Pennywise rocked the Key Club on April 18
to promote the new label Vans Records, an indie
label partnership from Pennywise front man Jim Lindberg
and the Vans shoe company.
Although the crowd was there to see Pennywise,
the reason for the show was to showcase the new bands
on the Vans label Western Waste, Too Rude, and Ignite.
Western Waste reminds me of the great skate rock bands
of the past. Too Rude, with front man Roby Rogers from
the punk band "War Called Peace," brings back that reggae
punk sound of Sublime with a twist of ska /punk. Both
bands got a great response from the crowd. The reggae
beats from Too Rude even prompted kids to stop the mosh
pit and start a groove pit.
The hardcore band Ignite from Orange County
opened up for Pennywise. If you're not familiar with Ignite,
I must say front man Zoli has one of the most powerful
voices in hardcore music. The band did a great set opening
up with the song 'Veteran'. Before the song 'Who Sold
Out Now?' Zoli made a comment to the crowd at the sold
out Key Club, "This is for the kids listening outside
the door." Ignite deliver both music that is fun and political
at the same time, closing their set with a punk rock rendition
of U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday.'
The band of the night was of course Pennywise.
As always, the crazed fans on the floor entertained the
audience looking down from the balcony by jumping up on
stage and diving head first into the audience. At one
point the pit opened up and a guy in a wheelchair got
in the pit and slammed around with all the pit kids. Pennywise
didn't seem to take the show too seriously, seeming to
just wanted to have fun. (Gee, punks who just want to
have fun - imagine that.) Pennywise opened up with 'Fight
To Die'. Jim asked the audience what they wanted to hear,
and the crowd wanted to hear some old punk tunes. So they
did a cover of the Black Flag's 'Nervous Breakdown', and
also a Minor Threat song. Jim decided to make a punk rock
dream come true for a certain young member of the audience
by letting him get on stage and sing a rendition of The
Ramones' 'Blitzberg Bop". Yes, not only MTV and pornography
can fulfill a young mans fantasy, now Pennywise has started
the new wave in making dreams come true. The skinny white
kid dressed in a Pennywise shirt and glasses looked like
the typical kid who considers punk rock the only escape
from daily torment. Trust me it is. The kid must have
thought being a punk rock star means you must frantically
jump around scream at the top of your lungs and completely
rip the song apart. It was like watching someone scream
in the mike trying frantically to read the lyrics fast
enough at the karaoke bar while it flashes on screen and
not getting any of lyrics in the song right. So they stopped
him and let him try again, this time he actually got it
right.
Pennywise closed with 'Brohym', and as always
opened the stage to the kids so they could feel like they
were part of the show. All I can say is be sure to see
Pennywise on May 17 at the Long Beach Arena. Watch for
the next Ignite show near you. Too Rude and Western Waste
will both be releasing an album and touring this summer
on certain dates on the Warped Tour. Remember to support
your local punk rocker, and do not sell
out to the man.
For more information on The Warped Tour
go to www.warpedtour.com
For more information on Vans go to www.vans.com
WANT TO CONTACT JOSH ABOUT YOUR BAND? EMAIL
HIM!!! josh@publicitywhore.com
