The Sardine is a small venue in the heart of San Pedro on Pacific Ave. Similar to other bars, it has memorabilia on its walls, this one has an emphasis on horror posters, pictures of punk rock heroes, and the occasional clown. Beyond the bar is a room with a stage that holds fifty people. Unsurprisingly, the bathroom is littered with stickers, and I only found one dick drawn on the wall. It was strategically placed over a picture of a mic Henry Rollins had in his mouth.
The night started off with Se Vende from San Diego. Clad in white t-shirt and jeans, they are a hard and melodic three piece very much in the vein of Jawbreaker. I couldn’t tell you the names of any of the songs, but did enjoy their set. Guitarist Johnny Cuz and bass player Collin traded lead and back up vocals while drummer Ono slapped the skins with plenty of fills to satisfy the most curmudgeonly elder punk rocker. Their set seemed short, but did seem to pack a good number of songs into it. If you see them on a bill make sure to catch their set. You won’t be disappointed.
The only band I had heard songs from was up second. Reckoner is a four piece band out of Los Angeles. Jennie Cotterill’s guitar and vocals lead the band consisting of Sven Wallwork (LA Crimes) on guitar, Kyle O’Neil (Fireworks) on bass, with Candace Hansen, drummer for Alice Bag, keeping time. Reckoner played a six song set, which I believe is all they have at the moment. If you’ve had a chance to pick up the band’s self released seven inch record, the songs were mostly similar to it, poppy and biting in the proper places, and just as great. They did play a cover of Elvis Costello’s “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love, and Understanding” that was fantastic. It’s always great to find other Costello fans in the wild. Keep an eye on them in the new year.
The next band had the most fun set of the night. Hailing from Oakland, CA, the Middle-Aged Queers are here to smash the prostate and make punk rock gay again. Featuring former members of bands such as the Cost, Fang, the Insaints and the Shondes, the band did just that. Shaun, the lead singer, turned on a bubble machine and let out a bag of pink balloons with the band’s logo all over them. The crowd did their part in hitting the balloons and at each other and back at the bands. Playing songs about hot dogs (not penises) and PJ parties, The Middle-Aged Queers had the most energetic set of the night. One highlight is a cover that started off as Peaches’ “Fuck the Pain Away,” but then morphed into Faith No More’s “We Care A Lot.” It was a great transition and fit perfectly. The Middle-Aged Queers closed the set with Theme Song. The band’s declaration statement and with a crowd participation chant of “Go Fuck Yourself.”
Headlining the show was Oakland’s The Hammerbombs celebrating the release of their sophomore album “F For Effort.” This four piece sang songs about beer, heartbreak, bad roommates, and pancakes. Vocals were mostly handled by Rob Green (guitar), but Ilya Slabodkin (guitar) and Jen Louie (bass) had their moments to shine on vocals, also. The high energy from Matt Diamant drums and their fun brand of pop punk kept an older crowd awake towards the end of a late night. I can’t believe it took this long for me to discover this band.
There wasn’t a big crowd for the show, despite a ten dollar cover charge. I don’t think there were many people under thirty, but that was probably due to the twenty and over age restriction. It’s been a while since I went to a show where I hadn’t heard or at least heard of the bands. It’s been longer since that same gamble has paid off. There used to be this attitude of what if we’re still doing this in our forties or fifties. It’s a worn out trope used in movies or TV shows. The old (punk) rocker chasing either their youth, or some stupid version of it, that can only be stifling our maturity, but it’s wrong. We should be so lucky that life hasn’t worn us out to where we don’t want these things anymore.