D.R.I. - April 26, 1987

Easy in my top 5 acts of all time - Texas's Dirty Rotten Imbeciles. Their first album was notoriously fast and almost unmusical but they went on to powerfully influence, if not create, crossover and metalcore. The "skank man" icon was among my most frequent doodles in the margins and notebooks of everything I possessed. Not sure who backed them on this leg through S.F.

TSOL - April 26, 1985

"Sebastion Presents" spelled wrong but otherwise a humorous take on the cultural dialogue of the time. I can't find anything on the U.A.T. band. TSOL (True Sounds of Liberty) was very popular with my friends; I had a few songs of theirs on various cassettes, but they were a bit too pop for my tastes. I preferred nastier stuff. D.I.'s "Richard Hung Himself" fit the bill, and it's melodic refrain still flits through my mind from time to time.

Sentinel Beast - April 25, 1987

Here's Heathen again - man I wish I had that demo tape of theirs - great riffs stick around forever.

This is the poster sized one with the postcard handout sized above.

Black Flag - April 25, 1981

Another great line up - this one near Redondo Beach, CA. This must have been in the very early days of Henry Rollins' time as front man. Looking around I see this was in a Raymond Pettibon exhibit at the MOMA in NYC.

Anthrax - April 25, 1986

A guitarist/singer friend of mine were both just starting out and had a few jam sessions together. We called ourselves Abattoir and that was as far as it ever went. We were heavy and sucked - but it was tons of fun.

D.O.A. - April 24, 1987

Club Can't Tell lasted about as long as the punk scene did in Sacramento (1984-1988) before shuttering. They hosted Iggy Pop, The Germs, and tons of others in the short time they were open.

D.O.A - April 22, 1987

This must have been a great one. D.O.A. are legends and it is from them whom we get the term "hardcore" as it applied to the musical diversion from "punk". Great band - Verbal Abuse and MDC too.

The Cherry Bombz - April 17, 198?

A high profile band backed this female fronted hard rock group from the UK.  Watching a video of theirs reminds me what punk was created to oppose musically. Then there's Channel 3 who arguably bridged punk and glam. This was a hybrid that did not take off.

Condemned Attitude - April 15, 1987

Clear & Distinct Ideas had some competition in the promotion scene!

The Swans - April 12, 1986

The mice got to this one as well it appears. I know the Swans are big deal in experimental rock circles, but they are another that isn't my thing at all. First appearance of Mabuhay Gardens - we'll see that place again a lot. I was there only once where I saw Possessed at maybe their last show before a long breakup in the summer of 1987.

Outpatients - April 12, 198?

This regional flyer is an absolute mess - covers four states, five separate shows. This should have been posted in March, but found it in the April pile. Several great acts playing, with only Gang Green still around. My favorite band name here is Pleased Youth - of course they are! Incidentally, "The Anthrax" was a real place - THE place for punk acts in Connecticut in the day.

Agent Orange - April 12, 1985

The Faction was skater Steve Caballero's band - solid. This is also the first appearance of the Crest Theater as a venue. This place was and continues to be great.

I'm sure it's been refurbished many times over the years, but it remains a central hub of cultural life in Sacramento. I have many fond memories of the place - and also in the context as a revival theater and movie house.

The poster version - with my inexplicable scribbling in the top right quadrant.

Strutter - April 8, 1988

I got bubkis on this one though I did attend it for a short time. I think I knew a high school acquaintance, Tim Freeman, who was the drummer of one of these bands - Lethal Steel is my bet. Currently Strutter is a Kiss tribute band that had it's genesis in 1988, but they were from Akron.

Jodie Foster's Army (JFA) - April 5-6, 1986

JFA - now these guys were great adding in a a surf punk aesthetic. Not bad since they hail from the great southwestern deserts near Phoenix, AZ. They still get a listening to from me now and again - especially "Beach Blanket Bongout", their cover of "Walk, Don't Run" and other instrumentals. I don't recognize any of the other acts, but I enjoyed a pair of summers with little else than JFA in the background.

The Wallmen - April 5, 1986

This one was a tough one as I'm unfamiliar with almost every aspect of this show and had to look up virtually everything. The Wallmen are described as "schizoid psychedelic/garage rock ... inspired by Andy Warhol's random pop frescos, by Dada's irreverent nonsense,and by Allen Ginsberg's beat poetry" - in other words: not my thing at all. "Supersonic Witchcraft Cookies" is the name of the cassette they had just released. I can't even assuredly identify the venue, the promoter ?Dead Judys? or even the supporting band names on the bill other than the Bicycle Thieves. A band called Death is on the bill but it is certainly not the Orlando based death metal pioneers of the same name. But for a clip-art ensemble of a flyer it deserves entry here - note the DEVO reference near top left and for the life of me I can't even identify the demonic gargoyle imps in the foreground. The central one was on a movie poster I can't find.

 

Vandals - April 3, 1985

I believe this is the second show I'd ever been to but can't recall. Again it would have been a good one and the Vandals' work seem timeless to me today.
As for RKO - I can't find any reference for them nor for the Pariah I think this is. I do remember Groovie Ghoulies being around though: Appetite for Adrenochrome