Dead Kennedys are a band that took punk to new levels back in the 80’s with their witty lyrics and political actions. Opening the eyes to all that witnessed them, they helped people understand that sometimes life isn’t what they tell you it is and it’s up to you to take things in prospective and to think for yourself. Now, unfortunately all good things must come to and end and this rule applied to DK as they broke up around 1987 for reasons of different interests in the members at the time. But now in 2001 most of the members decided to get it back going and give the people what they wanted, a DK reunion. But as you all know front man Jello would not be part of this reunion for obvious reasons and they would have to find a new front man thus making their comeback a huge controversy amongst all their fans.

          When I first heard about this reunion I was extremely excited because I have been a fan of theirs since I can remember listening music. Sure it might not be the same without Jello but the way I looked at it was bands have switched members in the past and were still very successful. And it gave people like me, who were too young to see them live the first time around, the opportunity to see them live in the flesh. I was really stoked to find out that they were playing at The Galaxy right down the street from my house. This gave me an opportunity not only to see them but to also have a contest in my zine to give others a chance to see them for free.

          But that’s when I really noticed the flack some people were giving them for doing this reunion without Jello. I received several emails asking me why I supported this reunion and some even told me that we all should boycott their tour to teach them some sort of lesson. People were telling me their reasons for not wanting the reunion like they are only in for it for the cash, or they were disrespecting Jello, or my favorite rumor about using Holliday in Cambodia in a Levies commercial. 

          First of all let me say that the show was sold out. I haven’t seen so many people packed in the Galaxy in the history of me going there. The first band up was The White Trash Debutantes. The Debutantes have been kicking their music and live show around for some time now and do a great job at it. Fronted by the famed Longtime editor of '70's S.F. fanzine Punk Globe, Gina Coyote, The White Trash Debutantes play loud, simple rock and roll songs about sex, drugs, and booze and is  not really the type of band you want your mom to come see but they do rock the house! Backed by two beautiful singers and three very talented musicians, Gina floored the audience with enthusiasm and energy. I suggest if you are looking for a new band of the strange then you should definitely check them out at www.whitetrashdebutantes.com!

          The next band up to rock the stage was The Scabs.  The Scabs were a lot like there name sake, crusty, pesky, but they have an itch you just can’t scratch. They have an 80’s hardcore punk sound on a quarter ounce of crank. Blistering guitar and  a good bass sound with a decent amount of stage presence from the singer who paces so much it makes me nervous.  The crowd was thin but it was early yet, but the crowd was starting to pack in waiting for the Old School antics of the Crowd

          The Crowd have solidified themselves as a major part of the O.C. punk scene,  and their crowd is  still going strong after decades in this fickle business.  With the tongue and cheek humor, and quirky locals style singer Jim Decker was his usual effervescent self. They opened up their set with Can Pipe, delved into a pretty diverse offering of the crowds large list of cool punk ditties. Pushing a new cd off of the shelves at Unity Squad records the Crowd played a lot of songs off of Punk Off.  Some of the stand out tunes were “Im Not Happy Here”  and the sardonic classic about his son’s run in with a car “Max Got Hit By A Car”.  Our thanks to Jim who gave us our first plug of the night telling the crowd that Deadontheweb.com was there and covering the show but if your reading this you already know that back to the meat.  Brothers in crime Jim Kaa and “Boz” Milucky had the guitars cranked and  bassist Cory Stretz was keeping perfect time with drummer Dennis Walsh. But the Crowd pleaser is always the antics of Jim Decker. When Jim sings he kinda reminds me of a giant hyperactive active 5 year old. While he’s talking to you he’s doing handstands and fidgeting like he’s gotta pee really really bad. It’s that nervous energy that makes The Crowd so fun to watch. They ended the night playing older classics like their first hit “Modern Machine”, and wouldn’t be a Crowd show if they didn’t play the classic hit “Letter Bomb” so they ended their set with the it. Another great showing by the O.C. old school vets. 

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