I have been seriously lagging on this show review, but it was a great time and well-worth revisiting. It was a memorable night that spotlighted one of the great bands that was on the Toxic Shock label, and the man himself, Mr. Toxic Shock, Bill Sassenberger was there too! Characters has been the go-to place for local Punk Rock for many years, and since The Showcase Theatre shut down in 2008, Characters has pretty much become the CBGB’S of the Inland Empire. Toxic Shock Bill was manning his personal merchandise table with his soon to be fiancé’ Sara. I had not seen him since I got fired from Toxic Shock Records for being “lackadaisical,” sometime in the late 1980s. I went up to him and jokingly said I was looking for a job. We both laughed a bit and I commented that it was cool for him to put together this show. He said that despite the show flyer saying “Toxic Shock Presents” he had nothing to do with it. Whoever organized the show put that there as an act of homage.

First up was a truly great band called Bugout. This is exactly what I want in a punk rock band. No pretense, powerful delivery, crunchy-distorted guitar, punchy bass lines, and heavy and solid drums. Bugout is the kind of band you would see at a local party and wonder why it is not better known, or maybe opening for Social Distortion somewhere. Lead vocalist Kenny has a great Punk Rock voice and his leads remind me a lot of Henry Knowles (RIP) of Aggression. My notes read: “Best guitar tone ever.” I don’t remember exactly what that meant, so I need to go see Bugout again, and a lot more after that. Nobody was slamming yet because the night was still young, and not enough people were feeling the alcohol yet (I guess). Despite the lack of ritualistic circular roughhousing, the band was well-received with enthusiastic shouts and applause. The band does not yet have anything recorded for you to buy, but once they get back from their current tour of Europe, Bugout will begin recording the debut record. Lookout for that. 

We were treated to some commendable thrashcore next in the form of a band called War Fever. I really enjoyed the tight and aggressive onslaught from the musicians, but I am not a fan of yelling vocalists. I don’t mind the occasional shout or punctuating scream, but if a vocalist is mostly just yelling…. it’s just not my thing. The tunes were great, but the vocals were grating, so I decided to treat myself to a few of the $2 tacos being sold at the rear of the patio/stage area. They were great! So great that War Fever’s lead guitarist kept mentioning; “Two-dollar tacos Right over there!” throughout the set. The band’s cover of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” was excellent and spot-on. 

I was eager to finally hear Justice League live, as it was very in vogue with a lot of the locals at The Upland Pipeline Skatepark in the 1980s. I remember a guy named Jon Roa from The Pipeline was the singer for a while, but the band has had many singers if I remember correctly. The vocalist this evening was Trevor Raham, and he seemed to know everyone present but me. The set was short….way too short….but it was explosive and well-received. The first song, “Use Your Own Head” brought back a flood of skateboard park and skatepunk memories, but while I was enjoying the avalanche of buzzing guitars and pounding drums, I got clobbered real hard by an extremely excited and drunk slamdancing fan. The slamming was intense. The place went nuts. It was too rough for me and Cathy so we retreated from the front for a while. Justice League was ruling, but there were too many fat drunk guys blindly swinging fists for me. The set was only about five songs or so, but the audience wanted more, so we were rewarded with a wonderful rendition of Minor Threat’s “Haven’t We Met Before?” Why was the set so short? I guess they only had time to rehearse those songs after being apart for so many years.

Then it was time for Decry who have been one of my favorites since the early 1980s. I was at the show at The Olympic Auditorium in 1983 (opening for Discharge) where the photo of Farrell was taken of him launching into the crowd while singing. Just look at that great show flyer! Toxic Shock Records put out Decry’s debut album “Falling” in 1984. My notes are a fucked-up mess, but I see the band played a rousing rendition of The Damned’s “Neat Neat Neat.” The fat drunk guys took over once again, but Cathy and I stood our ground, and paid the price from time to time…but it was worth it. Being up front for Decry made me feel like a teenager again. Especially when the band played its best-known song “Falling.” Of course, the place went ape wild again and I got punched in the stomach. I found a semi-safe spot by sitting on the stage right in front of guitarist Sean Romin. The guy simply shreds! He also plays for Schleprock and is ex-The Generators too. With Yapple on bass and Aaron on Drums, Farrell Holts still leads one of the best and truly underrated bands in the punk rock realm. Farrell sounds as good as he ever did and he still puts on an energetic and enjoyable performance. 

Be sure to check out Decry if you ever get the chance, grab that new stuff from Bugout when it comes out, and visit Mr. Toxic Shock, Bill Sassenberger, on the social media thing. Also be sure to get his revised, full-color, larger format, book: Toxic Shock Records: Assassin of Mediocracy; A Story of Love, Loss, and Loud Music. Bill gave me the epilogue to it: “Room For Rent,” so look for that on The Punk Site very soon. 

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