Audio By Carbonatix
The Adolescents, Lower Class Brats and The Scandals
The Loft
December 29, 2010
Better than: Staying home and watching Sid and Nancy.
A surprisingly large collection of Dallas’ unwashed and unwanted gathered together at The Loft last night to witness a fine triple-bill of old-school punk rock.
Headlining was The Adolescents, a semi-legendary hardcore outfit from Los Angeles. Formed in the early ’80s, the music of The Adolescents was always fairly standard issue punk rock — three chords and a lot of shouted choruses. What set the band apart was an energetic, teenage snottiness that resonated with a lot of disaffected youth.
Amazingly, there seems to be just as many of these wayward souls these days as there were in the ’80s.
By the time The Adolescents hit the stage at around 9 p.m., a sweaty and
bedraggled throng that numbered close to 300 were slamming and moshing
into each other with unrepentant glee.
But, first, there were a couple of opening bands to deal with.
Hailing from Garland (of all places) was The Scandals, a motley quartet
fronted by one Jose Scandal. With his multi-colored, spiked hairdo, Jose
led the band through a spirited 30-minute set that featured such
sing-along favorites as “40 Oz. Friday” and “I Hate Society.” Although The Scandals’ style is pretty much generic thrash, the band has
energy and attitude to spare. At times, they seemed like a
Minor Threat tribute band.
Back in the day, bands like this were railing
against Reagan. Now, it’s mostly clichés about urban blight. But The Scandals did throw in enough tasty metal riffs (care of
a guitarist called Dirty Harry) to distinguish itself enough to warrant a second
viewing.
Next up was Austin’s Lower Class Brats, a foursome of talented and
tattooed anglophiles whose music recalled such legendary British Oi
bands as The Exploited and GBH. The band’s Clockwork Orange chic is
pretty dated, but that didn’t stop them from plowing through hardcore
nuggets like “Go Insane” and “Who Do They Save?,” the latter being a
spot-on critique of religious proselytizing.
More impressive was the fact that so many in the crowd knew the words to almost every song performed by Lower
Class Brats. Punks both young and old rushed the stage for their chance
to yell out choruses and injure anyone who got in their way. Singer
Bones DeLarge (ha!) spurred on the crowd as the entire scene came to
resemble something out of The Sex Pistols film The Great Rock and Roll
Swindle.
Then, when it was time for The Adolescents to come on, the crowd gathered
tightly around the stage. When singer Tony Cadena (aka Tony Montana)
sang the first few words of “No Way,” the mosh pit ignited with a fury
that was almost frightening.
Indeed, Cadena had to chastise the audience a couple of times about
taking it easy on the females in attendance. With one such quivering
lass on stage, Montana implored the larger fellows in the pit to take
pity on the smaller folk. But when the band launched into “Self Destruct,”
the young lady promptly dove off the stage, happy to be back in the
fray.
Songs such as “Serf City,” “OC Confidential” and “Amoeba” got the best
response as The Adolescents stuck with material from its earliest
releases.
For guys who are all around 50 years old, all of The Adolescents
acquitted themselves quite well.
Special kudos to bassist Steve Soto,
who especially shined on “Wrecking Crew” and “Kids of the Black Hole.”
All in all, it was an invigorating night of loud and ugly music — or exactly
the kind of thing you come to expect from punk when it is played with
spirit and resolute defiance.
Critic’s Notebook
Personal Bias: Although I’ve always been more partial to other
California punk acts such as Black Flag, Fear and the Dead Kennedys, The
Adolescents’ performance made me reevaluate its entire catalog. Needless to say,
I’ve been listening to the band’s 1981 self-titled debut ever since I
got home.
Random Note: I saw at least three guys wearing the exact same Black Flag
t-shirt. I wanted to ask them if they called each other before the show
to coordinate outfits.
By The Way: Punk’s not dead.
