It had been at least ten years since I had been to a show at Chain Reaction. Most of the bands that come through are not my style, but every once in a while, something comes through that should not be missed. Since the time I’ve been there, the venue has been revamped a bit. They added a bar, made a dedicated space for merch tables, and repainted it. It seems they have removed some of the shirts that lined the walls from past bands that have played there, but they did seem to retain some of the more enduring acts that have graced their stage with music.
The five-piece, straight-edged Chudson were the dose of energy needed to jolt this show awake. After a short intro, the two members of the horn section jumped into the pit and got it started. Their set was frantic and untethered. They perfectly ended their set with a cover of Wesley Willis’s “Rock n’ Roll McDonald’s.” Chudsion seemed to have a nice, dedicated fan base that showed up for them. If they keep at it, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them higher up on the bill.
Chase Long Beach was second. While it’s great to see ska bands at Chain Reaction as a fan, it’s awfully cramped on the stage, limiting their movement, but singer Karen Roberts made do. They were much calmer than Chudson, but still kept the crowd going. Opening with a pair of old songs, they pivoted to newer material for the rest of the night. It had been at least twenty years since I’ve seen them, and it’s great to see how they have progressed in that time. It was a fun set for a band that has definitely paid its dues.
One of these things is not like the other, and that’s the Tiny Stills. Despite that, they were welcomed with open arms. Lead singer Kailynn West led the band in a set consisting of past favorites, like “Downgrade Baby,” and newer tracks like “What’s the Point of Anything?” and “We Really Felt Something,” from the album of the same name. They closed their set with their 2019 song, “Everything is Going Great.” It would have been nice to get a longer set from them, but it was just great to see them play. This was my first time seeing them, and they did not disappoint. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more sets.
This was a hometown show for Half Past Two, having recently been on a Spring tour with Omnigone earlier this year. Tara Hahn and crew came out with a lot of energy and kept it going for sixty plus minutes. Their set was a good mix of their discography. During their song “Heart of Gold” they threw out a bag full of gold heart balloons that were bounced around the crowd for the duration of the show. Towards the end they handed out kazoos to most of the crowd so they could join in on some of horn parts. They threw in a couple of covers (Tiny Still’s “Am I Dead, Yet?” and Scowl’s “Shot Down”). While Tara had the crowd in her hands for the majority of the set, the energy coming off the stage when she sang “Shot Down” was fantastic. There is some great potential for her to be the lead singer of a hardcore band.
I had a great time. I forgot how loud it can get in there and remembered that it is probably part of the reason why I’m going deaf. I also remembered that for small shows like this, sometimes it’s worth it. This show’s line up was stylistically different enough to be distinct from each other, but cohesive in their love for what they do and what each brings to the scene. It made me want to go back to Chain Reaction every weekend.
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