~ S H O W * R E V I E W S ~

The TimeOuts - 10 June 1999 - The Edge - Palo Alto, CA
Stunt Monkey - 10 June 1999 - The Edge - Palo Alto, CA
Tsunami Bomb - 12 June 1999 - The Fishbowl - Sunnyvale, CA
Monster Pete and the Chiefs - 12 June 1999 - The Fishbowl - Sunnyvale, CA
Ibopa - 12 June 1999 - The Fishbowl - Sunnyvale, CA
Live 105's BFD 6 - 18 June 1999 - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA ** Stunt Monkey ** The Living End ** silverchair ** Limp Bizkit ** Red Hot Chili Peppers **
Home Grown - 14 July 1999 - The Cocodrie - San Francisco, CA
FenixTx - 14 March 1999 - The Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
Home Grown - 14 March 1999 - The Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA

Brief Reviews
The Offspring - 30 March 1999 - San Jose, CA
The Living End - 30 March 1999 - San Jose, CA
silverchair - 30 March 1999 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
3 Colours Red - 30 March 1999 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
Unwritten Law - 31 March 1999 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
Grinspoon - 31 March 1999 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
Spring Heeled Jack - 31 March 1999 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA

The TimeOuts
By Briana
The Timeouts are a pop punk band from Santa Clara who recently played at the Edge in Palo Alto opening for Let's Go Bowling along with Stunt Monkey. With a poppish punk sort of sound (think Unwritten Law, Home Grown, or Fenix Tx - the band formerly known as River Fenix), the Timeouts were enthusiastly received by the crowd gathered that night. Their fast paced sounds make them a band to definitely check out. (And I was so glad they weren't thrash punk!! Yes, you could hear the vocals!) Plus, you should check them out to try and figure out what's going on with the inflatable dinosaur that accompanies the boys onstage.
Check out their website

Stunt Monkey
By Briana
Happy, fun poppy punk music and free food.. Stunt Monkey sure knew how to put on a good show! (And free food always gets a crowd�s attention!) The San Jose based pop punk trio recently opened for Let�s Go Bowling at the Edge in Palo Alto. With an energy packed live set compromised mostly of tracks off their cd, For the Ear, the band was warmly received by the crowd � especially when they started throwing out Twinkee�s and Ding Dongs to the audience. Stunt Monkey have gathered a larger crowd with radio airplay on Live 105�s Soundcheck and Local Lounge shows as well as a slot on the local stage at Live 105�s annual BFD. If you listen to Live 105 early, early Saturday mornings, I�m sure you�ve heard their track, White Trash Puppet Show. Adrenaline based pop punk appears to be these boys secret recipe to a energetic and entertaining, all around fun show. Stunt Monkey are definitely a band worth checking out! Look for a new ep from the guys in the near future!
Check out their website

Tsunami Bomb
By Briana
A little bit rockabilly, some punk, a bit pop, don�t forget swing and some rock, Tsunami Bomb are a band that really can�t be classified as one genre or another. With a totally rockin and quite unique band name, the five talented members of Tsunami Bomb are able to blend together all these sounds and more to form their unique tunes that suitably fit such an originally named band. Tsunami Bomb consists of bassist, Dominic, keyboardist Oobliette Sparks, vocalists Emily Agent M, guitarist Brian, and drummer Gabe. Though it was unfortunate that they had to be the first band to play at the Fishbowl, Tsunami Bomb certainly entertained the crowd that had gathered there and, in my opinion, were the best band that played that night. The energy they put forth into their live show simply makes the band more of a must see. With a band description as a �Creepy Pop Punk Swing Rockabilly Something Band,� and an energetic and fun live show, Tsunami Bomb are definitely a band to check out. They�ll be on tour for the most part of July - touring on the first leg of Luckie Strike�s tour - but be sure to catch them when they�re back home. Great music, great people, great time, go see the band!! (Plus, they�ve got purple vinyl records!! Yeah!!)
Check out their website

Monster Pete and the Chiefs
By Briana
Orange jumpsuits, Star Wars light saver battles, and a dance contest?? A guess it could all only occur at a Monster Pete and the Chiefs show. That's some of what we witnessed at the Fishbowl in Sunnyvale. First off, the Fishbowl is actually the bread place and really doesn�t have much to do with fish but whatever. Secondly, could someone please tell me what type of name Monster Pete and the Chiefs is?? I mean, don't get me wrong. These boys have talent and they're quite entertaining but it was just like WHOA!! I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. I guess my review of the show is to tell you to go check out these crazy people yourself because I really don't know how to explain them and I'm still trying to figure out how many people exactly are in the band.

