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The Urinals and Friends Remember D Boon: Late Minutemen frontman D. Boon was born on April 1, 1958. This past Saturday, he would have turned 65 had he not been killed in an automobile accident in 1985 at the horribly young age of 27. His hometown of San Pedro simply won’t allow his life to be forgotten, hence the annual D Day celebration.

And what a celebration it was. If the Sardine (and we’ll say it again — there are few better places to watch a punk rock show in all of greater Los Angeles) wasn’t sold out, it was pretty fucking close. The Pedro punks turned out en masse to celebrate their local hero, and they did his memory proud.

Both Dondo and Rig provided the early entertainment — the latter were particularly impressive with a snotty and simultaneously psych twist on punk. When a trumpet made an appearance, we were all in.

We saw Recess Records mainman Todd Congelliere, who also happens to co-own the Sardine, at this same venue recently with Toys That Kill/Five Year Plan. The music of both of those bands, joined into one, was superb, and it stands to reason that the magnificently named Underground Railroad to Candyland would be fabulous too. They are.

The 2014 album Bird Roughs is so good, we feel bad about only just now discovering it. Songs from that record, such as “Square Ball” were super-fun, as was the entire set. That Congelliere dude sure knows how to write a catchy punk ditty.

That just left the Urinals. Formed in ’78, they are an early entry into the LA punk history book. The name has always been a bone of contention, even for them. It brings to mind the loutish punk of the UK Subs or Sham 69 variety, when their haiku-led punk always had far more in common with the likes of Gang of Four. Damn — they tried to change it twice, to 100 Flowers, and Chairs of Perception. But the Urinals is the only name that would stick.

Regardless, they sounded great on Saturday as they blasted through a short set. “Ack Ack Ack Ack” is a bonafide LA punk classic (and it remains as relevant as ever, as gun control remains a hot topic for good reason). Also, the Minutemen covered the tune, so they really had to play it.

But the whole set was great, including a typically minimalist, thought-provoking “Hologram.” They ended with one final tribute to D. Boon and then we all left, filled with bittersweet memories.

The Urinals and Friends Remember D Boon: Go to thesardinepedro.com for all listings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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