After spending the fifth and sixth of August watching the Blue Angels fly, I ended the weekend with yet another trip to El Corazon. This time it was to see a group called the Bombpops. This quartet from Ocean City, CA, has two very charming young women fronting the band. They shared lead vocals and both played guitar, churning out explosive power chords. Poli Van Dam, with her striking platinum hair, not only shredded chords, she belted out vocals with charm and a touch of cynicism. Her counter-part Jen Razavi had straight dark hair and performed such stage antics as leaps, kicks and even doing the splits. They both threw out so much charm I left feeling like I needed an insulin shot. The other two members were no slouches in setting that stage on fire. Bass player Neil Wayne was often seen running back and forth across the stage, leaning into the audience, or just leaning back as far as he could while never missing a lick. Drummer Josh Lewis was almost demonic in the way he slammed his skins at 100 miles per hour, but also a bit of a cut up as he stood up behind his kit and raised his shirt to (as he explained) show off his nipples.
At one point two dudes dressed as beer bottles came out and danced and bounced about the stage before making a quick exit.
This was a totally wild and fun show and I will definitely see the Bombpops again.
Preceding the Bombpops was a power trio from St. Louis called The Fuck Off and Dies. These guys were a blast. They combined poppish punk with a steady dose of humor (Think Blink 182 but with a harder edge and humor that’s less sophomoric). Their bass player, calling himself Mark Attack, barely stayed in one place. He kicked up his heels, ran in place, darted back and forth across the stage, and often stood on a monitor to goad the audience. Dan T. Christ, vocals and guitar, had someone take over for him so he could grab the mic and mingle with the crowd. There he grabbed people for a quick dance or serenaded them or handed out high fives. He often picked on an audience member to joke around with. Black Out Down slammed away on drums save for the time he let drummer Josh from Bombpops fill in. Definitely the highlight for me was their very worthy cover of the Bouncing Soul’s Hopeless Romantic. These guys were non-stop fun.
Before the Fuck Off and Dies was another power trio calling themselves Neutral Boy. These guys played loud and they played fast. They created so much onstage energy it’s quite possible they created enough to power the rest of the night. Neutral Boy is from Bremerton, WA and this is their lineup. Ray-Drums, Tully-Bass, Mike-Guitar.
Heck Yes played prior to Neutral Boy. This was yet another punk power trio that played loud, though there were a few more pop elements mixed in as well. Their FB page lists their members as follows: Shane “The Loss” Hassman, Skyler “Cinco Gringos” Jackson, Ollie “Diet Riot” Dawes.
Opening the night was Three Fingers from Seattle. This punk band hails from Seattle and is fronted by Erin whose vocals came through strong and clear. In other words, she’s got pipes! I arrived late and only caught the last two songs of their set, but what I saw I was very impressed with. They were a tight unit.
After that fun filled night there was nothing left to do but venture out on that hot smoke-filled night (lots of fires to the north in B.C. are smoking up our state). I’ll be on a high from this show for a long time.
– Photos property of Holly Homan all rights reserved.
