|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Live at House of Blues San Diego
October 27th, 2025 Review by Amberlee Meyer
They have been rocking it punk style since 1979, and the boys from Birmingham, UK, did not let San Diego down. GBH is touring North America now and you need to catch these legends if you can before their tour closes out in Nashville next month.
With Colin Abrahall on vocals, Colin “Jock” Blyth on guitar, Ross Lomas on bass, and Scott Preece handling drums, GBH has been busy touring the globe the past few years, proving they are still punk icons. (Blyth has had visa issues though and could not make this leg of the tour.)
The House of Blues San Diego was a short walk from where I was staying that night, so I decided to go on foot. The SoCal weather was finally cooperating; no more rain or wind gusts as seen earlier in the day.
Outside the venue, the line was long and the crowd was dressed for the occasion. Fans were adorned with the uniform synonymous with bands like GBH – liberty spiked hair, studded jackets with patches, and of course the flannel tied at the waist. The crowd make up ranged from young, new fans, to original fans who were around in the early days. All were there to pay homage to one of the UK’s most memorable hardcore bands of the 1980s.
A four-band lineup is a lot for a Tuesday night, but that just made the ticket price way worth it. Two San Diego bands were set to start the evening: Mojo Pin, a ‘90s revival rock band; and The Knuckleheads, a hardcore punk band with two lead singers. Their song “Till the End,” about keeping punk real, was high energy and thematic, and it seemed to be a favorite with the crowd.
Up next was LA’s Slaughterhouse, and their unique blend of hardcore and death punk worked in all the right ways, proving they earned their Warped Tour slot. They looked great and sounded even better.
Slaughterhouse took the stage sans lead singer Meriel O’Connell, which was a surprise, but filling in was Pascale Dominique from Los Angeles outfit, The Whoremones. O’Connell has style like nobody’s business, and arguably the best scream in punk rock since Kim Shattuck of The Muffs. But Dominique came alive on the mic like an atomic bomb.
“Poison,” the band’s biggest song, was intense and well done. Solid vocals and lyrics with the rest of band on point made it outstanding. Their cover of Black Flag’s “My War” was insanely well done.
It was intense, powerful, and an absolute crowd favorite. “Sick and Tired” followed and Dominique’s ability to move with ease between hardcore vocals and clear singing was an impressive sight.
As the time approached for headliner GBH to start, the venue filled up a little bit more. This seminal hardcore band from Birmingham took the stage sounding well-rehearsed and super tight. It was exactly the way you would expect to see them – hard, fast, and loud.
The crowd formed a pit and appeared happy with every song that rang through the speakers.
From “Diplomatic Immunity” it went to “Drugs Party in 526” then “Sick Boy,” which had the crowd going extra bananas.
They gave us several classics that the fans loved, “Slit Your Own Throat,” the energetic and sped up “Wardogs,” and then “Maniac” charged things up even higher thanks to its thunderous guitar riffs, heavy metal edge, fast hitting drums, and driving bass line. “Am I Dead Yet” was powerful, raucous, and exactly the way hardcore punk is meant to sound.
The rest of the set was a testament to their pioneer status and remaining influence: “I Am the Hunted,” “The Prayer of a Realist,” “No Survivors,” “Give Me Fire,” and “City Baby Attacked by Rats / City Baby’s Revenge.”
Of course we would not let them leave without an encore and they satisfied us with “Time Bomb” and kept exploding with a cover of Motörhead’s Bomber.
It was a night of loud punk at its finest with the legends of GBH!
SHOW PHOTO GALLERY
by Greg Vitalich Photography
TO FOLLOW
SID 251027 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
