Santa Cruz Punk Rock Blow Out

Thick globs of sweaty condensation slide up the wall, it's too dark to see your hand in front of you and suddenly a body clutching a guitar flies over the top of the audience before it drops to the ground into the eye if a circle pit. This is punk rock.

With punk clubs holding almost as much mystique as the bands that played there, famous spots like CBGBs, ABC No Rio and the Mabuhay Gardens have gone down in the punk history books as "the places to be." After changing its format a few years ago, Santa Cruz's the Blue Lagoon is rapidly becoming a punk rock legend in its own right.

For instance, on any given night, it's not uncommon to find legends such as San Francisco's The Dwarves playing naked on stage, Oakland's High on Fire kicking out crushing riff after crushing riff, or Long Beach's TSOL slamming together three chords with goth overtones.

But, what really sets the Blue Lagoon into the ilk of other legendary clubs is that its not a super-star only affair. At least once per week the Blue Lagoon hosts early '80s-style shows where as many bands as possible are crammed into one bill without regard to whether they are local or touring, give them 25-minute sets, and lets the crowd go wild.

This Monday it's happening again when the Blue Lagoon has a full bill with Santa Cruz natives The BackUp Razor, F.D.S.H., Can Toker and Seduce the Dead.

Combining old school aggression and speed with hard rock riffs, The BackUp razor are quickly becoming mainstays around town. While their almost metallic sound pays tribute to the punk sludge that mid Black Flag and Flipper took in the mid-80's, they injected some much needed energy into the undulating grind. 

But, most interestingly, The BackUp Razor reach as far forward as they do back, taking the tasteful parts of metalcore, giving the band a two-scream attack, while still retaining the underlying urgency and rhythm of the best hardcore.

Of course, the band tackles traditional punk topics such as capitalism, disaffection with society, and self-identity, they deftly weave clever lyrical phrasings that enhance the music instead of clutter it up. On the clanging "Money as an incentive is bullshit," the bands declares "I'm done with the sound of you," referring not to just the speech of an unnamed proponent of capitalism, but also to the clinking sound of money itself.

In contrast, F.D.S.H. (which stands for something too uncouth for print) forgo serious statement in favor of shock rock, which is as un-PC as it gets. While offensiveness for the sake offensiveness can get pandering, F.D.S.H. seem to be self aware of their position, and take as many shots at themselves as they do the P.C. Police. 

Can Toker, on the other hand, seem to occupy that unique Santa Cruz punk station as being an harsh, snappy, energetic hardcore group that loves weed. With no song lasting more than a minute thirty, and most not even hitting the 60-second mark, Can Toker flies in the face of the lackadaisical stoner stereotype, and make some pretty harsh music in the process.

Show openers, Seduce the Dead, play a brand of mid-80s hardcore that blends together East Coast speed with gothic and apocalyptic trappings. Twisting and turning many times in the space of one minute, their songs don't so much grip the listener as they do throw him to the ground.

With venues becoming ever more strict about who can and can not perform, the Blue Lagoon is making powerful plays by throwing open its doors. While other clubs might be aiming to make it into the black, it seems that the Blue Lagoon is aiming to make it into history.

Catch The BackUp Razor, F.D.S.H., Can Toker and Seduce the Dead at the Blue Lagoon on Dec. 20 at 9 p.m. 923 Pacific Ave.