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3rd Annual Gutterfest
Live at Garden Amp
July 15, 2924 Review by Kevin Gomez
For all their goofing around and hijinks, Orange County’s punk rock clowns, Guttermouth sure know how to throw a party. Over a dozen bands gathered one again at the Garden Amp in Garden Grove to celebrate all things Guttermouth.
As they did last year, bands played on both the main stage and the Locker Room, the smaller enclosed stage out back, and after a 2 p.m. start, the music did not stop until the venue’s 10 p.m. curfew.
Many fans were looking forward to seeing White Kaps play, a band that has been going out at since I first discovered them in high school.
Unfortunately, they were not able to play Saturday evening, so the bands on the main stage all got pushed back an hour later. Although I was bummed not to catch their set, it did mean that I got to witness the phenomenon that is Spaghetti Cumbia.
Hailing from Boyle Heights, Spaghetti Cumbia brings together elements of traditional cumbia, punk rock, and even Western movie soundtracks. Their opening song, “Spaghetti Cumbia,” sounded like something from the “Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” followed by a traditional cumbia song, “Deliciosamente.”
They did a really badass cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” that I’m still thinking of. They closed with the rocking “Lokera,” which inspired a pit that saw the guitarist and bassist come down to play.
Moving to the Locker Room, lead singer Christopher Griffith introduced his band as, “We’re Fourth in Line from La Habra, California, and we’re shooting a music video tonight.” They then proceeded to play “Universal,” the new single they were filming for.
The hardcore band has established a solid fanbase that were more than eager to show their support as the band launched into a cover of “Do What You Want,” eliciting one of the rowdiest circle pits all night. Griffith dedicated “Searchlight” to “give hope during the darkest moments in life.”
For their last song, “Compromised,” Eric Bootow hopped from the stage onto the floor and began moshing along with a pretty sick pit, playing bass the entire way and not missing a note.
The “rock legends” Dwarves took the stage and began playing the intro for “Blag the Ripper,” named after their fearless leader, before kicking into “Dominator,” immediately sending the crowd into a pit that would last the entire set.
They played “Devil’s Level,” which really lets bassist Nick Oliveri’s unique screaming vocals shine. Ever the romantics, they played the duo of “Back Seat of My Car” followed by “Let’s Fuck.” During “Drug Store,” a man handed Blag his prosthetic leg, which Blag then proceeded to fist pump into the air.
They brought out the lovely Madd Lucas from Sik Sik Sicks to do her duet with Blag entitled “We Will Dare.” They played “Speed Demon,” which I’m convinced is about how their drummer, Gabriel Perez (better known as “Snupac”), plays drums. Technically skilled, but playing a machine-gun rapid pace, he blitzed through “We Only Came to Get High” and “I Will Deny.” Blag was all bravado and swag on “Like You Want.” They finished strong with “We Must Have Blood” and finally “Unrepentant.”
The time came for the last band of the Locker Room, and there was no better pick than Orange County’s Death by Stereo to absolutely obliterate all in attendance. From the opening chords of Dan Palmer’s guitar on “No Cuts, No Butts, No Coconuts,” until the very last note sung by Efrem Schulz, a Phoenix-like energy setting ablaze one of the most vicious and sickest pits all night.
At one point Schulz was discussing politics between songs and someone must have disagreed and threw his water bottle at him. Schulz ducked and threw the bottle back at the mystery audience member and offered to “talk politics” with him after the show.
The band destroyed “Lookin’ Out for #1” and the appropriately titled “California Addiction.“ As they often do, they played with a sense of urgency, speed and precision.
The heat in that tiny room was almost overwhelming, and none were hotter than Schulz, who somehow kept a camouflage jacket on the entire time as he was drenched, splashing sweat with each head bang he did until their very last song, and the crowd could not get enough.
When Guttermouth took the stage, I witnessed a rare moment of sincerity from lead singer Mark Adkins: “This is more attention than we deserve. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.” He then went on to acknowledge the evening’s co-headliners, “The Dwarves made this happen and should have played last.”
But the boys proved they are indeed worthy of their own festival, kicking off with “Can I Borrow Some Ambition,” followed by the always fun, “Lucky the Donkey.” Guitarist Matt Willis said, “I can’t believe there are 1,000 people watching Guttermouth.”
The band can be hilariously sloppy at times, but they looked and sounded really sharp Saturday.
None more so than drummer A.J. Condosta, who absolutely dominated on songs like “Jamie’s Petting Zoo” and “Race Track,” keeping the entire band on track.
At one point the prosthetic leg once again made an appearance, and Adkins lugged it around, even pretending to drink from it. They played the catchy “She’s Got the Look,” followed by the rowdy “1-2-3 Slam.”
They closed the night with “Lipstick,” with Adkins allowing a ponytailed girl of about 10 sing lead vocals and she crushed it.
Gutterfest 3 was definitely one for the books!
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