Review & photos by Charlie Steffens
Don’t pinch me. I’m Irish!
The spacious grounds of Oak Canyon Park, a pleasant venue nestled in the Santa Ana Mountains of eastern Orange County was the site for the first date of Flogging Molly’s inaugural Shamrock Rebellion. As a pre-Saint Paddy’s Day beer and music festival, it was destined to be an all-out day of fun with a boat load of green-wearing people that thronged the grounds. The second and final date of Shamrock Rebellion would happen the next day in Las Vegas on St. Patrick’s Day. VintageRock.com was there to see four bands perform, but missed the free beer tasting with the brew supplied by the local breweries.
Face to Face, a band from Victorville, California, played a 45-minute set that was so good it merited a 30-minute extension. By the first chorus of their opener “A-OK”, a swift-moving circle pit had started as fast punk rock songs ensued. Bassist Scott Shiflett is a standout player who laid down a heavy groove and rolled out punchy basslines in fast tempo. He and drummer Danny Thompson are an amazing rhythm duo. Props to singer and guitarist Trever Keith who engaged the crowd like a true emcee. The quintet exhibited exemplary musicianship, while keeping it reckless and appealing to a crowd who came to get rocked.
Buzzcocks, elder statesmen from the first wave of English punk, took it to pieces, giving their audience recognizable songs like “Fast Cars,” “Orgasm Addict,” “Ever Fallen In Love (You Shouldn’t’ve), and ones that old fans might have chosen for the setlist. The band certainly drew in new fans that day, since there were Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Gen Ys, Gen Zs, all the way down to toddlers riding on their parents’ shoulders. Buzzcocks are punk rock in the purest sense and synonymous with fun.
Frank Turner and his band, The Sleeping Souls, came onstage as the sun began to set. The energy was palpable as the crowd, many of whom were singing and dancing, experienced an all-out rock show. FTATSS played an assortment of old and new songs from Turner’s extensive catalog, including “Girl From The Record Shop,” a catchy song from the forthcoming Frank Turner album Undefeated. The last song, “Four Simple Words,” was the finest six minutes of the whole festival — a super-charged rock and roll song with a show tune-like intro and ending.
Flogging Molly opened with “Drunken Lullabies,” appropriate for the festive atmosphere. Before Molly kicked into “Life In a Tenement Square,” singer and guitarist Dave King, a compelling storyteller, spoke of his childhood days in Ireland, which inspired the song. The band proceeded to rock Shamrock Rebellion, capping off the night with “The Seven Deadly Sins.” The seven-piece folk punk band, fronted by King, performed a generous set of favorites that had the crowd singing along deep into the night.
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