December 27, 2021 Concert Review by Rachael Contreras
The holidays usually bring cold weather and hot cocoa, but this year it brought Authority Zero to Alex’s Bar in Long Beach. Best known as a punk-ska band from Mesa, Arizona with their crazy-good rendition of “Mexican Radio,” and their smash “Revolution,” Authority Zero rocked the seaside community like never before.
Even on a work and school night, people from all over came to see AZ from AZ play after the supporting bands Fine Dining and Fourth in Line.
Los Angeles band Fine Dining had an amazing rendition of The Animals’ “…Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” As the front-man sang, “Oh, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood,” he whipped his long, dark, rocker hair around and it was awesome!
Fourth in Line was up next and they ripped apart the stage with their old-school ‘90s sound. With each member of the band working the stage and connecting with the audience, it was hard to take your eyes off them. Fourth in Line got together in the mid ‘90s and went on a two-decade hiatus, only getting back together just a few years ago. But you would have guessed they never went a day without playing because their set was really tight.
With a short intermission between bands for tear down and set up, the crowd could take care of their last-minute smoke breaks, grab a drink, and look at the abundance of band merchandise before the time came for Authority Zero to go on. You could feel the vibe in the air that it was time to grab your spot on the general admission floor to watch it all happen as the band was in the corner in their pre-stage huddle. The speaking intro to “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free” came on and the band ran up the stairs while the crowd went nuts seeing front-man Jason DeVore wearing his signature red tank top.
AUTHORITY ZERO | PHOTO by The Corona Chronicles
Authority Zero was at about show number 12 of a 14-show tour in 15 days, but these guys hit every note as if it was their first of the tour. Although Authority Zero’s latest amazing album, “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free,” came out in June, this was the band’s first time to tour for the album. This also gave fans the chance to learn every word to the new album which was a plus!
We spoke with DeVore beforehand and he told us the tour was taking a little bit of a toll on his voice, but he was doing his best with teas, honey, hot water, lemon, and some weird vocal nebulizing mist machine. Even with all that behind the scenes, he sounded great!
They jumped directly into “12:34” and mesmerized the crowd. The band, the crowd, everyone seemed to be having a great time! “Broken Dreams” brought out the biggest mosh pit of the night. This appeased the rock gods while Authority Zero did their thing by bringing the house down with their music.
AUTHORITY ZERO | PHOTO by The Corona Chronicles
Even after the bazillion shows and the laundry list of great bands he’s been in, drummer Chris Dalley told us that he still gets nervous before he goes on. More proof that each one of the members of AZ are down-to-earth and easy to talk to, which only makes you like them more!
Authority Zero kills it in the best way every time they play and their loyal fans will see them anywhere, any day of the week, and this show was proof!
Authority Zero is beyond electrifying to see live. The band features Jason DeVore on lead vocals, Chris Dalley on drums, Eric Walsh on guitar and Mike Spero on bass guitar.
AUTHORITY ZERO | PHOTO by The Corona Chronicles
Lots of exciting things planned from the Authority Zero camp in 2022, keep tabs on this band!
