Harley!

Got to meet living legend Harley Flanagan from the Cro Mags. What an honor! He seemed really surprised when I told him I bought his biography, Hard Core for the Laguna Beach library.

Bikini Kill

Motorhead

Motorhead show, in Lemmy's last year of life. Great show.

 

Fucked Up

Photo with Damian from Fucked Up, right after their show. 

 August 22, 2014; The Glass House, Pomona, California.

The Hives Forever Forever The Hives

The Hives @ the Observatory, Santa Ana, CA; Sep., 2012.

I patted lead singer, Pelle Almqvist, on the back when he walked out through the crowd.

Black Flag, ft. Ron Reyes

Ron Reyes fronting Black Flag, Santa Ana Observatory; July, 2013.

Ron Reyes w/ Black Flag.

Blood Shot Bill

Blood Shot Bill, the one-man rockabilly band, July, 2013.

Blood Shot Bill.

Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas

In the photo booth at Alex's Bar, Long Beach, CA; Sep., 2012.

Jessica Hernandez.

Sunday Afternoon

You'll never hear me complain about free entertainment.

The Muffs

The Muffs at Alex's Bar, Long Beach, CA; June, 2013.

I got to meet Kim Shattuck! I got to meet Kim Shattuck! I told her I used to play Blonder and Blonder all the time in the Alaskan Bush.

The Muffs.

Ink N Iron, 2013

My first Ink N Iron festival in Long Beach, ft. Iggy & the Stooges. I loved seeing the Fleshtones as well.

Ink N Iron, 2013.

Cockney Rejects

Feb. 2013, Santa Ana, CA.
(w/ Youth Brigade)

The Cockney Rejects show.

Notes RE: Cro-Mags Show

I got off work early at 3:00 then shot straight out to L.A., avoiding the Friday rush hour traffic. This is where my lucky streak started. Next, I found a parking spot near Meltdown Comics that still had 2 hours credit in it plus my comics were half price! I was seeking out old underground comics in Meltdown, which they didn't have; but I found an awesome collection of Spain Rodriguez autobiographical stories about being a juvenile delinquent in the 1950s. Also grabbed a Hate anthology so I can see what that series is all about.  Both of these were half off!  Last day of the sale. Grabbed an old copy of SIN comics as well. Which appeared on somebody's list of favorite underground comics on the Internet. It was so-so.  The Spain book was awesome. Haven't read Hate yet.

Next, I drove to the show venue, parked across the street then walked over to a coney dog place where I figured I could kill an hour until the doors opened.  I ordered a coney and a "detroit style" hamburger (grilled onions and cold pickles - pretty tasty) and a beer. Needing to kill more time, I ordered another beer, then walked back to the venue where I learned they mis-announced the door time, so everybody had to stand around for another hour.  It was an all ages show and I love seeing the young kids dressed in hardcore gear. One girl had a badass jean jacket with a Black Flag "Everything Went Black" shrubbery shears panel on the back and a DK patch in front, split in half to accommodate the zipper. There were also a lot of older skinheads there plus the general population of hipsters and whatever.  I should practice small talking at times like this instead of just standing around.

Recollections:

Girl behind me talking to her friend was in the same situation I was:  From Orange County, bought the LA Cro-Mags tickets out of excitement, then a week or so later they announced a Santa Ana show which would have been much closer to home.

Little kid hanging out with the older skin heads. The skinheads all got way drunk later, when they asked what he was drinking, he would cross his arms like an X  to signify he was straight edge. He was probably 13 or 14 years old.

Guys in front of me talking shit.

The opening bands were ok.  The guy in one of the bands was good naturedly mocking the other bands:

"This next song is called Meth Mule."

"Def Leppard!!!????"

"Meth Mule!"

"I LOVE Def Leppard!!"

Strife was awesome, I got so excited I pushed over one of those speaker monitor things in front of the stage and was pulled out by security, but of course I returned through the front entrance. He noticed me in the crowd later and glared at me.

Cro-Mags were great!!!  It was actually just John Joseph, but if a true reunion is impossible, this is the iteration I would most like to see. He was awesome and intense.  I loved the show, though lost my cell phone trying to take a picture of him when the crowd surged. One highlight: Toward the end when people were climbing up on stage and diving off, a security guard was on each end of the stage trying to prevent people from climbing up. Somebody got up on one side of the stage, barreled across to the other side, and slammed into the security guard (the same one who threw me out earlier), knocking him off the stage and into the crowd.  Pretty awesome, even John Joseph cracked a smile.  Great show.

I had to work the next day, and about halfway through my shift, I could tell a bad cold was kicking in. I felt pretty lousy by the time I got home and was sick well into the next week, so I did not check out the Santa Ana show on Sunday.

Wanda Jackson

Wanda Jackson @ The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA; Dec., 2012.

Wanda Jackson.

Adolescents/T.S.O.L.

Crowd at the Adolescents/T.S.O.L. show; Santa Ana Observatory, Dec. 8, 2012.

T.S.O.L.

T.S.O.L. w/ the Adolescents @ The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA; Dec. 8, 2012.

Girl stage diving during T.S.O.L.

Bad Brains

H.R. from Bad Brains, Santa Ana Observatory; Nov., 2012.

Bad Brains.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Los Angeles, CA; Nov. 9, 2012.

Jon Spencer.

Electric Eel Shock

Opening for Peelander Z; Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, CA.

Fishbone

Dr. Mad Vibe @ the Fishbone show, Santa Ana, CA; Sep., 2012.

Fishbone.