The BellRays / Emily & The Blackouts: Live In California

The BellRays tore it up again in a ripping, sonic ball of ecstasy because that is what they do. Having recently completed an exhausting tour supporting Social Distortion during the last months of 2024, and culminating with the final show in Riverside on New Year’s Eve, the band that never rests was at it again. Opening was Emily And The Blackouts, a well-known local punk unit that I had long wanted to see live. Frontwoman, Emily Allin, and her three men blew my mind with their brand of bass-heavy, blues-based, obscenity-laced punk rock. I needed this show to ease the anxiety I was feeling due to being evicted from my tutoring center office space, after being there for 25 years. I needed to hear some heavy tunes and shout until I was hoarse.

The Concert Factory used to be located in the heart of downtown Riverside, so when I found myself speeding through the shadowy hills of eastern Riverside, I said aloud: “Where the fuck are we?” It turns out that the COVID-19 pandemic caused the old location to shut down and open up again in a new place. “A pizza place? What the hell?” I said as I parked the car and prodded my ever-present cohort, Cathy, toward the front door. “Go through the restaurant and turn right and you will find the concert,” the hostess told me before I could ask. Hm. I guess I still have the punk rock look to some extent. The new Concert Lounge is a lot smaller, but it looked cozy and punk enough for me.

Emily was looking striking, as she is known to do, and the band started out strong with “Nope.” You get the gist of it…something about, “I don’t wanna hear it.” I could not decide who to watch more. Like I said, Emily is truly a feast for the eyes, but every member of this band can easily catch your ears and eyes as standout performers. This is especially true of the bassist Jorge Casillas, formerly with Voodoo Glow Skulls, whose bass lines made me think of a telegraph tapper wired for sound and powered by 100 watts. I do believe he is the heartbeat of the band. Super-tall guitarist Eddie Casillas, also a former member of Voodoo Glow Skulls, shredded like a true punk rock veteran, and yet another fellow Voodoo Glow Skulls alumni, Jerry O’Neill, pounded strong and steady. When “Nope” ended, Emily, wearing a form-fitting, pink, see-through dress, smiled and said: “I’m wearing panties!” Jerry immediately called out: “I’m not!”. Emily is the only one who was not in Voodoo Glow Skulls.

Do not be misled. This band does not sound like Voodoo Glow Skulls. On the contrary, it is most accurate to describe the sound as genuine punk ‘n’ roll, saturated with fast blues-based arrangements, steady beats, and impossible to resist hooks. It made me think: “What if country music did not sound like country music?” Does that make sense? Probably not. We were further entreated to the “Don’t Talk to Me,” “Nice Girls (Don’t Play Rock ‘n’ Roll.”) and I really liked the frenetic “Out For Blood.” Emily’s voice is feminine, but husky, and she knows how to growl. After that song, Cathy turned to me and said: “That made my throat hurt just by listening to it.” That was a compliment. Just before “Cunt,” Emily gave us all a smiling flash of her panties. I think that was a love song….well, someone probably considers it a love song. “Call My Mom” was a hilarious rocker, and the set ended with the mid-tempo, nasty ditty known as “Domino.” I love this band and you will too. Go find them on all the usual internet locations. Emily! Have Dylan call Marcus!

Before The BellRays’ set, I spoke to the newest member, young gun Niko Miles (who was not even born when The BellRays were formed) about the band’s recently completed tour opening for Social Distortion. I commented that I saw they were playing gigs all over the US and parts of Canada in between the shows with Social Distortion. I was like, “What are you doing?’”, He replied “Yeah! It was a monster tour, and they kept booking all these gigs in between!“. Nico confirmed the band was well-received at every show on the grueling tour.

The set began with the compelling “Revolution Get Down,” and immediately I was feeling the urge to fight the power. I nodded along, closed my eyes and thought: “This is exactly what I needed.” It was somewhat of a sparce crowd, but my fellow BellRays zealots moved forward to get a face full of that punk, funk, rock, and soul that we love so much. No slamming. Just smiling faces and lots of dancing. “Hard Drive” from the newest album cracked the energy egg wide open as Bob moved forward to give us a close-up of his incredible guitar mastery. Lisa commented: “Make some noise for that face-melting solo!” We did.

During the mid-tempo, blues-soaked “Snakes,” the band did an extended interlude wherein Lisa called out to the audience: “People do you hear me? This is a rock show! What am I talking about? Do hear me? What am I talking about? I have referred to literally only one thing!” “Snakes!” was our enthusiastic reply. A BellRays show is not for the passive observer. Lisa and the rest of the band command your attention and demand response. It is a symbiotic synthesis of sender and receiver. The powerful cover of The Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion” came soon after in The BellRays’ signature “do it proper homage and make it better” style. Another ripping cut from the latest album, “Down On My Knees,” was a savory, bluesy ditty about problems, pain, and persistence. It was suddenly back to 2003 with the jamming “Voodoo Train” and Jimi would have been proud. During the ever-popular “Black Lightning,” I watched closely as Lisa became one with the music. She does not become possessed by the music; the music becomes possessed by her! This particular rendition had a lot of rollicking wah pedal.

“Startime” is the band’s signature final number, spotlighting the talents of each individual member, and this time, while Craig was doing his incredible drum solo, his floor tom began to fall toward him. He stood up and continued to play while trying to hold the drum in place with his leg, but it was going to fall. I jumped up onto the stage and ran over to hold it in place. Realizing I might be creating a distraction, I crouched down and crawled as far behind the drum kit as possible so I was mostly out of sight. Craig looked down at me and nodded in appreciation. I tried to get the drum to stand on its own, but one of the stands was not working right. I stayed there and figured the show would be over soon. Nope. They decided to do an extended version of “Startime” which included a wonderfully painful rendition of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit.” Craig kept looking down and nodding that I was doing alright. Nico came over and bent forward to put his forehead to mine and to show his thanks for my helping out. As the show came to a close, Lisa proclaimed: “We are the mighty Bellrays, and that is Marcus Solomon holding the drums.”

Be sure to check out The BellRays’ latest album “Heavy Steady Go!’ and the rest of their entire catalog which is available through Sweet Gee Records. Also take the time to listen to Nico Miles’ incredible solo work, which can be found here.