Lagwagon

After a triumphant set at this year's Groezrock festival it's time for Santa Barbara punks to have a wee tour of the UK. The last time they played here was 2007, so people are very much excited about this show.

Crazy Arm and Useless ID open up the show, but unfortunately we make it to the rainy city (surprisingly dry actually on this thundery day) just after both of their sets. By all accounts they were very good.



The small basement venue of Moho Live is the perfect sweaty place to get stuck into a mosh pit. My young brain agrees but unfortunately my older bones do not, so I stand at the back. The low ceiling here results in a low stage, so it's quite difficult to see from the back of the crowd, with its swirling pit and constant crowdsurfers / ceiling walkers. One of the highlights of the show from this viewpoint is being able to see tower of a man Chris Flippin dodge the low beams (which meet up with his chin easily) like a pro boxer dodging some high hits. I didn't even see bassist Joe Raposo next to Chris until the end of the show, that's how low the stage was. Perfect for stage diving off to the many revolves of people that did this for the entire gig.



Singer Joey Cape has a few problems with his sound levels at the beginning but as the true professional (in a punk world sense) sorts it out quickly. The band are only playing songs from their first five albums on this tour to the joy of many here. Someone screams at them to play 'Sick', to which Flippin replies "You can ask as much as you want but if it's not on those five albums we ain't playing it." Luckily this one is. Fans of the albums 'Duh', 'Trashed', 'Hoss', 'Double Plaidinum' and belter 'Let's Talk About Feelings' are in for a reet treat. The tour is to support Fat Wreck's re-issuing of expanded editions of these five albums on physical and digital formats, and all together in the box set 'Putting Music In Its Place'.

The majority of the setlist comes from the bands second album 'Trashed'. My favourites are the ones from the Fat Wreck compilations of old, which got me into nineties skate punk. 'Mr Coffee', 'Know It All' and the magnificent beast that is 'May 16th'. There is no crowd favourite from the list as this bunch love them all, not missing a single lyric.

The speed and accuracy of this band's musical style combined with their comical banter whilst still keeping the professionalism, is astounding. I can only dream of being able to play guitar that fast. Flippin even climbs into the crowd at the end and mid song and carries on playing whilst in the midst of the mosh pit, and not one note is missed from his six strings. Mind you you would see him coming and make room!

There is a mass sing-along for their punked up cover of Van Morrison's 'Brown Eyed Girl' to finish the show. And what a show. They need to return sooner than in the next five years, as not many bands are anywhere up to this standard live.

FUTURE GIGS

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