KOALAFORNIA CONVICTS TOUR 2012

One of the main events of 2012 took place at the beginning of March: the Koalafornia Convicts Tour. Some of the best Celtic punk bands played together a couple of shows in Southern California: The Ramshackle Army, Lexington Field and Hoist the Colors.

Video and pics are courtesy of Beau Gray (Lexington Field)

Write-up is courtesy of Josh Linden (Hoist the Colors)

A mini-documentary about the Koalafornia Convicts Tour which took place March 1 to 3, 2012 in Southern California and featured The Ramshackle Army from Melbourne, Australia, Hoist the Colors from Los Angeles, CA, and Lexington Field from San Diego, CA. Also joining the fun were Green Ashes (Los Angeles) & The Fooks (San Diego). Beers were consumed, Celtic music was rocked out, tattoos were inked, and great friendships were made! Cheers mate!

DAY 1

 

 

 

DAY 2: 

Tattoos at 3rd Street Tattoo in Hermosa Beach, CA

Friday March 2nd, 2012  Slidebar Cafe in Fullerton, CA.

 

We had been waiting a while for this night to arrive.  Four bands, three spread throughout Southern California, one from the other side of the planet, set to converge for one brilliant night of music! Between Green Ashes, Lexington Field, The Ramshackle Army and Hoist the Colors, there was no way this show would be anything less than awesome!

 

The night started off with Green Ashes, playing some really good covers. Lots of Pogues and some traditional stuff as well.  After losing their singer recently, it was good to see them back up on their feet and stronger than ever! Lexington Field followed up and as always did not disappoint.  From their own songs, "Selfish Bastard" to "Tracy Boys", the energy never left once.  Beau is really belting em out these days and the band is super tight.  I am glad we have become good friends with these guys, and always look forward to playing with them.  As soon as Lexington Field powered through a blistering set, The Ramshackle Army was ready to go.  These guys had been staying at my place for the previous couple days and were really itching to let loose on an American audience.  I was floored.

There is a reason why this band is going on tour with the Dropkick Murphys.  This is one of the tightest, well put together bands I have ever seen.  On top of that, some of the most genuine kids in the scene. Their songs were crisp and packed with passion and energy, making me realize that I was watching something special.  "Bays End Guns" as well as "Fire is Burning" were played during their set and are quickly becoming some of my favorite tracks to listen to right now.  All in all, I was stoked to share the stage with this band, and hope to do so again one day.

It was then our turn (Hoist the Colors) to get up and go.  With a great turn out to the show, we had a blast! Minus a few technical difficulties, (Our acoustic guitar players battery fell out of his guitar from jumping around like a crazed school girl) the show went smoothly.  We were happy with the show went well, being that it was in our area and wanted to show the rest of the bands a great time.  Next stop, San Diego!

DAY 3:

Saturday March 3rd, 2012  Gallaghers Pub, Ocean Beach, CA

I love playing in San Diego.  The people are great, the venues are fun and everyone loves to drink!  This night was no exception.  The lineup went as follows: Hoist the Colors, the Ramshackle Army, Lexington Field and the Fooks.  Kirk from the Fooks was kind enough to open his house to all the bands for a pre show BBQ, which was great times!  We hit the stage first, which was a relief, considering we didnt have to follow any of these guys!  Although, we started rather early for a show at a bar, we still had a great time playing to those who were interested in seeing us. 

 

The Ramshackle Army followed and immediately got the crowds attention.  Gaz is a great front man, really putting everything he has into it while keeping really good pitch.  Kat is incredible on the fiddle, Loc seems like he can play anything with strings on it, especially banjo and mandolin! Nathan shreds on guitar while also lending his vocal talents to the band, and Chris aka Jig, keeps a great rhythm on bass.  The band is held together by the superior drumming of Adrian.  The kid plays super clean.  Put that together, and you get an amazing show like the one they put on in San Diego.

