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TRICK OR TREAT TO THE BEAT!
Live at the House of Blues Anaheim
October 28th, 2025 Review by Kevin Gomez
It should come as no surprise that a band of superheroes dressed in costumes and singing about science fiction would be closely associated with Halloween. So, it only seemed fitting that the week before Halloween, everybody’s favorite ska-punk heroes would bring their Trick or Treat to the Beat tour to the House of Blues Anaheim.
Fans of all ages, including parents bringing the next generation of punk rockers, showed up decked in their spookiest attire.
Left Alone had a really fun set to get the night started. The band opened as they usually do with fan favorites “Sad Story” and the breakup anthem, “Hate the Day.”
Singer-guitarist Elvis Cortez told the audience he was from Wilmington, but bassist Jimmy Jam was from San Pedro as an introduction to “Mi Barrio” featuring a Spanish breakdown from Cortez.
Cortez was looking sharp in a black suit and tie, grey fedora and trademark black shades.
The crowd had a grooving skank pit going for the slowed-down ska sounds of “Justino” before the political protest song, “Middle of Midnight.” Cortez said “City to City” was a song about the sounds of the city, and the band closed a strong set with “Mile High.”
Mike V & the Rats started off with a slow, nearly spoken word song with a haunting guitar riff throughout. It seemed to be a new song, but that calm anger would slowly be replaced as the band then switched to the fast-paced punk of “Viewpoint.”
Wade Thompson provided the heavy bass intro for “The War,” as his son Jake wailed on drums. Lead singer Mike Vallely brings to mind Henry Rollins in his intensity and live performance.
Vallely told the crowd, “You know what they say? Actually, they don’t say it – I do. Life is too short to hold a grudge,” and the band launched into “Vendetta” featuring a nasty guitar outro from Josh Snuffin. A rowdy pit opened for “Dehumanized” and continued on for “The Days” and “Never Give Up.”
I really love that Home Grown got into the Halloween spirit by dressing up in Aquabats rash guards, helmets and goggles and went as The Awkward Bats. Instead of the bats logo on their chests, they had “HG” emblems. While the boys still have a great sense of humor, what has matured about them is their playing. I was fortunate enough to catch the first four shows that Home Grown played together after calling it quits 20 years ago. The lovable goofballs that I grew up watching sound better than they ever have.
The band started out with bassist Adam Lohrbach on lead vocals for “Tomorrow” before switching to guitarist John Tran for “I Love You, Not.” Only a few songs in and Tran commented, “I think we miscalculated how hot these costumes are.” Tran had a killer guitar riff and vocals for “Second Best.”
Guitarist Dan Hammond began the guitar intro for “Give It Up Now” before Tran and Lohrbach switched instruments and Lohrbach sang “Surfer Girl,” leading to one of the first pits for their set. Normally, a bit wilder crowd the night was far tamer with so many kids in attendance. However, that couldn’t stop a full-on pit forming for the band’s raucous cover of “Barbie Girl.”
This same lineup was in Las Vegas the night before and Tran joked, “I’ve been on tour for two days and I’m ready to go to sleep.” Lohrbach concurred and joked, “It’s been a long tour.” Lohrbach said “Suffer” was for the O.G.s, as the song was from their second album in 1998. The band completed their set with “Kiss Me, Diss Me” and the powerful, “You’re Not Alone.”
The Aquabats signaled their intro with a zombified version of their bat logo flashing on the screen, before a black and white ominous video of ocean waves played behind them.
The band took the stage and began the instrumental “Phantasma Del Mar!” Lead singer MC Bat Commander graced the stage, carrying a lit torch before breathing a huge fireball above him.
The band has recently grown in size this year as saxophonist / keyboardist Jimmy the Robot was joined by Reel Big Fish’s Johnny Christmas on trumpet, and former NOFX guitarist El Hefe on trumpet.
They ripped through “Personal Property,” one of the fastest and shortest punk songs in their repertoire. Bat Commander announced that the song was from their beloved “The Aquabats! Super Show!” with all episodes available on the band’s YouTube channel.
“No One Wants to Party” sounded like something out of an Ed Wood movie. The band paused “Pizza Day” to introduce five-year-old Jasper, who then proceeded to stage dive onto a giant pizza float and crowd surf throughout the venue. “Dr. Space Mummy!” saw a 10-foot mummy in a suit grace the stage.
The bats played the ultra-fast “Who is Walter Fang,” featuring great backing vocals from Jimmy the Robot. For “Tarantula,” a giant spider floated onstage as El Hefe played matador with a red cape while the band chanted, “Ole!” The last song of the regular set “Attacked by Snakes” had a Latin flavor.
The band returned for their encore, shedding their classic blue rash guards (which they later threw into the crowd, Ziplocked of course) and wearing full skeleton outfits.
They went into the aptly titled, “Skeleton Inside!” which had a rap breakdown from bassist Gorney (filling in for Crash McLarson, who was recovering from knee surgery).
They finished with a great trio of songs, “The Shark Fighter!” “Super Rad!” and “Pool Party!”
As always, The Aquabats gave us the tricks and treats to the beat, making it a perfect spooky season.
SHOW PHOTO GALLERY
by Todd Markel Rock Images
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