September 27, 2021 | Festival Review by Rachael Contreras
For months we’ve all been waiting for live shows to come back. The last few months has given us just that, live music with a sense of normalcy and hope. This year the SoCal Hoedown in San Pedro was destine to nit just impress, but to be magnetizing and entertaining. This year, the event lived up to the hype!
It was the 4th annual event and it features extras like food trucks, vendors, merch tables, seats, and an ocean breeze on a warm day with beautiful weather, but the icing on the festival cake was short drink lines! There were adults, singles and families of all ages there, and everyone was done up in their favorite concert attire to commemorate the event – and being out of the house for possibility the first time in many moons. The band lineup was amazing and the three stages were very well programed.
SOCAL HOEDOWN EVENT BANNER
Show standouts included Street Walkin’ Cheetahs, CH3 and The Supersuckers. Then there was Nashville Pussy who played with their usual gusto while rocking female guitarist, Ruyter Suys played; her giant, beautiful hair flowed in the sea wind. We asked her how she could play underneath all of that and she replied, “I play with my eyes closed.” As if she couldn’t get any cooler! Their set lasted for what seemed like a full concert, and the crowd ate up every second of them that they could.
Fan favorites were definitely L.A.’s Double O’ Soul, The Untouchables. The 2Tone era juggernauts entertained the crowd with hit after hit from their catalog.
THE UNTOUCHABLES | PHOTO by GREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRAPHY
The band rocked it while Chuck and Jerry danced their asses off. Crowd loved the uber-hits like “I Spy For The F.B.I.” and with their horn section going off, songs like “Free Yourself,” and “What’s Gone Wrong” electrified the crowd. The UT’s definitely got the second half of the program started right with their monster hit “Wild Child!”
Fishbone went up right as the sun was starting to set behind the stage, so the lighting was beautiful. If there is a band that puts on an amazing visual performance, it’s Fishbone!
FISHBONE | PHOTO by GREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRAPHY
Front-man Angelo Moore wore a suit resembling a Mardi Gras celebration and was so into his music that he would get closer and closer to the crowd, making his way over the photographer’s pit, and then threw himself face first into the crowd – yet he continued to sing with the microphone while he crowd surfed. The onlookers-turned-physical-support-system were very careful with him as he made his way about 20 feet into the crowd on peoples’ heads, and slowly they pushed him back to the stage where he made it unscathed (that we know of).
The sun had just set as T.S.O.L. hit the stage and set the mood for front-man Jack Grisham and the guys to play some great melodic punk. You never know what Jack Grisham is going to be wearing on stage.
T.S.O.L. | PHOTO by GREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRAPHY
On this night, Grisham was dolled up quite professionally in slacks, T-shirt, and suit jacket with a TSOL pin on his lapel. He sang his heart out, working from one end of the stage to another, pointing to the crowd. It was awesome to see such a beloved old-school punk band still playing all your favorite hits including “Code Blue.”
Face to Face front-man Trever Keith has said in past interviews that their most recent release, “No Way Out But Through,” will be their last album (fingers crossed it isn’t), but you’d never have thought there was any end in sight for this band. They played some songs off the new record, as well as some old favorites, and closed out the set with their mega hit, “Disconnected.”
FACE TO FACE | PHOTO by GREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRAPHY
Horrorpops were a merchandise favorite of the day. Their line was super long all day for those that wanted to get their merch, and hardworking folks behind the table really had their work cut out for them. When the rockabilly supergroup took the stage, the crowd went crazy.
HORRORPOPS | PHOTO by GREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRPHY
That beautiful, elegantly decorated double bass that frontwomen, Patricia Day plays was showcased right in front where everyone could see and she played the hell out of that thing. It was awesome to see for those that haven’t experienced Horrorpops before.
HORROPOPS | PHOTO by GREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRAPHY
Next – after a 30 minute build up with no music which was a first of the entire day – came the chanting, “S.T., S.T., S.T. …” We saw members of Suicidal Tendencies tuning their instruments and perfecting their mic placement just so. The crowd had seemed to double in size and all congregated to their stage.
Finally, Cyco Mike seemed to manifest out of the blue on stage through the crowd of people on either side of the stage and the music started straight into “You Can’t Bring Me Down” off their 1990 album, “Lights… Camera… Revolution.” That song in particular has a pretty long and slow guitar intro that builds nicely until Mike says, “What the hell is going on around here?!” Then like the flick of a switch, the music went crazy and the crowd went bananas.
Cyco Mike worked the stage like a ringleader herding cats. From stage left to stage right, he never stopped moving and shaking and engaging the crowd and his fellow bandmates. It was amazing to watch and I could only wonder… if you could harness the energy he was putting out, you’d be able to light a city block for weeks!
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES | PHOTO by HGREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRAPHY
Suicidal Tendencies played all the favorites including, “Institutionalized,” very early into their set and “Subliminal.” The crowd loved it, the band loved it, and the rock gods loved it. It was a magical show and every band was phenomenal. Can’t wait to see what’s next from Sellout Events!
