On January 17th, there was a certain electricity in the air in Petaluma, CA.
At 7 p.m. that night, Tsunami Bomb, the influential female-fronted punk band was going to be taking the stage for the first time since their abrupt 2005 breakup. They would be playing at a sold-out show at The Phoenix Theatre as a benefit for Liz Beidleman, drummer for Lucky Strike, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year.
First to take the stage was Agent M's new incarnation, the Action Design, with fellow TB'er Matt McKenzie, Pipedown alum Jaycen McKissick and Rum Diary alum Jake Krohn. The Action Design played a brief yet energetic set that introduced many TB fans to the singer's new project for the first time. As stated by Emily on-stage, "It's kind of odd to be opening for myself." They definitely set the tone of the night, which was just about having fun and rocking.
Set list:
- 10 Feet of Snow
- Scissor Game
- Landmines
- Pale Horizon
- Half a World
- Connect/Disconnect
Next up was the New Trust. They seemed to be the lull point of the night. Amazing band, amazing songs, but a little too slow for the fast-paced energy of the band to come. I guess that's okay, though. Everyone needed to save their energy.
Finally, the moment everyone was waiting for. The lights went down, the 800+ capacity crowd inside The Phoenix was buzzing with anticipation. Then, as if they had never stopped playing for those three-and-a-half years, Tsunami Bomb took the stage: Agent M, Mike Griffen, Matt McKenzie and Gabe Lindeman. The band played over 18 songs that night with a good mix from all of their albums. This may have been the tightest set I have ever heard them play. M stated mid-set, "Yes, tonight you can call me Agent M," which just sounded awesome to hear, as if the whole crowd had stepped into a time machine and was transported back to the band's heyday. A highlight of the set included "Invasion from Within," with almost every single person in the crowd pumping their fists in the air along with M. The band pulled out an oldie but goodie, "Breakaway," which original guitarist Brian Plink came out and sang backups on.
The band held a raffle (with benefits going towards Liz) and gave away two of their out-of-print 7"s along with several other Tsunami Bomb goodies. The crowd anticipation at this show was like none I had ever seen. You could barely hear M singing over the roar of the crowd shouting her vocals back to her. It's almost impossible to describe this show as it was such a memorable and exciting thing to experience -- almost as if it was a "you had to be there" night. After the band's last song, they received an encore and came back out for another round.
To quote M, "You guys are not going to believe it, we're gonna do it."
At that point they ripped into "Lemonade," a crowd favorite that the band stopped playing after Dominic was kicked out, with the help of Mel and Liz from Lucky Strike on backups. The crowd truly went nuts.
To close out the set they played "Take the Reins," one of their most memorable and innovative songs of their career.
This show was definitely something to be witnessed, heard and experienced. TB finally said a proper goodbye to their fans and raised a shitton of money for a good friend.
Side note: And much to Mr. Dominic Davi's dismay, no one was talking about why he wasn't there. He couldn't have been further from the minds of the people there. We were there for Liz and to say goodbye to our band, Tsunami Bomb.
Set list:
- Dawn on a Funeral Day
- Russian Roulette
- 4 Robots and an Evil Scientist
- Invasion from Within
- Headlights on a Hand Grenade
- El Diablo
- Breakaway
- I Bought You
- 20 Going On....
- A Lonely Chord
- Count Me Out
- My Machete
- 5150
- Roundabout
- Being Alright
- Swimming Through Molasses
- Say It If You Mean It
- Not 4 Ever Encore:
- Lemonade
- Take the Reins