Wow, what a show! Deskonocidos/ Criaturas/Mundo Muerto* in Long Beach 4/8/11

Published April 12, 2011 By Paul Curran
Categories Shows

* L.A.’s RAYOS X and POLISKITZO also played this show but we showed up too late to catch them. Punk Time is hard to gauge in this part of the state, so you don’t know whether to show up an hour after the flyer’s start time or, like, 3 hours… Well, we guessed wrong and I’m a little bummed because these are two of my favorite L.A. bands — and with competition like Tuberculosis, Mata Mata, and a bunch of great San Pedro bands, that’s saying a lot. I did manage to pick up a new demo from Poliskitzo at this show, and it’s fantastic — really catchy and a lot more polished (in a good way) than the last one. I blogged about them before and they’ve gotten even better since then. A vinyl release would be nice to see… okay, guys? Anyway, on to the show!

MUNDO MUERTO was a perfect start to an exciting night. They play a great variety of thrashy-to-slow, brutal-to-melodic punk rock that’s always got a driving rhythm that you can’t not dance to. Lots of whoa-oh’s too, which always gets the crowd singing along ’round these parts. An LP by this band is coming out soon and it sounds amazing. Check out the preview tracks here (I recommend “Enganados”). Chalk up yet another awesome band for the Southland.

There was a pretty long gap between bands so we hung out in the back of the house and watched the usual madcap spectacle that is the 6th Street Haus backyard. Punx from all walks of life were at this show… There was the lady who sexually harasses everyone at every show, the gang of very young, very spikey punks who were representing all the best (and worst) of the early British working class bands on their leather jackets and butt-flaps. Lots of dudes with face tattoos (one of them also had Homer Simpson as the Circle Jerks skanking dude on his arm — awesome!), and lots and lots of weed. L.A. loves the weed, I’m just sayin’. But technically we are in Long Beach, not L.A., which sometimes means there’s a bit of bro-dude attitude (mostly it’s all about calling people “bitches” and “fags” left and right) but that was not the case on this night. Lots of respect all around at this show, making it the best Long Beach show yet.

When CRIATURAS from Austin, TX, got started, the show went from rollicking ponk-rawk party to super rager freakout scene. The tiny room went wild and it was hard for anyone to stand up straight. This band is solid as fuck, living up to all of the MRR hype® you’ve heard of late, with wildman and guitar genius Victor almost stealing the show from vocalist Dru, who keeps the intensity going from start to finish. Chris Pfeffer, a man of many bands and many talents kills the drums, while Matt and Eddie add boom and crunch… With most of these band members playing in a bunch of amazing current Austin bands (including Deskonocidos and Vaaska), they must have to write a shit-ton of riffs — yet somehow every one of them is still great. They’re still on tour right now, so be sure to catch this band in your town! There’s some video from their set below. You can’t see shit, but it sure captures the feeling of performance. Watch it while spitting beer in the air, hitting yourself on the head with a boot, and fill up the room with pot smoke and it will be just like you were really there.

DESKONOCIDOS started out with a terrific, slow, Killing Joke-y song which got everyone thinking they were going to get a rest from the chaos. No such luck, as the rest of the set ripped at full speed ahead. Eddie, Matt, and Victor from Criaturas also play in Deskonocidos but they showed no signs of fatigue from already playing one raging set. The crowd didn’t calm down either. There was a guy on crutches in the pit, and during one song I got an elbow in one eye and a liberty spike in the other.

On a night of three killer drummers, I enjoyed watching Ryan the most as he was always on and had some real style. As mentioned before, Deskonocidos and Criaturas are touring the West Coast for another week or so, and are not to be missed. While you’re there be sure to pick up their records and the Vaaska LP — it’s all incredibly good shit!