This year marks a couple of anniversaries for some long-lasting acts. The boom of 1990s punk rock bands was definitely felt, and it seems we never recovered from the effects. Three of those bands played a show at the Zebulon in Los Angeles to celebrate: The Smoking Popes, Nerf Herder, and Ridel High. While each band may have been celebrating decades of playing music, one thing is for sure: age has not slowed any of these bands down.
This was my first time at the Zebulon Cafe, and it may just be my new favorite venue in Los Angeles. Living in Orange County, I don’t get out to LA as often as I would like for a show, but I would for a venue like this. Small and intimate, with a pretty good sound system and a low-lit, very chill atmosphere despite the number of aggressive bands that seem to come through. I’ve added it to the list of pros if I ever decide to move out of Orange County.
Ridel High opened the night. I got there a little after their set had started, as they were not a band I had any recollection of hearing growing up, but I wish I had. Ridel High played a lively set that included some rare songs. The band played hits like “Wynona Ryder,” but also some rarer songs like “Blue” from the Japanese-only released Happy Meals comp. Their inclusion made sense as Ridel High was labelmates with Nerf Herder on My Records. Musically, they find a nice middle ground by playing pop punk, indie, and emo. If you were stupid enough to miss them their first time around like I was, give them a chance. Lead singer Kevin Ridel was very appreciative of the love they received. They’ve got a bigger lineup which includes Sugarcult’s Marko DeSantis and Ozma guitarist Jose Galvez, which I imagine gives them a bigger sound. Here’s hoping we get some new music with this fantastic group soon.
When I spoke with Nerf Herder lead singer and guitarist Parry Gripp, we talked about how the band would be celebrating their thirty-year milestone and the subsequent tour. Despite releasing an acoustic version of their self-titled record, the band did stay plugged in. Their set was very heavy with songs from the self-titled record, playing all of it except for “I Only Eat Candy.” Opening with “Vivian” and “High Five Anxiety,” they started the set with a lot of energy and got the crowd pumped pretty fast. While Gripp takes pleasure basking in his nerd persona on stage, he exudes charm and fun.
Nerf Herder sounded great, even stronger than when I had seen them in the past. Varying arrangements in songs had them implementing a synth on a couple of songs and sometimes without Parry playing guitar, which allowed him to go out to the crowd and sing “Nosering Girl” to a fan. Their set time was a lot longer than I expected for a middle band, and they were able to fit in a good number of fan favorites including “Mr. Spock,” “Pantera Fans in Love,” and the theme for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Celebrating thirty-five years of the Smoking Popes, Josh Caterer had set up two nights in California. Each night had mostly different sets spanning the entirety of the band’s career. It’s a career I wish I had followed a little better during their middle years. It’s blatantly clear that there hasn’t been a dull moment. Unfortunately, the rest of the original Popes were not able to join Josh, but the fill-in band still sounded on point.
I was not able to attend night one, but based on the set list I found online, night two looks to have had a much stronger set. The setlist between the two nights seemed pretty evenly distributed between the records. While it looks like some of my favorite Popes’ songs were played on the first night, songs like “Rubella,” “Gotta Know Right Now,” and Josh’s pushback against the current administration, “Allegiance,” felt stronger in my opinion. He even threw in a couple of songs from their covers-only album, The Party’s Over. Josh closed the set with the first song on the band’s first EP, “Sandra,” about actress Sandra Bernhard. While it doesn’t seem like Josh plans on stopping anytime soon, it was a nice full-circle moment for his songwriting. He seemed as proud of it as he does about the band’s bigger hits.
This was, hands down, one of the best concerts I’ve been to this year, if not in a while. I hate when people chalk shows like this up to nostalgia. Nostalgia is passive; longevity is active. It was three bands coming together, playing some great sets to celebrate the passion they have after all these years and the love we have back for them. Nostalgia always feels like a money grab; this was far from that.
