Los Angeles was in for a special treat this holiday season. Cyber Tracks, the record label founded by El Hefe and his wife Jen, hosted their first Christmas show at The Roxy in Hollywood. For fans of pop punk, Christmas came early!
In addition to six bands (plus an acoustic set from Useless ID’s Yotam Ben Horin), the night featured an ugly sweater contest (I was a little bitter that both my fiancé and I were eliminated – especially since he was originally one of the top 3!), a raffle (my bitterness soon went away, as we won one of the packages including the Implants’ album on vinyl – which we had been planning on buying anyway!), and El Hefe DJing Christmas songs between the sets. This wasn’t just a regular show; this was a holiday party.
The night opened with Margate, who played an energetic live set. I hadn’t really listened to them much before, but their live show, closing out with “Rock ‘N Roll Reserve,” convinced me to check them out. According to their website, we should expect to see a new album out on Cyber Tracks in 2015.
The second band of the night, Counterpunch, was my personal highlight. I had picked their album Bruises as one of my favorites of 2014 and their live show lived up to my expectations. They were the one non-LA based band on the bill, but the LA crowd showed these Chicago boys some love. The ripped through their set, which included numerous tracks from Bruises (including “Guardrails,” “Bonfire,” and “Young and Entitled”), but the real treat was their cover of No Use For A Name’s “International You Day,” which became a Roxy-wide sing along.
The next band up was supergroup the Implants. They get credit for the most festive set of the night, as each member had some form of Christmas hat, shirt, or cape. This was one of the most powerful sets of the night, as the band ripped through tracks like “Life Passes,” “Bleed Within,” and “Once Was I,” before closing with their rendition of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.”
This Legend took the stage next and perhaps was my biggest surprise of the night. I had heard a little bit of their album, but was taken aback by their live show. Lots of energy and jumping around as they played a set featuring songs from It’s In The Streets. I’m excited to see what this band has in store for the future.
After the sweater contest, we had Warner Drive, a band whose sound in a little different than the rest on this bill. They are definitely a Los Angeles band, as they had one of the bigger crowds of the night as they played tracks from their album City of Angels including “Ah-Ha” and “Fully Loaded.”
Finally, it was time for the headlining act – Ten Foot Pole! This legendary band did not disappoint, ripping through their hour-long set with fan favorites like “Old Man,” “ADD,” “The Getaway,” and “Hammering Out The Details.” It was great to finally see these guys live! This was a great way to close out the Cyber Tracks holiday show and left the crowd singing as they spilled out onto the street.
Check out the full gallery from the show below!