Subhumans / The Venomous Pinks / Naked Aggression – Live At The Arrow Room, CA

Subhumans in Rancho Cucamonga? Are you sure I did not really die from those five major heart attacks last October and I ended up in punk rock Heaven? Well, I did not die, but Subhumans really played Rancho Cucamonga only a few hundred feet from the Rancho Cucamonga Sheriff’s Station and it was crusty punk bliss with zero hassle. Opening acts Naked Aggression and The Venomous Pinks also played outstanding sets that set the mood of extremely excited, and the energy level at extremely high at the start of this show… this feeling lasted until the very end. Only three bands on the bill this evening, but that was okay with me. Maybe I am old now (I am 62), but I prefer shorter gigs like this because too many bands for one concert becomes tedious and tiresome. This event was intense at every moment.

Naked Aggression was a great choice to start the event because at times, they seem to be the American version of Crass, with the same angry anarchistic style but with more skilled musicianship. The venue was impressively packed early on when the band took the stage and I made note of the large number of eager young fans in the front eagerly gripping the barricade railing. Opening for Subhumans is no small task, so the band hit hard and fast with the first number, “Party Down.” With rapid-fire lyrics such as: “Corporate welfare/ Mass starvation/ Destroy, revolt/ Burn it down!” Get the picture? Anarchy with rhythm got the show off to a great and energetic start. The young ones got started right away with the stage diving and I was pleased to see nobody was daintily stepping down after their onstage frolicking. All stage dives were true and this old punk rocker was greatly pleased. One guy who looked to be in his 30s got up there, made a big deal of himself with his arms outstretched in his punk rock Christ pose, and when he jumped, his feet slipped and he launched himself directly onto a painful stomach-to-the-barricade landing. I applauded while others laughed. Ouch!

Naked Aggression sounds more metal than I remember from when they often played Showcase Theater back in the 2000s. Maybe I have tinnitus, but either way, it sounded great. Naked Aggression succeeded in starting off the show with a bang, never let up for one moment during their set, and the audience was properly whipped-up into an energetic frenzy. The final tune of the set was “Killing Floor,” but it was not the Jimi Hendrix blues/psychedelic classic. No, this one was about abortion rights and women being forced to get dangerous illegal abortions. There was something wonderfully pleasing and ironic about watching Kirsten sing: “I got an abortion/ in a back alley” to people who were smiling and nodding in affirmation. I am glad Naked Aggression reunited in 2003 and are still doing what they do.

Then it was time for one of my favorite bands, The Venomous Pinks. The band was very gracious in allowing me to be on their guest list and providing me with a band member wristband so I could get close enough to take decent pictures. I was hoping that Cassie Jailie was going to be back on the drums for a few shows even though she was battling stage four cervical cancer, but guitarist/vocalist Drea sent me a message a few days prior telling me Cassie would not be playing that evening because her last round of chemotherapy produced mixed results. That did not sound good. Anthony Canal was on the drums for this show and he did quite well.

Drea started the pummeling set by loudly declaring: “No one is illegal! Fuck ICE!” The audience roared in agreement. She then informed everyone about Cassie’s cancer battle and had the audience chant: “Fuck cancer!” First off the block was “I Really Don’t Care,” a rapid-fire bucking beast of a song with bassist Gabby on the vocals. This first tune was met with roaring approval from the sizeable crowd. The band wasted no time launching directly into the high-velocity “Todos Unidos.” I scanned the audience from my relatively-safe vantage point from within the stage barricade and saw that much slam dancing had ensued. Strangely enough, there were no security personnel up front and nobody was stage diving. Then came “Hold On,” which is an uplifting song of hope and perseverance laden with melodic hooks, but on this evening, it felt poignant as it made me think of what Cassie was going through. After that, The Pinks tore through “I Want You,” their rendering of the Joan Jett song from the 1991 Notorious album. Of course they did it harder and faster. Go listen to both and decide which one you like better. (I like this one best.) Just before that, I distinctly heard “Hey Ho! Let’s Go!” and I thought we were going to hear a Ramones cover. Nope. The powerful set ended with “We Do It Better.” their punk rock version of Irving Berlin’s “Anything You Can Do” from 1946, that blended seamless into something the band calls “Bang Your Head Outro.” It sounded exactly like the title implies. I definitely heard some Black Sabbath riffs in there. After the set, I asked Anthony if it was hard to keep up with Drea and Gabby. “It’s always hard to keep up with them” was his smiling reply.

