The Vandals
September 10, 2010
Glass House
Only a band like the Vandals would warn the crowd that they hadn't even rehearsed before playing a single note. Touted as a benefit to help fight their legal battle against the Daily Variety, the Vandals brought their fun loving punk tunes to the Glass House. It didn't take long for everyone to have a blast as The Vandals ripped through their Grease parody of “Summer Lovin.'”
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Dave Quackenbush may have missed his calling as a game show host but retains the distinction of being one of the funniest frontmen in the punk rock with his off color comments and in between song banter. After storming through “Take It Back,” Quackenbush quipped “Damn that was fast–or maybe I'm just old,” garnering some snickers from the crowd. Warren Fitzgerald admitted he ripped off some song before strumming his bright orange Fender Mustang for “4,3,2,1,0,-1.”
Josh Freese started the frantic drum beat for “It's a Fact,” which soon led to a break in the song for Fitzgerald to “rip” a guitar solo (although he was constantly interrupted by Quackenbush and bassist Joe Escalante). Thanking nearly every city in the Inland Empire, Quackenbush bolted into “I've Got An Ape Drape” which had him name checking Riverside.
Freese would later prove he was super-human by performing an insane drum solo during “Pizza Tran.” The crowd threw their fists in the air for the Christmas-tinged “Oi To The World”. The Vandals jokingly teased a few bars of Tone Loc's “Wild Thing” before sliding into “People That Are Going To Hell.” Hitting their stride and being sufficiently warmed up, “The Legend of Pat Brown” was so tight that even Fitzgerald exclaimed, “That was in the pocket!” much to the chagrin of his bandmates.
Asking the audience for requests, someone from the audience shouted “Hey Holmes!” Quackenbush explained that song was about Suicidal Tendencies as the Vandals started to play a few bars of “Institutionalized.” Demolishing the classic “Anarchy Burger” and a blistering “My Girlfriend's Dead,” Fitzgerald took a turn on lead vocals to close out the evening festivities with a hilarious “I Have A Date.”
In case you missed them, you only have to wait a few months till the Vandals hold their annual Christmas show.
Assorted Jelly Beans opened the show with their three-piece, Red Bull-fueled punk. Having recently reunited after a prolonged hiatus, they said they needed to take drinks in between songs because they were old. Assorted Jelly Beans also score points for hijacking the Vandals logo and inverting the “V” to look like an “A” for their own t-shirt.
Personal Bias: Josh Freese is my hero. He should be your hero too.
Crowd: Not as many liberty spikes as I would have hoped, but a crowd full of punks for sure.
Overheard in the Crowd: The crowd was shouting for every single song in their catalog when prompted by the band.
Random Notebook Dump: Josh Freese apparently did fly back from the Weezer tour just for this show.
