Venue: Mostovna, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
Concert date: 08.07.2008
Attendance: 600
Ticket price: €18 in advance, €22 on the day of the show – SOLD OUT!
Lagwagon, one of the leading lights of 1990s melodic Californian punk rock, have finally returned to Slovenia after nine long years. Last Wednesday, July 9, with local heroes Kennybal Smith in support, they shook a jam-packed Mostovna in Nova Gorica to its foundations.
The local ska-punk quartet Kennybal Smith hit the Slovenian music scene in 2003, and last December they self-released their debut album “Small Actions – Big Reactions”, which went down a storm with the crowd. With their sharp guitar melodies and – in the spirit of American bands – socially critical lyrics, they made sure the first shirts were already coming off sweaty bodies at Mostovna before the headliners even showed up. And the hot Wednesday evening had nothing to do with it. It’s clear that Kennybal Smith have all the key ingredients for success: melody, great lyrics and a charismatic frontman. The guys took the stage for about half an hour and played all the best-known tracks, including “Miserable”, “Marryanne”, “Spirits” and “Freddy`s Back”, which got a great video in mid-May. Kennybal Smith sure know how to warm up a crowd! And it wasn’t the first time they’d played before such a big name of the world punk-rock scene.
California’s Lagwagon, who were taken under the wing of the influential label Fat Wreck Chords back in the early nineties (its head honcho is Nofx singer and bassist Fat Mike), hit the stage a few minutes past ten. Mostovna, packed to the last corner and sporting a “mustache” dress code in honor of singer Joey Cape, was bursting at the seams, and the heat was unbearable even before they started. A wild horde of young guys and quite a few young women crushed everybody in the front rows, photographers included, right up against the stage and the speakers, leaving very little room to maneuver. Or none at all. The unbearable heat and the stench of sweaty bodies nearly knocked a few girls out, and thanks to the moshpitters and stagedivers, plenty of people went home with a nice collection of bruises. But hey, that’s what happens at this kind of gig. What matters is that no bones were broken.
The crowd proved that Lagwagon were one of the most anticipated shows of this summer while their crew was still tuning the guitars one last time. From all sides you could hear: “Lag-wa-gon, Lag-wa-gon, Lag-wa-gon!!!”. And finally, here they were. Joey, Leon, Chris, Jesse and Dave kicked off with “Island Of Shame”, from one of their most classic albums, “Trashed” (1994). The first riffs hadn’t even finished ringing out when the pushing and shoving started, and it went on for a solid hour and a half. They continued with “Making Friends” (“Double Plaidinum”, 1997), followed by another classic, “Dis`Chords”. Even if you were wedged between the stage, the speakers and the crowd, totally immobile, you were dripping with sweat after the first three songs. The six-string madness went on with “Violins” and “Black Eyes”, both from the 1995 album “Hoss”. The guys kept jumping off the stage and constantly shoving the monitors around, which drove the Lagwagon roadies up the wall. It’s a pain for everyone, let alone the performers. Guitarist Leon and singer Joey exchanged baffled looks more than once during the show. With no needless chatter between songs, the guys carried on with “Never Stops” (“Blaze”, 2003) and the classics “Give It Back” and “Coffee And Cigarettes”. Jumping, bruises, bumps, kicks, heat, sweat. Pure madness! We were barely half a dozen songs in, and the crowd was already soaked through. But definitely not tired. The night was only just getting properly started. Next came “Train” (“Let`s Talk About Feelings”, 1998), “Layman`s Terms” and, from that same record, “After You My Friend”. Lagwagon fired off song after song almost without a break, and the crowd made it clear that after nine long years it was high time these guys came back to Slovenian soil. The craziness calmed down a bit after “Falling Apart” and “Choke”, because we got to hear three new songs. “Memoirs and Landmines”, “Errands” and “B Side” will see the light of day in physical form on August 19, when their new studio record “I Think My Older Brother Used To Listen To Lagwagon”, featuring seven new tracks, comes out on that eminent label mentioned at the start. A great conversation starter for when you’re sitting in the ER with the injuries you picked up at the gig.
Lagwagon wrapped up the trio of new songs with another older hit from “Blaze” (2003), “Dividers”. The heat kept climbing from song to song, even though the stagedivers had eased off a bit. Luckily, the Lagwagon roadies came to the rescue with water, handing out quite a few big bottles to the crowd. “Heartbreaking Music” and “Automatic” followed, both from their latest album, “Resolve”, released in 2005. That was the year drummer Derrick Plourde left Lagwagon, with Dave Raun taking his place. The guys then fired up the crowd again with “To All My Friends” and “Razor Burn”. The craziness was back to full strength, though the crowd was starting to show signs of exhaustion and thirst. “Whipping Boy” and “May 16th” came before the encore, and then Lagwagon left the stage for a few minutes. They’d barely disappeared backstage when the crowd started chanting in unison: “We want more!”.
The end of their set was more or less a joke. After “Alien 8”, “Angry Days” and “Know It All”, bassist Jesse Buglione sat down on the floor and Joey climbed into his lap with his guitar. And that’s how the guys brought a fantastic night to a close with “Mr. Coffee” and “Shaving Your Head”.
Kennybal Smith delivered a great warm-up, Lagwagon threw a party like no other, and the organizers Dirty Skunks and Buba once again did what only they know how to do. The only black mark I can give them is that there was no designated area for photographers, or at least a barrier, which made shooting pretty difficult. Looking forward to the new Lagwagon album – something to chew on.
Text and photos: Lea Lesar
Setlist
Lagwagon setlist:
1. Island Of Shame
2. Making Friends
3. Dis`Chords
4. Violins
5. Black Eyes
6. Never Stops
7. Give It Back
8. Coffee And Cigarettes
9. Train
10. Layman`s Terms
11. After You My Friend
12. Falling Apart
13. Choke
14. Memoirs and Landmines
15. Errands
16. B Side
17. Dividers
18. Heartbreaking Music
19. Automatic
20. To All My Friends
21. Razor Burn
22. Whipping Boy
23. May 16th
—– encore —–
24. Alien 8
25. Angry Days
26. Know It All
27. Mr. Coffee
28. Shaving Your Head
Photo gallery