 

Lexington Field came on after, and really whipped the crowd into a manic state.  The energy these guys have when they play is constant, and I have seen these guys a few times now.  Beau knows how to reach the crowd, while Brian really wales on guitar.  Cami plays at lightning speeds on fiddle, while Casey and Vince keep an absolutely clean rhythm section.  Their set ended with their song "Tracy Boys", and Beau made the mistake of inviting the Hoist and Ramshackle crews to come up on stage to help them out which pretty much turned into a free for all!  It was awesome!

The Fooks ended the night with some great cover tunes ranging from Flogging Molly to Rage Against the Machine!  This weekend was great for all bands involved and its one that I will never forget.  Not only did we get to hang with our good buddies, in Lexington Field, we also became great friends with The Ramshackle Army.  I will always follow these guys because I know that they including Lexington Field, are destined for some great things.

Josh (Hoist the Colors)

DAY FOUR:

The gang at Pokez in San Diego and then a trip to PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres

LIVE REVIEW: The Mahones, The Gobshites, Continental, Chris Skel @ McGann's Pub, Boston, MA, 7/24/2010

Just around the corner from Boston’s North Station and the home of The Celtics and The Bruins, is McGann’s Pub. Although only average-sized in square footage, the place is laid out perfectly for a show like tonight’s.


The first act to go on was a single guy with an acoustic guitar. There was no fear of any James Taylor-like smooth and/or mellow stylings though, as the guy was Chris Skel, helmsman of New Jersey pub punk act, The Skels. With just his axe and his voice, he created a huge noise off of that stage! His set included a track or two from the Skels catalog, true, but the bulk of it came from his solo material. For those unaware, Chris has put out two solo project CD over the last eighteen months, so he had plenty of great material to choose from. (Look for a review of his newest 6-track EP, “Sudden Psalms” here soon!) Chris set the pace well and got the crowd on their feet.


Up next, (or ‘again,’ since they did the sound check earlier with some killer stuff!), was Rick Barton and The Continental. Rick Barton, a familiar face in this type of venue as the former guitarist for the Dropkick Murphys, assembled this new project with himself in the guitar and lead vocals role, (and his son on the bass.) An incredible performance from these guys, tight and sharp, with some fantastic guitar solos from his lead guitarist. (Oh, and an excellent rendition of DKM’s The Torch, by the way!)


The third band in the line-up was The Gobshites, who somehow manage to show up and play at every show I see in Boston!

Pete and the gang jumped right into action and proved, once again, to possess the largest catalog of drinking songs in the free world!

Apparently on a first-name basis with every member of the audience, the band’s conversational banter and audience participation portion, (which included alternating readers for the limericks, and some masterful beer-tray playing,) brings Gobshites’ sets as close to an open seisiún as punk rock gets.


The headliners, of course, were The Mahones. The band were in the midst of celebrating their twentieth anniversary tour, and a festive mood was running amok!

Unfortunately, the band was playing as a four-piece, without their mandolinist. As a mandolin player myself this was a bit of a let down, but the band seemed to compensate by selecting songs from the higher-energy end of their catalog! This was probably for the best, and the mood of the crowd was perfect for these tunes.

Tight, clean and in top-notch form, The Mahones blasted out a great set deep into the evening.


By the time the music had died down, the Newcastles and Patron were making their presence known to me. Fearless and bulletproof, I was feeling pretty good. The show, though, was a great time for all, and another huge success for Shite ‘n’ Onions.


Thanks a bunch to S’n’O’s John Murphy, for another fantastic show!



Review by Christopher P. Toler, THE Blathering Gommel


http://www.myspace.com/chrisskelmusic

http://www.myspace.com/continentalboston

http://www.myspace.com/gobshites

http://www.myspace.com/themahones

facebook.com/themahones

GIG REVIEW: THE REAL McKENZIES - Barakaldo 29th April 2010

It was the fourth time that The Real McKenzies were going to play in Bilbao. I have only missed one of their previous shows. This time, the gig was at RockStar Live in Barakaldo. I had never been there.