Ibopa
By Claire and Paola
Ibopa's totally peculiar form of music, a strange mix of the accordion, mandolin, keyboards, electric violin, guitar, sax, and drums, coupled with the lead singer's odd humor and eagerness for crowd participation always results in a fabulous (yet still very peculiar) live show. The "unplugged" Ibopa show, June 12th at the fishbowl, was no exception. In fact, it even more fabulous and peculiar show than ever due to the lack of band members onstage. The accordion player, mandolin/steel guitar player and guitarist/lead singer were surprisingly amazingly good without the other four members of the group. The white christmas lights, hundreds of pink bouquets of fake flowers, and the warm squishy roasted marshmallows being handed out to the crowd, mostly sitting indian-style and swaying, created a show with strong resemblance to a VH-1 storyteller episode. The band (or that part of) did a remarkable cover-up of the lack of members and generally just completely kicked ass in sound quality and in encouraging the crowd to go acoustic for the evening. But who could expect less than magnificent from Ibopa? The crowd was extremely attentive during the whole set and were pleased afterwards, and certainly that�s the real test of a good show.
Check out their website

Live 105's BFD 6
By Briana
Live 105�s BFD � 18 June 1999 � Shoreline Amphitheatre � Mountain View, CA By Briana Cimino, Entertainment Editor �00 Live 105�s BFD 6, an annual radio show highlighting current bands heard on the radio, took place the 18th of June on a warm, sunny Friday at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View. Despite the scheduling mishaps and the failure of two bands to show, this years BFD, with the Red Hot Chili Pepper�s as the headliners clearly blew away last year�s double electronica headlining bill with the Prodigy and the Crystal Method. Credit must also be given to Live 105 for the addition of the Local Lounge Stage. This addition enabled five local acts that frequently get airtime on Wednesday night�s Local Lounge and Sunday night�s Soundcheck to bring their show to a larger and more diverse audience. San Jose�s Stunt Monkey were unfortunately slated to play first yet they got the largest turn out at that stage for the entire day! The three piece pop punk band played numerous tracks off their cd, For the Ear, as well as a few new ones from their forthcoming cd, Kid Tested, Mother Approved. The band is quite entertaining, known to hold contests on stage during their sets as well as give out food and candy to it�s audience � they�ve thrown out boxes of twinkees, ding dongs, lollipops, and even a pi�ata once � so I was not surprised at all to see a cake with BFD in bright red frosting brought out to the crowd at the end of the set. Appropriately enough, they closed their set with the song, bake a cake. Despite the distribution of silverware, a cake fight started and cake was thrown all over the crowd and stage! Stunt Monkey played an awesome, energetic and fun set as usual and everyone seemed to walk away happy � and with their bit of cake of course. San Francisco�s Imperial Teen started up the fan friendly Dysfunctional Stage. Comments I heard from people walking away from the set included: �Wow I didn�t think they were that old� and �That was really boring.� Melbourne�s The Living End took the stage next End receiving a pretty great response from the crowd. The Living End first broke through U.S. radio airwaves in November and December of 1998 and recently have toured with silverchair and the Offspring here in the States. Some people also caught them on last years Vans Warped Tour playing the second stage. This year they moved up to the main stage playing alongside fellow Australian�s Grinspoon. At BFD the large majority of the songs they played were off their recent self-titled release here in the States. Though it was a bit disappointing not to hear many of their classics off their first two Australian ep�s, nearly everyone in attendance wouldn�t have recognized most of those songs. Before playing Bloody Mary, Chris told the crowd the story behind the song. Other songs that they played that afternoon included All torn down, Growing up falling down, second solution, and their rendition of Tainted Love. Towards the end of their set, Scott did his infamous climb up atop the double bass while still playing. Live 105�s promoters were a bit stunned by the huge turn out for Australian favorites, silverchair. Having been moved from the main stage to the dysfunctional stage to make room for the more radio friendly band, Lit, silverchair were bombarded by a mass of photographers eager to photograph the band and a good thousand plus fans wanting to catch a glimpse at their favorite band. Most hardcore fans were actually a lot happier that the band had been moved to the smaller dysfunctional stage as opposed to the large main stage. silverchair�s performance was also attended by Limp Bizkit�s Fred Durst who stood at the side of stage singing the words to the songs and seeming to watch in amazement at the