To start off, this was my first time at the Subterranean. It's a fairly odd building to go see a show in. I admit it would be a nice place to go and see a punk show if it wasn't sold out, but with it being a sold out show the place was packed and as more and more people showed up the harder it became to do simple things like checking out merchandise, going to get a drink, and taking a piss. However, the crowd didn't seem to mind; they knew that they were going to see Naked Raygun for the first time in years. With that in mind, along with it being a 21+ show, the older punks came out in full force to support one of their favorite bands of their youth.
Four Star Alarm started off the night. Personally I think Jeff Dean is a very talented guitarist and it is always fun to watch him play, however I don't particularly care for Four Star Alarm's vocalist; his voice sounds just a bit too whiny for my tastes. There's nothing offensive about the band, they sound like a very solid melodic punk rock band, but I just can't get into their vocalist.
The Bomb was next. If you don't know, the Bomb consists of Jeff Pezzati from Naked Raygun on vocals, Jeff Dean on guitar, and two members of the Methadones providing the rhythm section with Pete Miller on bass and Mike Soucy on drums. I've dug the Bomb since I first laid my ears on their album Indecision when it first came out in 2005 and I was addicted. I've seen them live two times before and they always put on a great show. Today was no different as they played a set full of great tunes from Indecision like "Burn It All," "Bring the Shotgun," and "Faith Anymore." Also included was the song "Space Man" from Thick Records' Hair compilation. They ended their set with "Up from the Floor," which was a perfect song to end their set with seeing as how the energy of tonight's show wasn't going to be wasted on the youth.
The Briefs were next. They were the surprise mystery guests on the bill and I was excited to find out that the rumors of them being on this show were true. I never had the opportunity to see the Briefs live before so this was such a treat for me. For those that don't know, the Briefs were in town at the Metro earlier in the day doing an all ages show opening for the Casualties. While one might think they'd be tired after playing a show just a few hours prior, they didn't look it one bit. The Briefs had a ton of energy and just plowed through a set of great tunes. It seemed that some of the older folks in the crowd weren't that impressed by the way the Briefs were dressed as the band was setting up their gear, but after a full set of non-stop action with song after song it seemed that the band impressed quite a few of the skeptics. I know I was impressed; they have this amazing energy live on stage that you just cannot recreate for a studio album.
Here's the Briefs' set list:
- Outer Space Doesn't Care About You
- Silver Bullet
- Poor and Weird
- Dolly Parton
- Antisocial
- Sylvia
- I'm a Raccoon
- Ephedrine Blue
- Move Too Slow
- Lint Fabrik
- Dead in the Suburbs (Los Reactors)
- Destroy the USA
- Stuck on You
- Knife
- New Shoes
- Todd Killings (Angry Samoans)
It certainly will be something I remember for the rest of my life. The highlight of the show had to be when the band dug deep into their discography and played "I Lie." After that they closed with "New Dreams" and that ended a great night. I made sure to grab a set list before getting off the stage as a memento for this wonderful night since they were saving the free shit to hand out at tomorrow's show.
Here's the set list:
- The Strip
- Vanilla Blue
- Dog at Large
- Entrapment
- Roller Queen
- Surf Combat
- Knock Me Down
- Rat Patrol
- Walk in Cold
- I Don't Know
- I Lie
- New Dreams