Pop-punk used to mean more than boy bands with eyeliner (cough, Good Charlotte, cough). The Ramones and The Clash made pop-influenced punk before the subcategory existed, and Screeching Weasel wore the pop-punk label as a badge. SoCal group
Agent Orange is a part of that tradition. Known for fusing surf music with the emerging music of their times, Agent Orange surfaced during the early 1980s west-coast punk scene alongside punk pioneers Bad Religion, Social Distortion, and The Vandals. Tonight theyll open for hardcore-punk outfit
Fear another relic from the same era. Unlike Agent Orange, whose surf-punk style was hugely influential on what today is known as skate punk, Fear was more aggressive and consequently more exciting, producing a sound that helped lay the foundation for hardcore punk.
Both of the bands retain only one original member Agent Oranges Mike Palm, and Fears Lee Ving but the music hasnt changed. If you want to hear some close-to-classic punk tunes in our neck of the woods, check out Respectable Street Saturday. D.I. and Total Chaos will open. Tickets cost $19.95, and doors open at 7 p.m. Call 651-832-9999, or visit respectablestreet.com.
Sat., Aug. 8, 7 p.m., 2009