D.O.A. Says Farewell with D.I., Amerikan Made, and more

Last Friday night at The Observatory in Santa Ana, D.O.A. headlined their final show, backed up by D.I., Amerikan Made, and two local bands. As one of the forefathers of punk rock, founder Joey Shithead has remained true to his roots by refusing to allow D.O.A. to go down while he breathes. This man truly lives, eats, and sleeps punk rock, and he further proved it by acting as his own roadie in this show. With four other bands opening for D.O.A., only the truest punk rock fans could survive the entire night and appreciate the musical talent the stage has to offer.

Local Riverside punk band Slow Children opened the night to a largely empty room. For a band of a bunch of kids, they played a great high-energy show. Unfortunately they did not get a chance to play to a large crowd, as by the end they played their last song, the room still had less than half of the space filled with people. They definitely deserve more credit than their spot in the night would otherwise indicate.

Another local band played following Slow Children. This time, they did not mention their band name, though I can only guess The Skulls since a band later in the night mentioned that, albeit they probably have nothing to do with the original Skulls from 1976. With a harder sound than Slow Children, they managed to instigate a small pit. I could hardly focus on the band, as this pit contained some interesting characters, such as some kids shuffling, and a clown. Yes, a moshing clown, complete with white powder makeup, a red ball nose, and a rainbow wig.

After the local bands, we now move on to the sub-headliners, starting with Amerikan Made. With no bells or whistles, Amerikan Made represents standard punk rock. If you ask anybody who does not regularly listen to punk rock, what they would envision would sound like Amerikan Made. They played with nonstop energy, as the pit never stopped the entire time. Although there exists an unwritten rule that thou shalt not wear the band’s shirt to their show, I spotted a few people with Amerikan Made shirts, one of which read “Quit Being A Pussy” for one of their songs, which Amerikan Made played close to the end of their set.

A film crew set up for the next band, D.I. Another original punk band, former Adolescents and Social Distortion drummer Casey Royer founded D.I. back in 1982 and has remained with the band ever since. Never one to shy away from the spotlight, fans recognize Casey for his banter between songs, as D.I. rarely plays back-to-back songs without Casey saying something between songs. He never talks about the same thing twice – he manages to find something new to talk about between songs. Besides the random chatter, D.I. leads their set off with some fast music, starting the pit with the wheels already spinning. If you have not attended a D.I. show, you have to see one soon to understand the chaos of their set.

Prior to D.O.A.‘s final performance, the audience spotted Joey Shithead setting up his own stage. Always one to act as his own roadie, Joey stuck true to his roots and played in the same style he has always played with. He may not have moved as much as the previous bands, but his grungy voice coupled with their hardcore sound certainly moved the room. In fact, D.O.A. moved the room so much with their set that by about halfway through the set, the pit had significantly calmed down. I wager that most of the pit had expended their energy for the prior bands. This did not prevent the crowd from enjoying D.O.A., as they still swayed and jumped, just in place instead of into the next person.

Sad to see D.O.A. go? Bands throw in the towel quite often, but legendary bands like D.O.A. will make headlines when they call it quits. Make sure to read my blog weekly to stay up-to-date with upcoming music shows!