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30th ANNIVERSARY OF BETTY
Live at The Glass House
March 7, 2025 Review by Christina Sanchez
It’s not often you go to a concert and the first two openers are worth being there early. Last Thursday at The Glass House in Pomona was one of those special nights and the show was solid front to back.
Headliners HELMET rocked the venue with special guests Slomosa and War on Women.
THE LEGENDS ARE BACK!
Hailing from Baltimore, War on Women is a hardcore punk band that rages against a variety of feminist issues and politics, and offer free emergency contraception at their merch table.
Singer Shawna Potter is truly a photographer’s dream; she is so animated with her constant hair flipping and kicking.
The crowd was timid at first, but Potter easily won them over with her engaging personality, and they finished their set with many new fans.
As I entered the pit to wait for Slomosa, I noticed a pair of gentlemen at the rail wearing horse heads as hats. I immediately asked them for the story and they said they were there to see Slomosa and the band has an amazing song called “Horses.” Well, ok then!
Slomosa – who joined the tour from Bergen, Norway – had me confused when I saw they only had seven songs on their setlist. But I soon found out how long each song is!
Slomosa actually created their own genre of music, called Tundra Rock. They headbang in unison quite frequently, but it is also melodic and full of rock and metal riffs.
The band already has quite the fanbase here, and they got the crowd going for HELMET.
At 9 p.m. sharp, it was time for the main event. HELMET walked out, took control of the stage, and didn’t say a word while they played the entirely of the album, “Betty.”
The tour is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the record, and they took off with a bang, bursting right into “Wilma’s Rainbow.”
They went through it all: “Biscuits for Smut,” “Milquetoast,” “Clean,” “Beautiful Love,” “Overrated,” and “Sam Hell.”
Front-man Page Hamilton commanded the stage with his electric pink guitar. As soon as they finished the last song off “Betty,” Hamilton stated the reason they didn’t talk was because bands always say the same stupid stage banter and they didn’t want to be a part of it.
Hamilton assured the crowd that he would later tell a joke by the late, great, comedian Norm MacDonald. But the crowd was going to have to wait until closer to the end of the show for that.
Drummer Kyle Stevenson looked almost frantic keeping up with heavy, fast riffs that the bandmates Dan Beeman (guitar) and Dave Case (bass) were laying down, but he didn’t miss a beat.
The mosh pit was absolute pandemonium for the entire set.
Shout out to the only girl who was in there the entire time, and to a gentleman that rolled out of the ADA section in his wheelchair and went straight into the middle of the mosh pit. What an absolute legend he was!
After “Betty,” there were songs from various albums; songs included “Role Model,” “Exactly What You Wanted,” “Renovation,” and “Gun Fluf.” The highlight for me was they started their smash hit, “Unsung,” and the crowd completely lost their minds.
Many people thought the show was over when they heard “Unsung” and “Dislocated,” but those that stayed were in for a treat – four more songs, “Ironhead,” “Give It,” “Just Another Victim,” and the fan favorite, “In the Meantime.”
The crowd finally got to hear the Norm MacDonald joke. It was erotic in nature, so I can’t repeat it here, but it was worth the wait!
In total, they played 25 songs in an hour and a half, and I was tired just watching them.
HELMET will spend March touring North America, so catch them if you can!
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SID 250309 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