amount and energy of silverchair fans jumping to the music, crowd surfing, and screaming aloud the lyrics. Blink182�s Mark Hoppus was also in attendance as were fellow Australian�s Chris Cheney and Scotty Owens of The Living End. silverchair played 10 of their best songs in their 40 minute set. Highlights were the haunting Emotion Sickness as well as Ana�s Song. As a twist, the band played the first verses of Tomorrow, rather than the guitar solo version, but then burst into the punkish Lie to Me which caused the crowd to go wild at the first beat of a song which has not been played much since the 1997 Freakshow Tour. Despite a short set, silverchair managed to play some of their best songs and bring back the �chair faith to old fans who hadn�t really listened to the band since the days of Frogstomp. Whether one likes or dislikes Limp Bizkit, it�s hard to say that the Florida based band does not have energy with the great show they put on at BFD. Playing the main stage, Fred Durst got several hundred people to rush the stage from the lawn and both lower and upper seat sections, flying past security who were helpless to stop that many people, and filling the stair wells transforming the lower seat section into one giant and spectacular mosh. As crowd surfers flung themselves down the masses of people in the stair wells, Durst climbed the side speakers and got the crowd moving. Cover songs included their rendition of 1999 as well as the ever popular, Faith. Limp Bizkit left the stage as a hard act to follow for San Diego�s Blink182 yet for the masses of screaming thirteen years old, the guys of Blink182 put on a fine show playing their hit songs that everyone can sing along to; dammit, josie, and what�s my age again?. For the many fans who once knew Blink182 as the down to earth guys who used to hang out with fans after shows, and were thrilled to sign autographs and take pictures, the set was basically a disappointment. Especially considering that the same set is played every night, including the same jokes and yes, the �livin la vida loca� bit that Mark sings at the very end. Hopefully, the guys will recognize the important of their long time fans and play a smaller venue or club when they start their tour in late September / early October. The Red Hot Chili Peppers closed the day long event with a 50 minute set comprised of mostly new tracks of their latest releases, Californication. Classics such as Under the Bridge and Give it Away were also included and greatly received by the crowd. It was unfortunate that their set was so short but they were able to bring the Chili Pepper spirit to thousands of new and old fans alike. Despite the suspected lack of energy reported by certain newspaper critics, the band played a solid set of songs, spending more time improvising. It was definitely great to see the band reunited and playing to a sold out crowd. One thing to keep in mind is that radio shows like this are a time for the bands playing to promote songs off their latest or upcoming release. A band will generally attempt to fit as many songs into their given slot of time as possible but they�ll concentrate on getting those newer and unheard songs into their set. So you�re not necessarily going to hear many older tracks unless they were hit singles. Also, radio shows like this only truly exist for the sole purpose of promoting what is currently on the radio and, of course, to make money. Though BFD is a benefit show for the Surfrider Foundation, only 25 cents from each ticket is donated. With ticket sales rising once again to $38.00 for seats and $28.00 for lawn, it seems that Live 105 could give just a little more money to the Surfrider Foundation. All in all, BFD 6 proved to be better than previous BFD�s with more bands and attractions and the addition of the local stage.

Home Grown
By Briana
Home Grown put on an awesome show - as usual! - at the Cocodrie in San Francisco Wednesday, 14 July. Songs they played were (not in order): All that you have, She's Anti, Surfer Girl, Last Nite Regrets, Suffer, Grow Up, Bad News Blair, Wow she dumb (that was the closing song), Get a Job, The Hearing Song, She said (opening song), Wanna-be, Barbie Girl, and another new track off the forthcoming cd. I can't remember which one.. Sorry.. I think I mentioned all the songs played.. Or at least most.. Maybe I'm missing one or so.. Anyway.. So barbie girl is definately on the new ep - which is out the 31st of August and called "EP Phone Home." Back to the show.. The highlight of their set was during wanna-be. Right before the song, Adam declared that he was bored playing bass and he said that he wanted to play the drums. So Bob sang while Adam drummed and it was really funny to see Adam drumming - and he did a really good job! It was just really funny because his arms were flying all over the place and he looked funny. I think this was my favorite Home Grown show so far...Awesome setlist and another fun HG show!! I'm definately counting the days til they're back in San Francisco..! Adam said that they should be back in about 3 months!

