Thursday, September 25, broke a hot and muggy streak in the Bay Area as San Francisco’s The Chapel hosted the tour of Hunx and His Punx‘s new record, Walk Out On this World. The Chapel’s 40 foot arched ceilings make the venue intimate yet spacious, while the lights,audio and visuals provide a vibrant experience that anyone in the Bay Area must witness. I discovered the second-floor mezzanine and stationed myself, having a perfect bird’s-eye view of the crowd and stage. But, wherever you are inside, The Chapel doesn’t hold a bad view of the stage.
Niis, a four piece band,with roots in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, include front woman Mimi SanDoe, guitarist Ryan McGuffin, drummer Monte Najera and bassist Izabella.The band made its way onto the stage and the audience started to surround it when SanDoe exerted her raw punk power with a guttural scream announcing, “I wanna see you move a little bit.” SanDoe’s stage presence woke a sheepish audience up. What started as a few spectators grew rapidly to the extent of a substantial mosh pit with SanDoe egging it on. From the mezzanine, I was able to observe the wide range of ages that made up the audience in attendance. The pit itself was made up of a younger crowd with the perimeter consisting of middle-aged retro punks either holding a cocktail or clutching a Hunx shirt. When Niis’s set came to a close, and SanDoe thanked the crowd as she grinned while her and the band exited the stage.
Hunx and His Punx, consisting of Seth Bogart on guitar and vocals, Shannon Shaw on bass and vocals, and Berlin Emslie on drums as the core. For this tour, Alana Amram and Jose Boyer joined to assist on guitar. Vengaboys’s “We Like to Party” played as the five band members made their way to the stage with mic stands adorned in crimped blonde wig extensions. The band was dressed in a punk rock uniform of head-to- toe leather and dark sunglasses. The set opened with Seth belting out the song “Bad Boy” from the 2011 album Too Young To Be In Love. Seth used the blonde crimped extensions as a prop to tease the audience, while kicking his leg up to show off his boots.
After setting the tone, Bogart debuted the first song off the new album,”Alone in Hollywood on Acid“. This song set the crowd on fire and everyone started dancing. The pit was different from the opener, Niis’s, but Shaw’s voice really got everyone to dance it out. It wasn’t until they performed the song “Bad Skin” that the lights went down and Bogart stripped down to a black thong. The crowd got a little rougher, but not by much as the main floor and mezzanine became packed to the brim with punk rockers young and old.
The set wound down with a mellow song that Shaw sang called “Rainy Day in L.A.,” which was a tribute to her fiancé’s sudden and tragic death. The crowd really felt the love and loss in Shaw’s voice and reacted with a cheer and applause different from the previous. Perhaps, the crowd of fans in the audience empathized with the emotional pain and hurt that came through from her soulful voice. The pair of Shaw and Bogart wouldn’t be complete without some on-stage banter. This time it consisted of Shaw outing Bogart as one of those “salad eaters”, while he commented on her love for deviled eggs. The show creeped to an end, but not before Bogart received a joint, a bottle of tequila, and an on-stage kiss that left him bewildered since the fan walked on from backstage. Eventually, it all came to an end, but not without an encore. Bogart came back out after the crowd gave a loud cheer for more. The rest of the band followed as he announced they would sing the “dumbest song,” which was “You Don’t Like Rock and Roll”. The crowd and the night proved to be a success as everyone made their way out of the venue murmuring of the fun and excitement they had on a Thursday night.
Review by Ezra Rodriguez
