Once again, my travels take me to the Roxy in Hollywood to see another line-up of killer bands. Sad Story started the night off with a bang! Every time I see Sad Story I see something new and different. Sad Story is a very lively band with an awesome sound.
Next up was Two Hit Creeper. These guys are very cool; giving shout-outs to different band members that they saw from other bands that were there that night; very cool. From the first note from the keyboard Two Hit Creeper kept the Roxy thumping. One of my favorite Two Hit Creeper songs is ‘Shoe Size’, the accordion, keyboard, and the guitar on this song is just awesome! The lead singer from Two Hit Creeper made an interesting point that would ring true by the end of the night, ‘Support the local bands not the clubs, the bands are what make the scene.’
Following Two Hot Creeper was Droid and they rocked the Roxy with one guitarist wearing a clown mask and the lead singer with the gas mask. Completed with a mic where the air filter would have been, which gave the vocals a strange, enclosed type of echo. Very interesting. The crowd was going nuts during Droid; Droid brought a dancer up on stage from the crowd that was doing the Robot.
Phobic was next on the bill and they put on a killer set. Straight from my old hood, the boys from Long Beach kept the crowd moving. I’m guessing that one of the song was called ‘F*ck the Pigs’ because one of Phobic’s friends was holding a sign that read just that, kneeling down at the front of the stage. Steve McMahon, the lead singer from Phobic, ran up behind him and kicked him off stage, faceplant to the ground.
Now the exciting part begins. Livid takes the stage, but not with the usual setting. No candles. Management at the Roxy told Livid that they were not allowed to have open flames due to it being a fire hazard. Understandable, but Livid has used candles at the Roxy before. I should know, I videotaped it. Management for the Roxy had said that Livid had never used candles at the Roxy before. Blatant lie. So the show begins, Livid starts off with Iris, Shame On You, Kanker Sore, El Diablo, and Godsend. Onstage Livid was tearing it up. Jumping off the monitors, Sizzo was pounding the mic on stage; Smokey bashing his bass on the speakers, just going nuts! During the middle of Godsend, Livid brought up half the crowd on stage and a majority of the crowd helps to finish Godsend with the chant of ‘Dead’.
Afterwards I see and hear the Management of the Roxy and the Manager of Livid talking, and then the Management of the Roxy becomes irate at Livid members and Livid’s Manager and tells them to leave the building and proceeds to escort the Livid family out of the Roxy. Later outside, I learn that Livid’s soundman was also escorted out of the building for letting Livid finish their set. The Roxy’s soundman was muting all of the audio from Livid at the end of Godsend while the crowd was onstage and Livid’s soundman was unmuting the audio so Livid could finish. The Roxy called the Sheriff’s department for the disturbance on stage and fearing what else might happen.
The last band of the night was Demolition Pit. Interesting stage presence and a cool sound. I didn’t really get a chance to see their whole set, since I was outside with Livid, trying to understand what went on. Overall it was an interesting night, to say the least.