FenixTx
By Briana
One of their first stops on their national tour with Buck-O-Nine was San Francisco�s Great American Music Hall, Sunday the 14th of March. Being the first band to play, the crowd was relatively small yet it did not change anything as FenixTx totally rocked! I was bummed that we�d missed their first two songs but we arrived just in time to hear Phoebe Cates. They played a new song too which sounded really cool, but I didn�t know the name of it� It sounded awesome though! There wasn�t much of a mosh - which surprised me a bit - but it was probably because the last time I saw them it had been with Blink182 who seem to draw in more of a mosh wanting crowd, and the majority of the people in the crowd that night were there for Buck-O-Nine, who don�t seem to draw the mosh that Blink182 does. Or it could have just been the fact that it was a Sunday night and there weren�t that many people at the show altogether. Anyway, as usual, their set was great. They always seem so energetic, even if they�ve been traveling the whole day, and you can really tell that they love what they�re doing. They�re always totally into the music and talking to the crowd - Will always seems to have something crazy to say or do - and that�s what makes their shows so fun! Though we got the setlist, they didn�t play all the songs that had been planned so there is no definite setlist to print. However, I do recall that they also played Apple Pie Cowboy Toothpaste, and the Rooster Song of course! Their cover of Duran, Duran�s Ordinary World was one of the best songs of the night and an awesome way to end their set!

Home Grown
By Briana
Home Grown were just as entertaining as always! After RiverFenix�s set, Adam, Justin, and John, along with RiverFenix guitarist Damon hit the stage. The last time they were in San Francisco was at Slims, the 9th of October 1998, when they were touring with MxPx. There it was Justin, rather then Ian playing lead and this time it was RiverFenix guitarist Damon filling in for Bob on drums. However, this is merely temporary and will just be for this tour until Bob is better. Even with Bob not drumming, it was still the same HomeGrown going completely crazy on stage! Anyway, when the guys took the stage, some guy asked where Ian was and John replied �He�s not here.� The same idiot yelled back, �Where is he,� and John said they fired him. John also commented on his allergies saying they were really bad and he didn�t feel well. Despite that, he still went crazy on stage; jumping and running all around, falling down, and somehow, in between all that, he still managed to play his guitar! In the beginning of their set, the crowd didn�t exactly seem to get into the music but as they kept playing, the crowd got more into it all. Their set was full of the usual crazy and hilarious homegrown antics between Adam and John, and even Justin seemed to have gotten more into it all. Adam sang a bit of the Offspring�s Pretty Fly For a White Guy in one of the songs, Justin did his Eminem, Hi my name is.. during Wanna-be, John kept doing all these crazy poses and also complained about being out of shape. They also played a new song, Second Best, which was really good! Overall review of the show: HomeGrown were awesome as usual, though the set could have been longer - not their fault of course. The crowd for both HomeGrown and RiverFenix was a bit disappointing as I have seen both bands receive much better crowds here in San Francisco. (The plus to the small crowd though was that you could get all the way to the front.) The crowd at Slims in October for HomeGrown was a lot better and way more into the music that this crowd was. However, it could again be because it was a Sunday night and the majority of people there came for Buck-O-Nine.

