Do you miss the days when Goldenvoice was a punk promoter who booked shows with funds from founder Gary Tovar's marijuana business? No Values hits right at your safely set sweet spot.
This weekend's classic punk festival at the Pomona Fairplex is the Coachella promoter's latest smaller, gender-themed outing. Dating back to its earliest incarnations with acts like Misfits and Social Distortion at the top of the bill, the day is packed with timeless legends (Iggy Pop) and Southern California acts (Bad Religion, Sublime reunited at Coachella, The Vandals). , along with a swath of modern heirs (Turnstile, Ceremony).
Here are five of the best acts worth watching while you sweat through your long-retired battle jacket.
power trip
The metal world lost one of its most exciting frontmen when Power Trip's Riley Gale died in 2020. Power Trip, beloved for their blend of Texas thrash and hardcore pummel, was on its way to becoming a caliber headliner. festival. After Gale's death, the band earned a Grammy nomination for metal performance, but was unsure how they would continue. Now fans have their answer, at least for now. This year, the surviving quartet will perform a series of shows with an old friend of the band, Seth Gilmore, on vocals. No Values will be the first chance Southern California fans will have to see them since Gale's death, and since their legend has only grown in the meantime, it will hopefully be the start of a new era for one of the greatest bands of heavy music.
glo soul
The NPR Tiny Desk studio doesn't leave much room for a circle, but Philadelphia group Soul Glo did its best as the first hardcore band to try out the format in March. Soul Glo is part of a small wave of young black hardcores (including Los Angeles' Zulu) who are revolutionizing the genre and highlighting its blind spots while delivering the most exciting, soul-shattering music the scene has produced in a generation.
hepcat
Any fan of punk and adjacent genres has seen tragedy strike one of their favorite artists. But few in the classic ska world were prepared for Hepcat singer Greg Lee to die of a brain aneurysm and cardiac arrest at the young age of 53 on March 19. Co-founding the band in the late '80s, Lee released six albums with Hepcat that informed the Southern California ska wave of '90s acts like No Doubt and Sublime. The band was noted for its velvet-smooth harmonies and jubilant choreography. They were hired for No Values before Lee's death, and this short set will be a bittersweet tribute to one of the scene's most universally beloved singers.
The Jesus Lizard
The late, great Steve Albini was best known for producing Nirvana's “In Utero,” but his best incarnation might be his work with Jesús Lagarto. David Yow's rugged post-hardcore band took Albini's legacy of honest, searing sound and made some of the best rock records of the '90s, like “Liar” and “Goat.” They've toured on and off over the decades since, but now, 26 years after their last LP, they're finally back with a new album, “Rack,” that's as screaming and churning as the rest of their catalog.
The condemned
Quick, name the first punk band. The Sex Pistols? The “Ramones? Mistaken! The puppets? MC5? Allowed, but debatable. The real, indisputable answer is The Damned, the British group whose 1976 single “New Rose” is generally considered the first truly punk record, beating “Anarchy in the UK” by five weeks. It still sounds incredible today, with fierce musicality and singing artistry and a visual aesthetic that would inspire goths for decades. Even more incredible is that the band (vocalist Dave Vanian on vocals, guitarist Paul Gray, bassist Captain Sensible and drummer Rat Scabies) is back on tour after reuniting for the first time in 2022 for their first lineup tour. classic across the United States in 35 years.
