Four bands playing the same night is actually quite hard to follow and a little overwhelming, but who has the right to complain when you only pay $5.
The quartet Audacity from Fullerton had the second spot at the Echoplex on Saturday night, a show presented by the FYF Fest, and their young punk exuberance was easy to enjoy right away.
A little Ramoney, a little beachy, upbeat and sunny with distorted guitars and brightness all over their songs, their garage punk rock started a mosh pit soon, and I can say it was definitively a mosh pit night.
Some of their catchy songs had a certain ‘King of the Beach’ energy going on, with these bouncing rhythms and fun melodies, which would have made you think you were invited to a pool party. They looked like four blond kids who started a band when they were in sixth grade, and this is actually what they did, which means they already have 9 years of musical experience at only 20.
Some people in the audience seemed to know all their songs, ‘Punk confusion’, ‘Subway girl’ and ‘Indian Chief’ among others, and it may have been pure youthful energy, but the guy on my left was probably in his 50s and knew all the lyrics, ‘You skipped a verse’ he even said at one point!
Last January, they were among the openers for Screaming Females at the same place, so they may soon not just be an Orange County craze.