The Dirty Babies / The Loud Pipes / Damnation / Bloodjunkies / The Arcade Heroes / The Vague @ The Huntridge Theater

by GE 138

Yup! Another beautiful lobby show, brought to you by Tim and Tom and Kim and the rest of the good people at the Huntridge Theater. Waaaaaay too early of a time for this gig to start, but at least they had the air conditioner flowing on the inside, and it didn’t smell like ass in there. Sort of. I got there early and hung out with Damnation... went shopping at Savers... you know, the usual pre-gig stuff. Watched as Bryan used the Huntridge as his own personal skating spot, and as Jesse threw things at him... nice.

The Vague started the day off with a set of songs that sounded just like The Used, but with a good drummer, but still crappy like the Used. Oh well.

The Arcade Heroes were up next and played a good set of poppy Punk tunes which sounded just like Scared Of Chaka -  it was great!!  They were really cool kids and so young that I couldn’t help but like them. Great stuff from the Arcade Heroes. Excellent.

Bloodjunkies were up next, and this was advertised as their CD Release show, but they didn't seem to have anyone in attendance into their spooky countrified mood music. Basically, Bloodjunkies are Damnation playing with two crazy Mexican brothers, one looking like Axl Rose and admitting to me and Pitt that he LOVED the new Metallica CD (WTF??) on keyboards and the other one banging away on some congas, plus a Rockabilly kid playing a hollow body guitar with lots of tremolo on it! The sound of complete silence after they finished their first song was awkward and embarrassing. I left... wasn't my cup of tea.

Damnation was up next and ripped through a set of Punk Rock and Roll that had a few people moving and shaking, but not many. Poizen Ivy from Sin City Sounds really dug them though. I saw her taking pictures of Shawn... go figure. Shawn has always been a great front man, but I don’t think today was Damnation's day. 2 sets one right after the other is never a good thing. Better luck next time guys.

The Loud Pipes were up next and we tried to destroy everyone in the place with a fast and furious set, and I think we succeeded!  Kids were singing along... slamming along... and having fun!! It was a blast!! During the beginning of Rock And Roll Nitemare Pitt held up the latest issue of the City Life featuring Roxie on the cover, but I don't think anyone noticed or cared. Whatever. We blew the roof off the joint. Damnation saw the crowd going nuts for us and they packed up and left quickly after their set... booooooo! Guess they were in a rush to get to the Double Down! God knows why though...

The Dirty Babies followed us with a great set of fucking pure Punk Rock songs that started off with them playing Up All Night 7 times in a row! Me and Pitt and Jesse were just laughing our asses off, as Jaime would call out a song title, like Bitch Reaction, or County Jail, and no matter what it was, they would play Up All Night... lol. The song was stuck in my head for hours afterwards, dammit! I was laughing so much that I had to leave and head outside to the merch table, where Roxie was holding court with a bunch of Punk Rock kids. The coolest one was like 10 years old and wearing a red Clash t shirt. I finally caught my breath and I walked back inside to watch The Dirty Babies finish their set to a half empty room of Punk kids going crazy while the band played. The crowd of kids really dug the Dirty Babies, and they even played a Pagans cover to end things. How sick is that? Great show!