Category: Music

So, Crossfire headed over the sea a few days back to catch the Vans Warped Tour 15 year anniversary spectacular in Pomona, California.

Whilst we were there we caught a few bonus tidbits too and these kicked off almost as soon as we landed from London when we were reliably informed of a pre-party going on somewhere in downtown L.A. Dragging our tired arses out of the hotel, we managed to get to this gem of a warehouse party which included a characteristically brilliant set from one of our favourites – P.O.S. plus a DJ set from the one and only innerpartysystem, with whom we consumed far too much free alcohol. Add to that a pop-in from fellow UK-ians Gallows and we were having a ball! A great way to start the trip.

And so to the sunny plains of Pomona the following day where countless bands were acclimatising to the first heat of the mammoth tour which goes on all summer long. We’re a bit bummed to see that The Blackout and The Ataris have already played (the schedule rotates day-by-day) but console ourselves with what is yet in store. First off – Aiden who whip the kids into a frenzy with walls of death and their punky, gothed-up rock. P.O.S. for the second time in two days does not disappoint and the rapper has scores of audience members chanting along with their hands in the air. He’s a breath of fresh air amongst a line-up of punk-rock classics and newbies.

A Day To Remember are the band who pull the biggest crowd of all the acts we catch today. Their take on aggression versus pure melody is received with eagerness by a devoted group of followers gathered to see a band who’re set to become one of the most popular on this tour. Actually, they’re clearly already one of the most popular. As the day wears on, there’s time to catch a little Alexisonfire before heading to innerpartysystem’s set and Dallas Green’s voice demonstrates its velveteen magic as ever. Vocalist George is his energetic self and proves that he is more than able to handle the slightly new style that characterises latest album Old Crows / Young Cardinals. The band’s three-pronged vocal attack has been honed to near-perfection.

The second disappointment of the day comes when we roll up to innerpartysystem’s allotted stage only to find that they went on super early and are about to finish up. Bummer. Still, their unparalleled enthusiasm and sampling of Outkast impress the significant crowd amassed. It’s clear that this band will be building a serious fanbase in the U.S. over the course of this tour. Heading over to the main stage as NOFX are ending their set, the rumour we’d heard about earlier in the day rears its head as Alien Ant Farm take to the stage. We wanted to hear ‘Movies’; we got ‘Smooth Criminal’. Of course. Not exactly a fitting tribute to the life of Michael Jackson but a last minute effort that took people by surprised and wasn’t really appreciated by the majority.

The real surprise performance of the day for us comes from the Pomona Glasshouse stage which is the smallest of the event and which we hadn’t really taken a note of but in between bands on the Hurley stage, the strains of something familiar reach our ears and I’m thinking ‘I know that song’. Turns out A Cursive Memory are playing their poptastic offering ‘Everything’ and so we head over to check them out. Apart from that one brilliant song, it has to be said that they’re a bit twee with strings and acoustic guitar being hauled in for this event. However, a nice surprise nonetheless!

We round it all off with a blast from home as Gallows take to the bizarrely-positioned Hurley stage. True to form, frontman Frank Carter totally obliterates the barrier between band and audience, throwing himself into the crowd from the outset and orchestrating circle pit upon circle pit as the eager crowd join in and excitedly document the event with their cameras. Gallows are feeding off that same feeling of a small group of ‘the people in the know’ hanging on their every move that occurred in the U.K. a good couple of years ago now before their popularity soared over here. Now the U.S. is catching on and it’s every bit as exciting. For the band as well as everyone present to witness them. New material is received every bit as well as the classics and the band preach their punk pedigree with well-founded assuredness proving themselves as Warped 2009’s stroke-of-genius wildcard.