The doors are open at 20h00. The show should start at 21h00. The capacity of the venue is 2.200 people an even if it is not full, a lot of peole have come to see The Real McKenzies. The stage is big, but I prefer Kafe Antzokia (another venue). Somebody shouts “Hey guys, it’s time to play!”. However, we have to wait till 21h20 to see the band. The drummer plays the drums as if they were a war drum and the band sings a capella. Is Paul wearing glasses? Yeah.

Another number and the third song is “Scott Wa Hae”. The band keeps on playing, but I feel that something is wrong. Paul is quite static and even if “Dirty” Kurt Robertson and “The Bone” seem to be enjoying the gig, I feel that the band is a little bit tired. It's their second European tour this year, too many shows and too many kilometers …

After twelve numbers, the band changes the gear and the acoustic part of the show begins. The first song is “Wild Mountain Thyme”. Other numbers that are performed are “King o Glasgow” and “Sawney Beane Clan”. I enjoy them. In this part of the gig the piper should stand out. However, he plays guitar in most of the songs. What a shame!

The band shifts gear again after six acoustic numbers. The next song is “I Hate My Band”. Little by little, I feel that the band is finally enjoying the show. Another eight songs and the gig is over. Encores. First of all, an instrumental number. The band really rocks. The last 5 numbers are the best ones, they seem a different band: “Auld Mrs. Hunt”, “Thistle Boy”… Unbelievable, Paul grabs the microphone. The end: “Bugger Off”, everybody goes mad, even the band. That’s the band that we had come to see.

22h58. The gig is over. Thirty two songs and I have mixed feelings.

It is obvious that the band has all the resources to play under the worst conditions. They are really a live band, but IMHO this gig has not been one of the best, the band was not fresh. Maybe the kids that have come early to buy their t-shirts feel that the band was awesome. But the fans that have previously seen the band know that the show has been good, but not great. We have missed the details that make a gig unforgettable. Anyhow, if RMcK is playing in a venue near your home, don’t hesitate and buy a ticket straightaway. You will enjoy the show. I won’t miss them the next time that they play here


P.S. Yeah, Paul showed his ass to the audience.
.
.
.

DRAGO, + PAUL & THE STRINGS + BEANTOWN BOOZEHOUNDS + BIG BAD BOLLOCKS at The Beachcomber, Quincy, Massachusetts, March 19, 2010

The Beachcomber in Quincy, Massachusetts is the place that I would hang out regularly if I lived nearby. The clientele is all flat cappers and tattooed punks of a wide assortment of ages and ethnicities, the food is standard bar-fair but some damned good pizza, (and Buffalo Wings that you would write home about!), and the attitude is one of general laid-back fun.

But it is the music that everyone is here for this night, and it would seem that this evening's crowd was divided into distinctly different groups of fans, as varied from each other as the bands slated to perform.

The first band was a straight-ahead style punk band called Drago. Their crunchy, in-your-face assault is not quite my style of music, but they had a fairly enthusiastic group cheering them on. And they did set the pace for evening fairly well.

Paul and the Strings came on next. Formerly known as the Six String Bullets, they had a boogie-woogie/bluesy-styled punk edge, and I was digging their sound. Very tight and well put together.

The Beantown Boozehounds followed. I had seen these guys before and they had a very well-performed show, tight and cohesive. Fortunately, the Boozehounds' fans no longer practice spitting beer at the band as a sign of support. I found that kind of unsettling the last time I saw them.

The Big Bad Bollocks came on last. The veteran act wasted no time in uniting all of the previous bands’ fans in the room as they jumped into the first numbers of their set, which included primarily songs from their 1999 disc, “Night on the Tiles,” as well as a few traditional Irish songs, punched-up to a more punk-rock crowd-befitting pace. The energy level never slowed, and the Bollocks tended to stay with the upbeat songs in their set to promote this. Unfortunately, lead singer/squeeze-boxer/tin whistler, John Allen never got a chance to break out his whistle tonight, as the band’s set list didn’t seem to be set in stone.

