It seems like with every passing year, the howlidays keep getting closer and closer together. This year, Halloween came a little early, both in the spirit of the holiday and the actual presents of it. Literally though, Halloween decor is already appearing in some stores online and offline, as well as in the form of music. A trio act of brothers known as Calabrese from Arizona, went on a hiatus for some time, going on to create webisodes of their everyday lives, talking about hobbies, interests, their music, etc. So with that, it lead them to do a short run of dates in 2017, with another minor set of dates in 2018. This being those set of dates, that would lead this horror punk act, back to the sunny state of Southern California.
In of all places Fullerton at the Slidebar venue. It being not just a venue of sorts but a combination of venue, bar, and restaurant as well. The band's showcase being in the back of the venue, were they were the headliner's of the evening, while the openers were of another act, whose time was spent on a hiatus. But their hiatus was over 10 years and counting in length according to them. This act being called Zombeast, whose sole only release that was a "Self-Titled" effort, released back in 2009.That band then going on said hiatus after playing some shows, really building up their reputation as it were. As they had said during this return revival of a performance, it was the brotherly trio of the Calabrese brothers, who gathered the two acts together for this California and their home state of Arizona.
Both back to back showcases being completely sold out! Having many fans turned away at the door, while others were seeking tickets at the last minute even. But dating back to the California appearance, Zombeast would go on to play for a good 45 minute set, having the entire back room of the venue space, completely filled edge to edge with people. Everyone there witnessing their performance as it kicked off precisely at 9PM.
Everyone in that room erupted in excitement, as the band went on to play a handful of their classic tracks off their "Self-Titled" release, along with some all new material that the crowd were head over heels with approval for. Throughout their set, the crowd of on lookers, bob their heads, swayed back and forth, with others pushing one another in the mosh pit, while one fan went straight for the top of the crowd, attempting a crowd surfing technique, succeeding but only so far, with falling near the front of the stage. Throughout their entirety of their set though, was Zombeast's presents as a whole, being very fulfilling, promising, and an outgoing set-up that everyone was pleased with seeing and hearing. Surely their return as it is, is quite good, and will lead to many more reappearances and even greater surprises.
ZOMBEAST PHOTOS:
Next up was of course the headliners of the evening, Calabrese! Their presents bringing in the crowd of on lookers as before, except not as packed in as Zombeast had, had the crowd. While the back room space of the venue was filled in, it was not packed in. As a lot of people were gathered throughout here and there, with some spots opened. Other folk just hanging back, singing along to the tracks known best, with others swaying to the beats, with many more bobbing their heads right along to the catchy upbeat tones. The remainder just enjoying the overall experience taking place.
Towards the end of their performance was when the crowd up front got into the whole ordeal, causing a mosh pit to form, with others jumping in to be in the front, screaming along with the band and it's special guests upon the stage. This included Stellar Corpse's Dusy (vocalist) and guitarist Jared of Zombeast coming onto the stage to perform some of the closing out songs of the night. But before that happened, Calabrese's set list did contain a lot of their classic tracks, "Zombie I", "Voices of the Dead", "Vampires Don't Exist", "Eyes Down" "One Of Us", with some of the newer tracks like "Loner At Heart", "There Is An Evil Inside", "Gimme War", among others. The closing tracks were cover's which included The Misfits' "Earth AD" and "Night Of The Living Dead", as well as a Tiger Army track called "Fuck The World" played a few songs prior.
CALABRESE PHOTOS:
All in all though, horror and the punks of Zombeast and Calabrese, really brought the Halloween howliday season alive and well for this fine summer night. Both acts will continue to grow and expand as musicians, entertaining more so, for many more years to follow. For they are the next set of generations of the horror punk genre, just as The Misfits were before them, along with Tiger Army, TheOther, and The Order of the Fly plus tons of others.
SETLIST:
1. One Of Us
2. Zombie I
3. House Of Mysterious Secrets
4. Sea Of Dirt
5. She Hasn't Been Herself In Years
6. The Man Who Lived Twice
7. Voices Of The Dead
8. Eyes Down
9. Young Princes Of Darkness
10. Night In The Lonesome October
11. Gimme War
12. New York Ripper
13. Tiger Army Cover Song "Fuck The World"
14. Loner At Heart
15. There Is An Evil Inside
16. Demonomania
17. The Misfits Cover Song "Earth AD"
18. The Misfits Cover Song "Night Of The Living Dead"
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