Live Report: Fishbone, Bite Me Bambi, Strawberry Fuzz & Damnage at the Garden Amp (December 20, 2024)

Though it was a chilly winter night in the outdoor Garden Amphitheater in Garden Grove, CA, the crowds still came out (either bundled up, or in proper circle pit attire) for the mighty SoCal legends Fishbone.

Opening the night were punk trio Damnage (who I learned while writing this met while touring as members of Lady Gaga‘s back-up band). With a sound leaning often towards hardcore, with elements of street punk and hard rock, the group played fast and furious. The bassist’s delivery had elements of hip-hop in his screamed lyrics, and definitely showed the bridge between hardcore punk and hard-edged rap. While their sound held hints of melody, they definitely leaned into the heavier side of things, with tracks like “Time to Kill” bringing out nu-metal rhythms. While they were new to me, there were audience members up front shouting out requests (which is impressive since the band only has 3 songs available on Spotify, and the requests weren’t for these songs).

I was more aware of (and excited to see) Venice Beach garage punks Strawberry Fuzz. I first heard the band back in 2022, and quickly became a fan. Though looking like modern day beach bros, the band’s sound echoes back to the late 70’s and early 80’s underground punk sound, bringing in hard slaps of melody to their tracks embracing house parties, trashing Los Angeles hipster culture, and music snobs (memorably on “Green Room”, with the line “If you don’t like the music, go the fuck home”). The band had a fun camaraderie on stage (and were probably a bit tipsy), ribbing each other on stage in between blasting out their multiple bangers.

There was definitely a sense of danger to them, which so many rock bands attempt to showcase but few succeed with. Part of it came from the spastic, aggressive performance from their frontman, who seemed ready to go full 70’s Iggy Pop at any moment. Yet there was a playfulness to all of it as well. And musically, the band’s songs have undeniable hooks, and occasionally throw in sticky harmonies between their propulsive scuzz rock songs that they are probably a bunch of sweet guys when they are talking shit about Manhattan Beach (where I grew up lol). The group played one new song during the set, and promised a lot more to come in 2025. No complaints for me.

OC ska band Bite Me Bambi has been in rotation on my playlists since 2020, so I was equally excited to finally see them live. Carrying the torch of forbears like No Doubt and Save Ferris, BMB definitely lean equally between the punk and pop worlds, with a SAXy ska syrup poured over the mix. Every member of the band brought personality to the stage, from the keyboardist cracking jokes, the guitarists performing synchronized strums, to the saxophonists laying down some beautiful horn notes. And of course the start was petite powerhouse Tahlena Chikami. Her fantastic vocals elevate every song, from their cover of The Offspring‘s “Want You Bad” to the latest, dancehall banger “Do the Damned” (in which she had the audience, including her grandma, do call-backs of “bitch” and “whore”). She and the band brought a punk bite with songs like “Bad Boyfriend”, and a sugary sweetness with love song “Hot Lava”. Where’s Amy Heckerling to put them in a movie? As I said back in 2020 – they are a bad ass band deserving to breakout of being just heroes of the OC scene.

And then there was Fishbone. And yes, let’s acknowledge what many of the band’s old school fans know – this isn’t the same Fishbone that first dazzled and shocked the Los Angeles scene in the 80’s. While Angelo Moore is still the epic showman leading the group, most of the original band have been replaced (including longtime bassist and founding member Norwood Fisher). But looking into the crowd, especially those in the venue’s pit area, the faces I saw were young. As in folks who were babies or not even born yet when the band first started. And I’m guessing as far as they were concerned, the band on the stage was just as much Fishbone as their earliest iterations.

I had only scene Fishbone once before at Coachella, so was excited what they would do with a headlining set. The band wasted no time getting heavy, knocking out the sludge-rocker “Swim” after warming up the crowd with “Fishbone (is Red Hot)”. From a head-banger, the group went to the other side of their spectrum with the classic “Skankin’ to the Beat”, getting the audience skanking along in a growing circle pit.

Moore remains a wonderful ringleader of the circus, standing on speakers, raising his cane to the sky, and interacting directly with audience members. Even when taking a back-seat to Chris Dowd on new track “Racist Piece of Shit”, he was still showing off his sax skills. Speaking of newer songs, the band also played “Cubicle” from their 2023 self-titled EP (sadly “All We Have is Now” didn’t make the setlist).

Always stylistic chameleons, the band showcased their wild range, from jazzy instrumentals to art-punk (“Drunk Skito”) to new wave ballads (“A Movement in Light”). It’s the reason they inspired so many of the bands that came after them, while also being one of the reasons record labels could never figure out how to break them. It was around this time that I noticed that one of their famous fans was in the pit cheering them on – Adrian Young, drummer of No Doubt. Wearing a sports coat and plaid shorts, he was in perfect adult-ska attire, while enjoying watching some of his heroes along with the rest of the audience.

The band closed their main set with their biggest streaming hit, “Ma and Pa”, and then the joyous, gospel-touched “Everyday Sunshine”. Moore actually brought up his co-frontwoman for Dr Maddvibe and the Missin’ Links on stage to join him for the song, making it even more of a communal experience. As Moore did a long, somewhat drawn-out goodbye, promising a new album in 2025, a fight broke out in the pit, creating a spectacle that seemed to go unnoticed by Moore, but which led to at least one drunken man being dragged up the stairs and out of the venue.

When Moore and the band returned for their encore, they brought out Bambi’s Tahlena to join them on “Lyin’ Ass Bitch”, making the performance all the more wild, with band members going all over the place for an extended jam. Maybe it was because the venue had a hard 10pm curfew, but sadly missing from the set was my favorite Fishbone song “Party at Ground Zero”, the song which to me will always be their calling card. I’ll admit to being disappointed for this track not making it in, but as long as the band continues to go strong as a touring unit in some form or fashion, I’m sure there will be a future opportunity to “Party” with these ska heroes.

If you’ve never listened to Fishbone, you can get started here.