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We were more hyped than we usually get for a good show because we were gonna go see The Faction play live. We took David along with us tonight and he was stoked to finally see the band who's CDs he had been playing to death. When we got to the SOMA club in San Diego we found our bro Ray Stevens II hanging out front waiting for him mom to come by to say hello to everyone. Ray's mom the original Faction fan from back in the day. |
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We decided we would cruise across the street to get something to eat and visit with Ray's mom. Ray's mom is the coolest and we loved hearing her tell us about when Ray was a young Punk that she did not want him spending his money on records. Anyone that knows Ray today is familiar with his DJ activities and the killer collection of Punk records he has. ray was telling us at dinner about how he had to hide his records back - we're sure glad that he did, his collection is one of the best. Tonight's show had four bands on the bill, Reeve Oliver, The Heart Aches, Mike V and The Rats and headlining was The Faction. |
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We got back just in time as Mike V and The Rats were taking the stage. Recently we saw them play at the Henry Knowles of Agression benefit show so it was a bonus to see them play again. The band is fronted by pro skater Mike Vallely which for some may be the initial attraction, yet once you hear them play you quickly understand that this is a legit hardcore Punk band that can stand on it's own. |
| Mike's bands is a successful fusion of Black Flag and Minor Threat that creates a sound that hardcore fans appreciate. Within their set they play a Black Flag classic "Police Story". Their set is fast and blistering leaving the people in attendance that had never heard them before take notice. This band is one that will be here for years, we just hope that Mike's busy skating schedule will allow for the band to play plenty of shows. |
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After a brief intermission The Faction now took the stage. The Faction is a band that was all over the scene from 1982 - 85 and making music that was fast and tight without the thrash. Sure, everyone in the skate scene knows that this is the band that Steve Caballero is in, and that it attracts allot of skaters. Many people today say these guys should have kept on playing more that the 3 short years that they were around and put out a few more records, so having them play tonight was a special thing. |
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The last time your editor had seen them play was 19 years ago at a place called the Cathay de Grande in Hollywood back in 1984. This band was Punk Rock at it's best. If you skated in the 80's The Faction was a part of every session. Tonight we take up where that era left off. This was not some reunion show, they have been playing in Nor Cal, Canada, Germany and other places and this was their first So Cal show. |
| The whole place was a buzz as the original members of The Faction began to play their intro song. Then Gavin walks on stage and they break into "Being Watched". The sound was just as good as the sound that we primarily hear on their records. David maintained his spot in the front of the stage as the crowd behind him was pushing on him, he said that he wanted it no other way, after all this was one of his fav bands. |
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Lots of people brought their vintage Faction vinyl records to the show to have the band sign them. During the show Gavin even asked, "Where are all these records coming from?" Tonight's 18 song set consisted of, Being Watched, Tongue Like a Battering Ram, Aisle Seat, Lost in Space, Demons, Who The Hell Do You Think You Are, Friends and Enemies, Corpse in Disguise, Dark Room, The Whistler, Spineless Majority, Pegged For Life, Cut It Out, Beyond the Mirror, Fast Food Diet, Deathless, Skate And Destroy, Let's Go Get Cokes. |
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The crowd in attendance read like a whos who of pool skating in San Diego. The place erupted into some lively pits a few times as alot of people stayed on the sidelines taking in this band that they thought they would never see live. Lots of old heads were there to see this band that was part of their rotations back in the day as well as plenty of young kids that had heard of this seminal skate rock band. Gavin delivers a vocal performance that more than met our expectations and interacted with the crowd all throughout the show. Steve Cab on guitar not only proves he can shredd any pool or half pipe, he also can also lay down guitar riffs with the best of them. |
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One thing that we noticed is that all the guys in the band are really good friends and they enjoy performing together. They ended the night with classic skate anthem, "Skate and Destroy", the song that has been in the Bones Brigade Video and was part of the Thrasher magazine Skate Rock comp. The place had no time to calm down before they finished the night with, "Let's Go Get Cokes". |
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