play with TSOL. Fucking kickass show all around. Much respect to Lars for remembering his roots and bringing it home to the 95008.

 

 

 

THESE ARE THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
RIOT SQUADS AND FIRE HOSES

 

The Wolf
See Ya In The Pit