The Big Bad Bollocks have been around for over twenty years, (forming in 1989 and releasing the first of their four CD in 1992,) and the quartet have a definite stage chemistry, as well as a large repertoire of songs to pull from, so to see them live is always a good show. This was no exception.

All of the Bollocks CDs are available from their MySpace page. I personally recommend the Johnny Cunningham-produced Night on the Tiles!


http://www.myspace.com/bigbadbollocks

http://www.myspace.com/beantownboozehounds

http://www.myspace.com/sixstringbullets

http://www.myspace.com/dragoboston

Review by Christopher P. Toler, THE Blathering Gommel
.
.
.

Live Review - BASTARDS ON PARADE - Sestao 10 Feb 2010

Bastards on Parade European tour began in Sestao last Wednesday 10 February 2010. I was lucky, Sestao is around 25 minutes from my town and I was eager to see the band live.

Hibai, from the band Deiedra, was the man who brought the Bastards to Bizkaia. He opened for them playing some Irish and Galician traditional tunes together with Sergio (tin whistle) and Aspy (Bastards on Parade piper). Hibai played the bodhrán.

What can I say about Bastards on Parade? I am a fan of the band and maybe I’m not objective. However, I feel that I can affirm that nowadays the Galician kids are one of the most interesting bands in the European Celtic punk scene, together with Circle J, Pipes and Pints, Black Tartan Clan, Paddy and the Rats and Mr. Irish Bastard. Bastards on Parade have not released their debut album yet, but if a European label is clever enough, he should sign a deal with them straightaway.

The sound of the band has followed a geometric progression. The quality of the songs have been improved recording after recording and, IMHO, if you have three Euros + shipping costs, you should invest them on “Death Shore Pirates”. I’m sure that you will be bewitched by the songs and you will be unable to put another CD on your player.

The sound was OK, even if the venue was not very big. The band opened the show with “Pipes and Drunx” and, after that, they played a couple of numbers from the new EP, “Norfolk Street” and “Death Shore Pirates”. David was wearing a Cock Sparrer T-Shirt (in fact they played a Cock Sparrer cover, “Anthem”). Roberto was wearing an Ireland national rugby team shirt and Aspy, the piper, a DKM t-shirt and a kilt.

The set list included songs from the three EPs that the band has released till now: “Time To Go Out”, “Swallows in the Sea”, “Saint Patricks’ Day”, “Whiskey in my Heart” “Captain’s Dargle”… but they also played a couple of unreleased songs and their version of the traditional tune “Muiñeira de Chantada”. Apart from the Galician pipes and the tin whistles, Aspy played the low whistle in one of the numbers.

Covers of traditional songs? Yes, of course. A Rumjacks-esque “I’ll Tell Me Ma”, a Real McKenzies-esque “Bugger Off” and the Bastards on Parade excellent rendition of “Whiskey You’re The Devil”.

Berto (Skontra, lead vocals) drove three hours from Xixon/Gijón in order to see their mates live. I also met Carlos Martinez, a long-distance traveller Pogues fan, who also drove around 120 km because he didn’t want to miss this gig.

Bastards on Parade are not “Great Expections” anymore. We were “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards” and they have done it. They are neither the Galician Dropkick Murphys, nor Rancid with pipes. They have reached their own sound and they are BASTARDS ON PARADE. Having a Galician traditional music background that we will be feeling in the new songs, I guess that other bands will try to imitate them.

Celtic punk fans from Germany and the Netherlands, an advice: don’t miss them if they are playing in a venue near your home. I cannot go to Utrecht, but the release party of Circle J “Weekend Warriors” will be the event of the year: Circle J and Bastards on Parade sharing the stage!!!!

www.myspace.com/bastardsonparadeband

www.myspace.com/deiedra

www.myspace.com/ezkerraldeonceltic

Review by Kinksmarkham
.
.
.