The Grabbers
with Guttermouth at Axis
by Scott Hefflon
Yeah, I love all ages shows. Early evening, drinking up in a roped-off area in a corner like a leper, with countless TVs playing violent cartoons. Rock on. The Grabbers were already on stage and playing that good ol’ punk rock. Kinda snotty old school style with heavy guitars and the clear production and harmonized parts of new school. They even played guitar solos. Orange County pumps out a punk band with a pretty unique identity. On stage, the Grabbers jump around a real lot, and most of the harmonies turn into group shouts. The solos stay solos. It’s great to hear a guitarist letting loose with solid rockin’ riffs and solos in a punk band. (Some mentioned Chuck Berry.) They did a cover of a Stray Cats’ tune, too. Totally rad, if I may say so. Ferocious, fast and fun, the Grabbers are a great mix of styles, and all of them are punk.
If ever a band was aptly named, it’s Guttermouth. One word. Three syllables. Punk as fuck fuck fuck. They hit the stage with an attitude that barely fits in the room. They don’t bother with vocal effects or harmonies; singer Mark “Nature” Adkins just moons the audience, jumps all over the place, and tells the audience how much they suck. “Confrontational” is a huge understatement. Geek Boy just pushed all those buttons and insulted everyone. Kinda like Fear, this is scumbag, redneck, fuck-your-slut-girlfriend-in-the-ass-’cause-the-bitch-loves-it style punk rock. Someone yelled, “You guys played faster last year!” They responded by playing even faster. Yup, they’re one of the fastest punk bands in all my weeks of being a punk fan. Funny thing is, they’re really good too. Tight as shit. For all the chaos they produce, they do it in perfect synchronicity. (I just wanted to use that word.) Most of the songs are a minute or two long, so I’d be here forever if I tried to list the highlights. And who cares anyway? They all soloed, introed and talked between songs in highly-caffienated rants that pushed the limits of the word “banter.” They closed the set with “Asshole” and encouraged all the dweebs to jump on stage with them. So they did.
The Grabbers have a swell album, The Way I Am (Doctor Dream), and Guttermouth have a 13-song, 22-minute clusterfuck entitled Friendly People (Nitro). Face to Face are on Victory/A&M, (NOT the Victory label in Chicago), and I left before their set .
