It was an overcast Sunday yesterday afternoon (April 14) when I drove out with a couple of friends from Los Angeles to the Orange County, California-based offices of Revelation Records for their pop-up event.
The festivities included a live performance from Calling Hours, a book signing for Ray Cappo's new autobiography, From Punk to Monk: A Memoir (buy here), and pizza by Chef Scott Winegard (you might also know him from his bass work in Texas Is the Reason, among other bands).
He got cute with the pizza menu:
After the Rev party ended, we drove over to Chain Reaction to catch a live bill featuring No Plan, Calling Hours, Back to Godhead, and Shelter.
No Plan got the evening started with a healthy shot of hardcore punk. The locals are playing in support of their recently released debut album, Lotsa Potential.
Also a member of Power Alone, a band I've covered on No Echo before, Eva Hall's gritty yet melodic vocal style suits the material well. It was a fine introduction to No Plan's live show for me.
Led by former Farside singer Michael "Popeye" Vogelsang, Calling Hours took the stage next and flipped things up stylistically. The Pennsylvania-based quintet's infectious sound brought to mind everything from Gin Blossoms to Samiam to Gameface.
Signed to Revelation Records, Calling Hours' debut album, Say Less, arrived in stores earlier this year and is a must-own collection for anyone who loved Popeye's work in Farside.
The krishnacore festivities got started next by locals Back to Godhead, a band formed in 2021. The band started by doing harinam sankirtan, the group chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra.
I've seen the quintet play a couple of times before, but last night's set truly impressed me with its energy, performances, and overall command that vocalist Bhakta Javier had over the proceedings.
If you haven't done so already, I suggest you check out Back to Godhead's 2020 promo for a healthy serving of anthemic and fast-charging hardcore. Jav told me they're currently working on their debut release for New Age Records, which should be released sometime later this year.
Opening their set with "Message of the Bhagavat" from 1995's classic Mantra album, Shelter walked on stage with mile-wide smiles on their faces.
"Message of the Bhagavat"'s bouncy patterns were held down by the formidable rhythm section of bassist Chris Interrante and drummer Sam Siegler, opening the front of the venue up for the dancers. I've seen Shelter start their shows off with that song before and it always gets a warm reception from the crowd.
Rounding out the Shelter lineup was vocalist Ray Cappo, and guitarists Porcell and Javier Casas, the latter also of Nueva Etica, an Argentine hardcore outfit I featured on No Echo back in 2019.
The Chain Reaction crowd showed love for the krishacore pioneers, singing along with Ray to such Shelter songs as "Civilized Man," "In Defense of Reality," and "Quest for Certainty." And yes, "Here We Go," a breathrough single and music video for the band in 1995, was included in the set.
Closing the night out with "Shelter" from their 1990 debut album Perfection of Desire, the band looked appreciative of the warm welcome they had just received from the Orange County hardcore crowd. Now, if we can only get some new music from them!
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Tagged: shelter