Brief Reviews
By Briana and Jen

The Offspring returned to the Bay Area to play a large crowd at the San Jose State Event Center on the 30th of March. Their set list included many old favorites from their previously releases along with a hearty sampling of tracks of their new album, Americana. Highlights of the Night: During the intermission Dexter took to bashing blow up dolls dressed to look like The Backstreet Boys. He was definitely encouraged by the crowd, although a few girls in Bebe tank tops seemed rather uncomfortable with the idea of Nick Carter�s face being mutilated in the mosh. But never fear Varsity Whores! To the delight of a number of teenies during The Offspring�s rendition of Pretty Fly for a White Guy, the Fubu clad, goggle wearing teenager from the video showed up and shook his ass on stage. Oh my�. Australia�s The Living End opened the show that night and did quite well despite the break down of their double bass midway through the set. With Prisoner of Society all over the radio, they�re definitely getting an American fan base. Hopefully, with bands such as The Living End gaining notoriety more Australian bands will be able to break through in the United States. Highlights of the Night: Their rendition of Tainted Love. All said and done The Living End played a tough set, and everyone was anxious to see The Offspring. Also playing that very same night were Australian favorites silverchair. They totally rocked a sold out crowd at Slims in San Francisco, playing an awesome setlist containing many tracks of their new album, Neon Ballroom, as well as numerous favorites from their two previous releases. The work of touring keyboardist, Sam Holloway, added nicely to many of the classic �chair songs. Altogether, the band played with a renewed energy and intensity, making this a show you really would not have wanted to miss. Highlights of the Night: Daniel Johns rejuvenating their classic track, tomorrow, with a guitar solo version of it and new tracks, Ana�s Song (Open Fire), Emotion Sickness, and Miss you love. Brit pop rockers, 3 Colours Red, opened for silverchair that night and, despite their efforts to get the crowd moving, they didn�t get that great of a response. Although they weren�t bad, the crowd present was definitely there to hear silverchair. Having waited nearly two years to for the band to return and many hours in the rain that night, the majority of the people at Slims that night just wanted to see silverchair play and, thus, 3 Colours Red didn�t get that much credit. Highlights of the Night: Um..the song that�s been on the radio..? I�m not a big 3 Colours Red fan and I was just anxious for silverchair to get on the stage so� San Diego favorites, Unwritten Law, played the next night, 31 March, at Slims in San Francisco to a relatively large crowd. They played nearly all of the songs of their latest self-titled release as well as numerous favorites off their previous records. From their first song, lonesome, to the last, world war III, the guys of Unwritten Law totally rocked Slims, throwing all of their energy into one awesome show for their many fans who have anticipated UL headlining a tour of their own for a long time. Highlights of the Night: Teenage Suicide and Cailin. Unwritten Law also brought along Australia�s Grinspoon to open for them. Having met up with Unwritten Law when they were all together on the recent Australian Warped Tour dates, Grinspoon came out here to tour with the band through mid-April. They played a killer set, comprised of a number of tracks off their recent release here in the states, Guide to Better Living (Universal Records) as well as a few classic tracks off their previous eps from Australia. They�re a really awesome band to see live so I totally recommend catching them sometime. Highlights of the Night: Two of my favorites, More Than You Are and their closing song, Freezer. The Connecticut based Spring Heeled Jack - note: NOT the British techno group, Spring Heel Jack � has also been opening for Unwritten Law. Comprised of poppy ska songs with a touch of rock, their shows have included numerous songs off their recent release, Songs from Suburbia, and have been well received by the crowds at recent shows in San Francisco, Petaluma, and Santa Cruz. Highlights of the Night: Their rendition of Sexy and Seventeen in Santa Cruz was awesome!

Eleventeen
By Briana
I really like these guys! They played a really good set but I don't have the demo so I dunno the names of the songs.. BUT definately check these guys out because they're totally worth seeing. They were way better than Focus45 and Link80 too..

Focus 45
By Briana
2 singers.. They weren't bad but I wasn't rushing over to buy their cd.. Maybe if they'd played after Eleventeen I would have liked them more.. Oh well.. I suppose I'll have to see them again..

Link 80
By Briana
Same with Focus45.. Maybe if they'd played after Eleventeen I would have liked them more.. They certainly have lots of energy though and the drummer sort of looks like Phil Jamieson.. I think I've got to see them again too..

Coletta
By Briana
Coletta are from Minneasota and were the very first opening band for Mad Caddies..

Longfellow
By Briana
They opened second for Mad Caddies.. The lead guy is *extremely* energetic and in your face.. They weren't bad but I wasn't rushing over to buy their cd.. They're on Fat Wreck Cords..

The Ataris
By Briana
The Ataris are from Santa Barbara and opened for Mad Caddies the other night at the Cocodrie. They played a variety of songs off their 2 cd's and 1 ep, opening with San Dimas High School Football Rules and closing with My So-Called Life. I love this band!!
Check out their website

Mad Caddies
By Briana
They headlined at the Cocodrie the other night and um.. lots of people danced.. It was a cool show.. really.. I just have nothing to really say about it.

Cara Dura
By Briana
Cara Dura closed the Mad Caddies show on the 14th. A good number of people actually stuck around after Mad Caddies which was cool because it's a bit sad when the closing bands only have a few people to play to.

This page maintained by Briana. Email me with your shows reviews or comments.