While I have had spurts of listening to the Minutemen, fIREHOSE, and some random tracks he has put out, Mike Watt’s music output was never a priority for me, but when a punk rock legend plays a small venue ten minutes from your house, you take the gamble and drag your son with you.
The Charleston, located in Downtown Fullerton, is a relatively new venue primarily used for weddings and parties. The venue has a kind of 1930s Prohibition-type theme, complete with a member-only club. Seating is limited, with a cushioned bench against the walls and four-person tables placed every few feet. Getting there as doors were opening, it seemed like the crowd was here specifically for the opening bands, Jettee and ALEXSUCKS. I could tell the Mike Watt fans as they were either dads with their kids, wore flannel, or both.
The first band, Jettee, is a five-piece from San Diego, California, led by Jett Foreman, son of Switchfoot bass player, Tim Foreman. The acoustics were not great for their jangly and sometimes synthy indie rock, but they sounded okay nonetheless. It was a very emotional set of songs that were clearly written from a personal place which included songs about surfing and growing up on the road with his father’s band filtered through a songwriter on his own journey of touring and making music. Showing their influences on their sleeves, they played three covers “As It Was” (Harry Styles), “Drive My Car” (The Beatles), and “Kids” (MGMT), and closed their set with Jett singing a few verses from a few other favorite artists before the band came back together and joined him to close out their last song.
The next band was ALEXSUCKS from Los Angeles. This set was much more aggressive than Jettee’s and brought a different type of energy. While Jettee was reflective, ALEXSUCKS was dancey. Their instruments were mixed much better than Jettee’s. One thing I would say about the newer kids starting indie bands is that they don’t pigeonhole themselves into one type of song. Lead singer Alex Alvarez did a fantastic job leading the crowd through a set that jumped through a lot of genres, but all in that indie rock bubble which made for an interesting set. ALEXSUCKS sounded like a cross between Tokyo Police Club and the Strokes with a smidge of Juliana Theory and Fidlar. I’m not sure if this is an effect of kids being raised on playlists and not latching on to full albums, but if this is the effect, it’s probably not a bad thing.
Mike Watt was recently on a segment featuring old Los Angeles punk rockers in a focus group on John Mulaney’s Everybody’s in LA. So, it wasn’t too shocking to see him using his cane or sitting during his set, but those hands can still play bass. Backed by Tom Watson (Slovenly and Red Krayola) on guitar and Raul Morales (FYP) the band played a jazz and surf-tinged punk set, starting with a couple of covers, The Stooges’ “Fun House” and Roky Erikson’s “Sweet Honey Pie”.
The rest of the frantic set was a mix of Mike Watt’s extensive discography of solo and Minutemen songs, along with selections from Tom Watson’s bands. Hearing Minutemen songs like “The Glory of Man” and “The Tin Roof” had me kicking myself that I had never made it out to hear Mike Watt perform before this. The highlight of the night’s set would be “Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing” from 1984’s Double Nickel on the Dime. While a good portion of the set was Minutemen songs, fIREHOSE songs were strangely absent from the set. At the end, Mike Watt was very generous with his time and took pictures with anyone who walked up on stage and asked him. One could argue that he deserved more than the ten dollar cover charge, but if there is one thing that’s for damn sure, Mike Watt still jams econo.