Agent Orange Living in Brightness

Only a handful of punk bands, like The Adicts, The Damned, The Toy Dolls and The Dickies, have stood the test of time, surviving without a break. Among them is Southern California’s Agent Orange. This was one of the few punk bands that my friends and I would listen to repeatedly throughout high school. Not only has this energetic skate/surf punk band lasted but they have the same drive and power as they had back in the eighties, if they haven’t improved. I was lucky enough to get to see them for the first time on their latest tour.

I arrived at Yucca Tap Room after the opening act, Heavy Breather, finished their set. The following band, The Earlygrabs, were setting up. I was pleasantly surprised by their brand of skate punk, which I’m not even necessarily into. What I definitely noticed was their enthusiasm, especially from their guitarist but even their drummer lit a spark underneath the crowd.

On tour with Agent Orange was an impressive act that’s hard to classify. In The Whale, out of Denver, is a rock band with a heavy blues influence and hella punk attitude. I only just recently heard of these cats and am glad I have. Their hyperactive stage presence leads them to some rather robust metal tendencies. Guitarist Nate Valdez would often thrash around the stage, jumping onto drummer Eric Riley’s kit from time to time. I even saw a metalhead in the front row, headbanging and throwing up devil horns. Overall, their recordings are really good but it was thrilling to catch this amazing band live.

Closing out the show was veteran punk band Agent Orange. And did they ever leave the crowd in a wipeout. Frontman Mike Palm led us by the hand through an epic set ranging from their frenzied skate and surf punk to some more manic rock material. Even their latest addition on bass, Perry Gx, gave off more of a Motorhead/ACDC vibe in both appearance and performance. As well, drummer Dave Klein enthralled us with his rapid rhythms. From what I could tell, they played all of their classic tunes with the crowd shouting the lyrics along with the band. The massive crowd even opened up a pit, chock full of chaos, with an unfortunate instance or two of a bottle being broken on the ground and someone getting kicked out. After their set, if that wasn’t enough, and some random shouts from the audience, Agent Orange took to the stage again for an encore of a couple covers. All in all, I was grateful for the opportunity to finally see this band and even shake Mike’s hand. I think he summed up their set well that night: better to have seen them now than when they were younger.

~ Garyn Klasek 
   Photos courtesy of Joe Maier