Saturday, November 12, 2011

Dead Kennedys: Nostalgia Concert Review

Band: Dead Kennedys Opener: Ol' Dirty Bastards
Date: February 5, 2011
Location: The Catalyst






Preconcieved Thoughts of the Band: These are the original hardcore/punk band of the 80s. They are LEGENDARY! They influence other punk rock bands well into the 90s. I did some research on them in one my classes. They are known for their political lyrics and fast driven songs. Now I wanted to see them in action. The only down side was the new singer. Jello left the band, and was replaced by "Skip". People actually turned down this concert because of the singer, and I completely understand, but I just couldn't help it. I wanted to see them no matter what.





What Actually Happened (BITCH SPOILER ALERT!!!) - I spent most of my day in Santa Cruz catching up with an old friend of mine. I love going to Santa Cruz. 


This concert would be the third time that I would go back to The Catalyst (the first two are Band of Horses and Vampire Weekend). I get there, and I see all these kids my age! Unbelievable!! I saw a couple of older guys in the crowd as well. It was easy to get the front of the stage. I met a blink fan in there! 






Ol' Dirty Bastards shows up on stage. It was a trio playing some acoustic set. Their sound has a very Celtic Rock feel to it. Sort of like Flogging Molly or The Pogues. For a 3 piece rock band, they sounded pretty loud! The backup singer of the group was amazing. He showed his Scottish pride by weating their clothes and rocking out with his kilt. The audience wasn't having it though. It wasn't "hardcore" at all. But they were great!!



The Dead Kennedys soon came right after and just started off strong. It was too exciting, I couldn't contain myself! As soon as they start playing, everyone just started pushing each other. Little did I know, my friend and I were the only girls in front of the stage. It's just one song after another! All their songs are about 2-3 minutes long. The energy was all testosterone! My friend couldn't handle it and decided to go to the mosh pit. I was extremely scared. There were big, drunk guys, venting, hardcore dancing. It was too much for me. So I just pay attention to the stage. Seconds later my friend comes next to me, covering her left eye. I asked her what happened, and she takes her hand off her face. She got punched in the face!!! She was too delirious to talk to me. 

That concert made me fear for my life!! I was pushed around like a ragged doll. Luckily the blink guy was helping me clear out some of the moshers. Just when I thought things were about to settle down, Skip starts coming to the audience and starts to crowd surf! It was crazy!!

After that life-threatening concert, all the members of Dead Kennedys were by merch taking pictures and signing autographs! it was great! I took a picture with Fluoride and East Bay!

Verdict - It was great! They may be a little bit tamer than in the 80s, but man I saw legends that night! It's well worth the brag. I'm still scared about moshers though.

Setlist -
Forward To Death
Winnebago Winner
Police Truck
Buzzbomb
Let's Lynch The Landlord
Jock-O-Rama
Kill The Poor
MTV Get Off The Air
Area 51
Too Drunk To Fuck
Moon Over Marin
Nazi Punks Fuck Off
California Uber Alles
Encore 
Bleed For Me
Viva Las Vegas
Holiday For Cambodia
Encore 2 
Chemical Warfare

Bitch Rate 1/5

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