This show was on a Monday, but it was Martin Luther King Day so most people had the day off from work. I didn't, but I had been sent me early because I hadn't gotten any leads by lunch. My job is very production-based so that happens from time to time; don't worry, kids, I got several leads the next day and as of the time of this writing my job's well and secure. I just thought I'd give you some background.
It was also my good friend Devin's 25th birthday and since I had the afternoon off I hit him up to chill. We cruised around smoking bowls and listening to techno, went to Rosa's Cantina for some quesadillas (that weren't very good if you ask me) and then didn't really have much else to do. We were already on Jefferson so Devin contemplated just going to The Dial early but it wasn't even 6pm yet. I imparted upon him how foolish such a decision would be so he dropped me off at home. The plan was for him to come back and get me around 7:45 but come 8:30 he was still lagging and I just wanted to mob out. The friends from Crisis Arm were cruising out for this show and they hadn't been able to make it out to the warehouse for several weeks; I just wanted to get there and big chill so I just had my brother drive me.
Troy pulled up in our Blood-red Cadillac and stopped suddenly near a circle of people to let me out; from the outside it probably looked like a drive-by was about to go down. The circle of people we were apparently about to ransack turned out to be the Crisis kids and the homies in Beanvian Stalks Guava so I got to catching up with them.
As luck would have it, the birthday boy Devin showed up like 5 minutes after I did so I went to greet him but the first band was about to start and he was finishing up his cigarette so I went inside after talking some friendly shit. He claims that he came in and stayed through the second band but I didn't see him after his arrival. Happy birthday bro.
The first band of the night was called Holy Spaceman. They've been posting classified-type posters at The Dial for several months now, looking for new members for their band and listing disparate yet obvious influences like David Bowie, Radiohead, and the Dead Kennedys. Also noted was their "420-friendly" nature so you already know these guys mean serious business. Upon finally seeing them in action I wouldn't really say they sound much like any of the bands they listed as influences, but more along the lines of early-2000s lite-emo-punk like "Identity Crisis"-era Thrice or AFI at their commercial peak. Semi-metallic riffage that still contains quasi-pop punk melodicism and sloppiness; alternative-rock type sung-not-screamed vocals that were neither terrible nor memorable; mid-paced drumming that again was capable but unexceptionable. This is exactly the type of band who would benefit from the addition of a bassist. They said that they had just written the final song of their set a few days prior and it was by far their best. It wasn't as distorted and although I can't remember many specifics I remember jamming to it pretty good.
It wasn't until after their set when I saw the drummer walking around that I realized I had played a show with these guys last March when my band The Gravitys played the 10-year anniversary of some skate park in Lake Elsinore. They were called The Filth then and played pretty much exactly how I just described this current incarnation. We were playing in a parking lot using a gas-powered generator; they elected to perform after our set and the gas was running low so the speakers and amps kept going out during their set. It was like the people who had put this whole event together didn't see this coming whatsoever: there was absolutely no backup plan. The Filth dudes were bummed but real good sports about it all; they later tried to get KP to come jam some bass with them but they live in Riverside but it just wasn't feasible.
Some kid did a backflip on his BMX while we played "Eustress" at that show and it was a glorious moment in my life. There ya go, show review inside a show review. META.
Back to the night at hand.
In between sets, Patrick Crisis wanted water but there wasn't any in the fridge so Cameron Crisis waterfalled some to him but it quickly became a spillage fiasco and proved to be a humorous incident.
Next band up was Beanvian Stalks Guava, a 3-piece band from Hemet that plays a version of rock music that's somewhat difficult to pin down (there are a few bands that meet that criteria these days...HEMET CRISIS ;D). The first time Bean asked me to describe them I said, "psychedelic death rock" although I'm not sure how accurate that is. They're very bass-heavy in a kind of Gang Of Four type way; semi-dancey in almost post-punk fashion while still retaining a level of Bauhaus/Horrors eeriness. Honestly their style comes off so naturally that I'd imagine they were never trying to really emulate any particular bands or genres; they play unique, distinct stuff and everything I listed above is just kind of what I'm distilling it down to from my point of view. I've seen them several times and almost every time I end up with one of their basslines stuck in my head for DAYS.
BSG is also a band with very little self-consciousness getting in the way of their dopeness. The first time I met Bean he was wearing an N Sync shirt like it was punk as shit, and in reality I guess it kind of is if you're gonna be so goddamned punk about it. The drummer Java regularly disrobes during sets and shows off his lovable fluffiness; he almost reminds me of the WWE superstar Rikishi. But even doper. Midway through their set he ran out from behind his set and gave everybody big sweaty hugs and at the end he pushed over his entire drumset to visible damage. Everybody was getting all sorts of loose and dancing around the warehouse for pretty much the entire set. It was fun.
My only complaint about BSG is that their sets are always long as fuck and I feel like I've heard the exact same songs at every show. I already have a preference for short songs that these guys defy, but especially when you know you can't stay late but you still want to see the touring band at the end of the show, a 45 minute set of songs you've already heard by a local band who plays all the time really starts to drag. Just saying.
The final band that I saw was called Tittyfucker and I didn't know anything about them beforehand except that they had posted something on their Facebook along the lines of "We're gonna be the first all-nude band to play at The Dial!" This turned out to be true. Tittyfucker is a 3-piece powerviolence band from San Diego who perform naked. If that's supposed to be their gimmick it's nothing new (anybody every heard of that other SD band who played nude, I think they were called Blink 182?) but considering they have 2 young females in the band I can understand why they're using it. Naked girls = people are gonna come. (Interpret that sentence however you would like.)
Musically, they weren't anything special in the world of powerviolence (admittedly a subsect of hardcore that I'm not too fond of in the first place) but they also weren't god awful. They had understandable parts and fluid transitions, and maybe it was all the nudity getting me amped but I was feeling it. Dial mainstay Kevin P (NOT Gravitys KP, the other Kevin P) decided to support the cause and get naked himself, circle-pitting with his dingaling out and basically out-punking everyone else in attendance. Although the whole thing was a bit gimmicky (which the Crisis/Bean cats certainly seemed turned off by), a little nakedness never hurt anybody and at least they weren't as stupid-sounding as many other fully-clothed powerviolence bands are.
Although Starvist, a badass modern hardcore band on tour from Salt Lake City, was playing next almost the entire crowd left after Tittyfucker. I already knew this was going to happen and I felt bad for these dudes because they were much further from home than anybody else there that night. It's gotta suck playing for no one in a town you've never been to and will probably never come back to. I'm guilty as anyone, however; I left in the Crisis van before they played. They posted a bunch of stuff on Facebook afterwards about how much fun they all had so at least they didn't hate their lives after everyone bailed on their set. I still feel bad about that tho.
I've been on a major Fleetwood Mac kick lately so after I got dropped off I listened to a live version of "You Make Loving Fun" on YouTube like 6 times before going to sleep.
Monday night shows are cool you should start cruising out.
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