Thee Commons Brought Psychedelic Cumbia Punk Desmadre to The Wayfarer

Christmas came early for Costa Mesans as Thee Commons stopped by on Christmas Eve Eve (December 23rd) to rock the fuck out of The Wayfarer on the last stop of their Navidad Tribal Tour.

Those motivated enough to leave their cozy houses to weather a windy rainstorm on Friday night were rewarded with plenty of alcohol and a burning fireplace inside the giant hole in the wall that is The Wayfarer. And all the dancing and moshing soon to break out during The Commons' set of inventive psychedelic cumbia punk added some much needed Christmas warmth to a cold and stormy night in Orange County too.

While many folks huddled inside by the fireplace, Scissorbills, a solo acoustic act, spontaneously busted out his wooden fiddle, nestled himself against a column by the bar and began playing half-assed folks songs in the middle of a chatty and frankly uninterested crowd. Even though most folks wouldn't break their conversations to pay Scissorbills some attention those few who did enjoyed his self-described “bad folk for bad folks.” As Scissorbills' set continued he starting to feel like the Lil B of folk music; his obvious trolling went over most people's heads yet those who “got it” found him very amusing and admirable.

Next up, Costa Mesa natives Coral Fangs warmed up the crowd by taking the stage with an in-your-face thrashing punk attitude reminiscent of the '80s American hardcore scene. Not to mention their lead singer Johnny McCray is a bit of a doppelganger for Henry Rollins with his gray hair, stocky build and intense vocals. With only a year into the band's existence and this having been the group's second gig ever, Coral Fangs impressively rocked the Wayfarer crowd like seasoned punk rock veterans. Ladies and gents gathered around the stage in curiosity to head bang, foot tap and fight off the tempting urge to break out in a full-fledged mosh pit.

Thee Commons took the stage next and wasted no time in inciting a puro pinche party among a crowd of mostly Chipsters (Chicano hipsters.) Hermanos Dave y René Pacheco lead the quartet of East L.A romp n' rollers with José Rojas on bass and saxophonist, Jesús Salas (who awesomely ended up crowd-surfing his way throughout the audience while still playing his sax later in the night.)

Nearly everyone in the house swayed their heads in a musical trance to Thee Common's psychedelic riffs. While ladies sensually shook their hips to the band's infectious cumbia chicha rhythms. Fellas thirstily gazed at the dancing beauties and started mini mosh pits in the crowd as the band fueled the rowdiness with ferocious growls. While the rain continued to pour outside of The Wayfarer, folks inside were dancing up a storm of their own transforming the venue into an eclectic combination of a sweaty dance hall and a raging backyard mosh pit. The cherry on top to this perfectly chaotic show was a Selena cover done Thee Commons style with gritty vocals by David Pacheco. The only thing missing from a perfect night of wild Chicano rock was a few post show street tacos. Hey taqueros, make your way to The Wayfarer parking lot soon or at the very least the next time Thee Commons visit Costa Mexico.