Tragically, Cassie Jalilie, the longtime drummer and all-around wonderful person left this world on Saturday, April 25th at 5:07 pm. I only met her once, but that was enough for me to learn she was incredibly kind, and the enormous outpouring from her friends and fans show the extent of how much she was (and still is) deeply loved. She was an incredible performer, who could play with amazing speed and precision. She made the difficult look easy. This is a huge loss for the punk rock community, music in general, and the world is a darker place without her shining brilliance. Of course, her family and bandmates are crushed and grief-stricken. Drea, Gabby, and Cassie considered themselves to be sisters in the family form they created, which is The Venomous Pinks. OC Music News published a wonderful and fitting tribute to Cassie and you can view that here.

The band is honoring her memory with a special T-shirt emblazoned with Cassie triumphantly holding her drumstick high as she stands behind her drum kit which can be purchased here. All proceeds from the sale of this shirt and other selected Venomous Pinks merchandise go directly to the Jalilie family. Please show your love and support. The band will continue in due time…

I wandered upstairs to the dusty plywood three-walled “rooms” that functioned as “backstage.” Nobody there. Suddenly, Dick Lucas of the Subhumans entered with Naked Aggression‘s Kirsten Patches. She was telling Dick about her husband’s battle with cancer. Dick listened with silent, nodding, attentive concern. I hope Kirsten’s husband will pull through. Kirsten then told me that Dick wanted to go outside for a smoke, but fans started swarming him, so he had to retreat upstairs. Smoking was not allowed, but he went through the ritual of rolling his own, inserting a little filter (I did not know people did that), and then put it away for later. I asked him for a fan photo. He looked up and politely declined. “I am trying to get my head into this” as he motioned toward the set list he was preparing. He seemed to be lost in thought and it was clear that he was silently conjuring the spirit he was going to shortly unleash onstage.

I took my position as the lone inhabitant of the inside-the-barricade-zone. “Strange… still nobody here. No security or anyone else lining the stage” I thought to myself. The band then walked onstage to enthusiastic approval. Turning to look at the packed house behind me, it warmed my aging punk rock heart to see so many young fans pressing forward, eyes wide open in anticipation. The punk rock of my generation is also the punk rock of this generation too. “Can we turn off the television?” Dick asked, motioning to the giant screen TV toward the back of the venue. “Well, just don’t look over there” he continued. The TV went off. The Subhumans also went off in an entirely different way.

“Apathy” hit hard and fast. “Bombs? War? Famine? Death? An apathetic public couldn’t care less!” Those words were written in 1985, and they are still true today. The audience was now a turbulent mass of sweaty writhing bodies, churning with joyful anger. As “Animal” pummeled my mind, people started climbing over the barricade and started stage diving. I was pleased to see there were no dainty step-downs, and all stage divers launched themselves in proper fashion. Apparently, another middle-aged guy decided to emulate the earlier fool and he too jumped directly belly-first onto the barricade. Dick encouraged the stage divers with smiling nods and gestures of “go ahead!” Still no security personnel to staunch the flow. It really was like being at The Olympic Auditorium back in 1984 when The Subhumans played their first show in the US. (Of course I was there.)

Now my notebook goes silent because I quit taking notes. Damn, the band sounded better than ever, and it was no wonder since Dick, Bruce (guitar), and Trotsky (drums) have been playing together since the inception of the band in 1980, with Phil (bass) being the new guy, joining the band in 1983. The THC gummy had kicked in, so I meditated away the audience and imagined The Subhumans were giving me a private performance. It felt that way for quite some time until someone’s boot clipped me as he flew over my head. I turned to watch him fall and there was some guy who took off his artificial leg and was waving it at the band. No more notes, but I distinctly remember hearing “Pigman,” “Religious Wars,” “Mickey Mouse is Dead,” “Poison,” and “Drugs of Youth.” Every song was spot-on, and the audience was in perpetual motion. The encore consisted of four more songs, but I can only remember “Susan.” By this time, I was just basking in the warmth of punk rock bliss as the show came to an exuberant end. 

The Subhumans will be on tour with The Iron Roses on the East Coast of the US in June and will be appearing at the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool, UK in August.