Tuesday October 3 2023 I was off to the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma California for some good old fashioned punk rock. The drive out to Petaluma is always a nice one. The winding highway through wine country is scenic and relaxing. The drive was a bit different than the show though. On the menu for the night was Simulation, Niis and GBH.
GBH was one of the first punk bands I was into way back in 1984. I have fond memories of listening to the City Baby’s Revenge album and it is still my favorite album by them. It’s hard to believe it’s 39 years old. Then again, sometimes I have a hard time realizing I am as old as I am too.
Simulation is a punk band out of the San Francisco Bay Area and they were really fun. They had short fast songs and an overly energetic singer. The singer was all over the stage only pausing in between songs to drink some water. The guitar player was about half as animated and the bass player just kind of sat in the groove of things. The drummer, however, was about as animated as the singer thrashing away on the kit. Like I said, lots of fun. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any information on them except for a few upcoming show flyers. Hopefully I will run into them soon at another show and get their details to pass on. One cool thing was, they announced they had free Narcan and Fentanyl test strips at their booth for whomever wanted them. This is the second time I have seen this at a show and something I would like to see more of.
Niis (pronounced Nice) was up next. Hailing from Los Angeles, this is their second tour with GBH and for good reason. This in your face punk band fronted by the Bay Area’s own Mimi SanDoe took charge of the stage with their version of hardcore. Loud, fast and aggressive, they fit the agenda for the night to a “T”. Mimi’s old school vocal style was very reminiscent of many of the 80’s punk bands I grew up with, both on the national/international and local scene. The crowd was totally into it as well with a decent pit going on throughout the entire set. Only at one point it settle down due to a guy getting slammed into the stage. Though, that wasn’t the problem. The real problem was the girl between him and the stage that was knocked unconscious for a few seconds. Mimi stopped things to make sure she got help to get out of the area and receive medical attention if needed. After another song or two, she announced that if the girl could make her way to the merch booth, she could collect her free t-shirt. That was pretty awesome.
Niis members are:
Mimi SanDoe – vocals
Ryan McGuffin – guitar
Monte Najera – drums
When the punk legends GBH hit the stage, it was the mid 80’s all over again for me. As they blasted through their classic songs, the pit grew. Unfortunately, Jock Blyth didn’t make the gig and they had two guitar players sitting in for him. Jock’s “squire” played the first half of the set and his sister Claire played the second half. These two 20-something year olds’ held their own with the seasoned members of GBH.
Opening with “Diplomatic Immunity”, they knew exactly what we were all there to hear. Next was “Drugs Party in 526” and the pit was at full steam at this point. As they worked though the classics such as “Sick Boy”, “Wardogs”,”We are the Hunted”, and they also threw in “Boston Babies” by Slaughter and the Dogs for good measure. Colin intro’d “Fifty What?” by saying, “Believe it or not, some people on this stage are 60 years old. Not me, I am 27.” We all had a good laugh and they broke into a blistering rendition of “Fifty What?”. Overall they played three songs off their latest release Momentum and they were all well received.
GBH finished off the set with “City Baby Attacked By Rats” and seamlessly into “City Baby’s Revenge” in celebration of the anniversaries of both their respective albums. After a short break, they came back for a two song encore, “Time Bomb” and Motorhead‘s “Bomber”. What a way to end this show. Simply brilliant.
On a personal note. I was, and still am, very grateful to the few people that tried to guard my back from the pit throughout the set. I took a couple of good shots but, it could have been worse. Thank you for keeping the punk ideals alive and well.
GBH members are:
Colin Abrahall – vocals
Colin “Jock” Blyth – guitar (not present for this show)
Ross Lomas – bass
Scott Preece – drums
Set List
Encore:
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Photographer of about 10 years, I have been shooting concerts for about 8 of those years. I started to get serious about concert photography about 6 or 7 years ago and now try to shoot as many as I can. I shoot mostly rock but, have done some country and big band stuff. I love music and since I am nowhere close to being a musician, this is a way I can be a small part of what, in the words of Henry Rollins, “gets me through the highs, the lows and everything in between”.
