KIMYA DAWSON GETS SHUT DOWN

COPS RUIN LOCAL FUN AGAIN

By Kenny Pomroy, Contributorr

 

    The 12th street and G Warehouse is a secluded venue within the dreary industrials of Chino, California which seems a perfect place to make loud, melodic noises up until the wee hours of the morn. And, seemingly, this was the case on Friday, January 21st. The bands on the bill included (in this order): Summer Vacation; God Equals Genocide; Stoned At Heart; Defiance, Ohio; and Kimya Dawson. A pretty hefty line-up all at the meager price of five American dollars.
     Utilizing the raw power of social networking, this relatively small D.I.Y. venue was packed to the brim with kids wanting to sing along and vigorously dance with their beloved artists. There had to have been at least t300 plus kids in a space that wasn’t much bigger than a large living room. However, there was an outside section of the venue that could hold even more people, so everyone wasn’t feeling super uncomfortable.
     Summer Vacation (who frequent local shows with Joyce Manor) led the show off with charged punkish/indieish stuff that always gets the crowd going. At this early stage of the show I knew that shit was going downhill, there were just too many kids for such a cramped space and in such a small warehouse. At least I could see the top of the band’s heads within the mess of people.
     Up second was God Equals Genocide, who have a colorful take on punk that I do so enjoy. This three piece Southern Californian local band put out some very high energy and knew how to get shit going. Unfortunately I was being pushed against a refrigerator during their set, which inhibited any dancing. I nodded my head to the beats real good though.
     Next up was Stoned At Heart. I have to confess at this point I couldn’t even see them, so I had to listen outside; but listen I did. These guys are from San Pedro, and I think they do a good job of capturing a familiar sound for coastal SoCal kids like me. They pound out some melodic, steady beats, which was a good break from the high energy that proceeded them, but they still maintained the grooves going on for the show and were a good segue for Defiance, Ohio.
So this is where previously said shit starts its rapid descent. Defiance, Ohio set up their equipment in the outside patio part of the venue, which was a wise decision for the even larger crowd that collected. After a short stint of setting amps and instruments up and necessary sound checks, the band began pumping out some tunes. Halfway through their second song, they stopped and asked (kindly) for the energetic crowd to take some steps back so they don’t crush them and their instruments. Everything was fine when Defiance, Ohio was playing their old standby “Oh, Susquehanna!” when the men in blue came and started breaking the show up.
     Much to everyone’s chagrin, the owner of the venue asked us kindly to leave and apologized thoroughly for the show’s abrupt end. But the livelihood of the venue was at stake, and the law didn’t want us to have fun and junk. All of the bands put on a great show, but Kimya Dawson never got a chance to shine. She also personally apologized to all of the patrons of the venue: it’s nice to see humility within someone who has so much notoriety. Mad respect to all the bands and the venue; I’d recommend you see all these artists as soon as you get the opportunity.