A few days later in Vegas, we find ourselves at what is apparently called a ‘Warped Tour pit-stop’ although we weren’t aware of this. Braving the oppressive heat, innerpartysystem rip it up to a crowd of attentive, sweating kids. Their set is pretty much all we can handle on this day, pasty English folks that we are and so we head off into the night to experience the Vegas oldtown and the Strip. We did Warped Tour once already after all…

Words by Sarah Maynard
Photos by Mike Hemsley

Engine Room, Brighton
08/07/2009

Man, it’s been years since I last saw Riverside, California’s Bellrays debut on these shores with a ballistic set at The Garage in London.

At the time, the Poptones label were trying to push them as ‘the next big thing’, in a similar fashion they had with The Hives. It didn’t happen, but thankfully band founders and mainstays (vocalist) Lisa Kekaula and guitarist Bob Vennum are in this for the long term, and have refused to lie down… continuing to record and tour the globe.

There’s a receptive enough crowd gathered in this dingy subterranean venue by the time the quartet take to the small stage, and slowly but surely turn up the heat… starting out with a mid-pace soul groove, before breaking out salvos of righteously charged rocking fury. Lisa K dominates the stage, banging on her tambourine, and bellowing into her microphone… testifying to the powers of rockNroll. In the wings, the band locks in and maintains the solid momentum of a well greased machine. I’m not sure how long this current line-up has been together, but the chemistry suggested they’ve racked up a few miles together. They sound hot, move about a lot, good points in my book. Nothing bugs me more than an overly static live band.

The band trawls thru their back catalogue, with much enthusiastic audience feedback to material that made it on to the “Meet The Bellrays” compilation, notably “Fire on The Moon”, “Hole in the World“, “Zero P.M” and the belting set shutdown “Blues for Godzilla“, but there’s less initial hoopla to newer songs (from the “Red White and Black”, “Have a Little Faith” and “Hard Sweet and Sticky” LP’s) which is a shame, cuz the likes of “One Big Party“, “Voodoo Train“, “Psychotic Hate Man” and “Detroit Breakdown” are stellar numbers. And I wonder what some of the audience are here to hear? Just the ‘old stuff’? I don’t get that mindset. I still go and see bands for what they are doing now, not to just wallow in past glories, and dusted off blasts from a time gone by. If I wanted that, I’d just stay home and play the records.

By set close they have the crowd eating out of their hands and return for a curfew busting two song encore. I noted a decent walk up to The Bellrays merch stall afterwards, so I’d like to think more people were tuning in to the band’s latter releases. It’s important, keeps a band like this movin’. This ain’t no staid retrospective.

So yeah, I really enjoyed this shot of The Bellrays, they easily rocked out with the best of ’em. Get aboard brothers and sisters…

Pete Craven

Shepherd’s Bush Empire
9th July 2009

It’s standard practice at gigs for bands to end their set with their best songs. That’s what stops people from going home early. How many times have you sat through an entire set, bored, but wanting to hear that one song that you really like which is, of course, played right at the end of the set – or worse still, as an encore.

This is not a problem that raises its head tonight. For a start, Social Distortion’s back catalogue is pretty consistent throughout their long history so there’s not too much danger of the set sagging and secondly you know you are at cool show when UK Subs legend Charlie Harper is in the front row! However, it’s doubtful anyone in this packed out hot and sweaty venue expected the band to hit the stage running and slam into a three song barrage of their early eighties punk rock classics ‘The Creeps’, ‘Another State Of Mind‘ and ‘Mummy’s Little Monster‘. It’s a start that instantly gets the whole venue moving and an explosive beginning to the set.

Thankfully, frontman Mike Ness and the band manage to successfully keep the pace and energy levels up for the whole duration of the gig. Not bad at all for a band in their advanced years. But these guys have lived the hard life and have a story to tell and this harsh fact bleeds out of every road worn track played tonight – from ‘Prison Bound‘ to ‘Ball N Chain‘, Social Distortion prove their worth as one of the original and legendary American rock n’roll bands who still have the passion and adrenalin in droves.

A new album is due later this year. By tonight’s standards it’s going to be a belter. Watch this space.

James Sherry
Photo by Jerome Loughran