One of the regrets I had about Punk Rock Bowling 2016 was missing a chance to finally catch The Lillingtons live. Luckily they made their way during their “Southwest Crusade” to West Hollywood, CA to play The Viper Room on January 31, 2018.

Up first was the local duo The Two Tens. This wasn’t my first time seeing the band. Back in April 2017 I saw them open for CJ Ramone in Long Beach, CA and they always put on an incredibly lively show. The Two Tens’ songs tend to lean more in the garage-punk subgenre which made them really stand out at this show especially. They got the crowd warmed up with jams like “Ella Don’t Like My Hat,” “Street Light” and “Keeping Hope Alive.”

Then Fat Wreck Chords’ newest signing, The Last Gang, made their way onto the stage. Like I have mentioned before, The Last Gang is another local LA band who I’d seen a couple years ago totally kick ass at a show opening for Tartar Control and Rats In The Wall at the tiny (but lovely) Redwood Bar & Grill. Since then their performance improved quite a bit. The three members immediately took control exuding a lot of stage presence and confidence. They played a bunch of songs that will be on their upcoming album like “Believe In The Poet” (apparently a demo of that song has been floating around the internet fro a while), “Nobody’s Prostitute,” “Let’s Go,” and “Karla.” At one point, lead singer and guitarist Brenna Red got on top of one of the tables during a brief musical interlude, shouted at the crowd and then jumped back on stage (perfectly timed) to start their anthem “Sing For Your Supper.” The Last Gang’s set was impressive to say the least.

During The Two Tens’ set they mention that it had been eleven years since The Lillingtons last performed in Los Angeles. We were due — and they delivered one of hell of a show. What was really cool about it was that their setlist had a pretty even amount of new songs and old songs. They performed “I Saw The Apeman (On The Moon),” “Zodiac,” “London Fog,” “Rubber Room,” “Codename: Peabrain,” “Murder On My Mind” and “Project 313” to name a few. I was absolutely thrilled that they also played “Pyramids” from the Red Scare Industries: 10 Years Of Your Dumb Bullshit compilation and “Insect Nightmares.” The band really didn’t say much to the audience in between songs, but what really added a lot to the show was that they would instead play these windy and spooky haunted house-type tones. It was a really nice touch.

Early on during The Lillingtons’ set a mosh pit immediately broke out, which is to be expected at any show. But The Viper Room is a smaller venue that apparently has a capacity of 250 people and two columns that act as tables that are pretty much in the center of the venue. So it was very cramped and awkward to avoid getting slammed by someone in the pit. Inevitably, “that one very drunk and obnoxious guy in the mosh pit” (there seems to always be one at every show) was bashing people a little too hard and that ignited a fight to the point where he and another guy were both on the ground, tearing at one another. I watched amused from afar. Eventually, someone intervened and things seemed to cool off.

After playing a set that was just over an hour long Kody and the rest of guys quickly got back on stage to play a three-song encore that included “Pursuit Of Pleasure,” “I Got Abducted By A UFO” and “Lillingtons High.”

My expectations for this show were definitely high. Stella Sapiente was one of my favorite records of 2017 and I had only heard good things about Lillingtons shows. The whole event was pretty mind blowing in the end. The opening bands were great and The Lillingtons absolutely slayed. I’m already looking forward to seeing them again.

You can see pictures from the show on the Punknews Instagram account.