It’s May 2003, and I’m seeing Face to Face at the Fiji Islander concert at UCSB. I am a big fan of the band, and have never seen them live before. I’m in the pit, surviving as best I can to be close to the band. Suddenly I turn, and a falling crowd surfer’s foot connects directly with my face. In a daze, I wander out of the show, a piece of my chipped front tooth in my hands. I leave before the band finish their set and play “Disconnected.” The next day, I languished in dismay for missing it.
If nothing else, last Friday night was a chance at redeeming my Face to Face live experience from 23 years ago, but honestly it was more. The revered band were celebrating their 35th year as an active punk rock unit, and they brought out a stacked line-up for the festivities. And this is a band that deserves to be celebrated. In punk rock circles, they are respected elder statesmen, who as Scott Russo eloquently put it, have been “melting faces off” since the early 90’s. They are right up there with Bad Religion, Social Distortion and NOFX on the Mt. Rushmore of 2nd wave melodic punk rock bands, and it was time to pay tribute.
The only act on the night’s bill I was unfamiliar with were openers Ways Away. Despite each member having also played in well-regarded scene bands themselves, they hadn’t crossed my radar yet. A solid unit of no-frills punk rock, the band knew the assignment. They warmed up the early-arrivals with solid, skate punk that would fit solidly on any Tony Hawk game soundtrack. There were some memorable hooks in the mix – enough to make me want to throw some of their tracks into my Spotify queue for later listening.
Home Grown are one of the most recent bands to make a return to active status as the pop punk revival of recent years continues. The one time I saw the group before was way back in 2002 at the Roxy, and I’ll admit I mainly went because The All-American Rejects were one of the openers and playing their first CA date. I had enjoyed Home Grown‘s set, and “Second Best” would become a regular throwback track for me, but I used up most of my energy that night on the dancing to the Rejects. Now, twenty-four years later, I was seeing the band again through veteran eyes and they still carried the energy of their younger selves. “Second Best” still dug it’s emotional hooks into me, and I could appreciate the surf rock rhythms in “Surfer Girl” that I wouldn’t have realized were unique for a 2000’s pop-punk band back in the day. And I I had forgotten about the band’s biggest hit, “You’re Not Alone,” which lives on as a true 2000’s pop-punk anthem.
While so many things have gone wrong in the world the last few years, one of the few things that has gone right is Unwritten Law returning to touring. Since coming back in 2022 with great album, I’ve celebrated my 40th birthday seeing them and caught them opening for Goldfinger, and they remain one of the most underrated punk acts of their era. Russo remains as charismatic on stage as ever, and while the band has their share of hits, he’s never beholden to them. For their set that night, knowing the audience was leaning heavily towards older punk fans (and their kids, brought along for the ride), Russo and company mixed things up.
They still opened with fan-favorites like “California Sky,” “Teenage Suicide” and “Lonesome,” and included some of their big radio classics like “Seein’ Red,” “Save Me” and “Rest of My Life.” But they also dug out some deeper cuts like “Before I Go,” “She Said” and even one of their more rowdy old school punk rockers to close the set that I didn’t recognize. It goes the circle pit going, much more than streaming hits like “Celebration Song” or jams like “Up All Night” likely would have, so a smart play on their part. I remain in this band’s corner for life.
The time between sets was a little longer, raising the anticipation for Face to Face to finally show their faces. Around 10:30pm, the band finally came out, and what came next was banger after banger after banger. It was “Walk the Walk,” “I Want,” and the brilliant “Blind” to start things out, and while the old school fans probably got the hint, frontman Trever Keith spelled it out for the rest of the audience – to celebrate their 35th anniversary, they were going to play the same setlist as their 1997 (technically released in 1998) live album, Live.
While I at first felt a tinge of disappointment, as this meant I wouldn’t get to hear awesome post-90’s smashes like “Disappointment,” as the band then went into “I’m Not Afraid” and another favorite of mine, “It’s Not Over,” I realized the group still had so many songs I loved from their 90’s work, that the set would still be a blast. Songs like “Ordinary” came rushing back into my memory, with their memorable shout-along choruses. And oh man, the mosh pit was going. And going. It basically never stopped. Through “Telling Them” and “Don’t Turn Away.” It may have slowed a bit during the very catchy “A-OK,” but that was only because audience members were stopping to raise their hands in the air and sing along.
The band remain an epically tight unit. Bassist Scott Shiflett got to show off his skills on an impressive solo, and he and guitarist Dennis Hill provided sharp backing vocal skills. Trever Keith remains a powerhouse of a vocalist, and had some fun with the audience, playfully trying to start a class war between the GA and balcony. But mostly, he was sending love and thanks to everyone there for sticking with the band for the last three and a half decades (including during their long-ago farewell tour that didn’t stick).
More tracks like “Complicated” and “Do You Care” came, and when the band took their brief encore break, everyone knew what was to come. The band returned with the furious “You’ve Done Nothing”, and then after twenty-three years, I finally got to hear it – “Disconnected.” Honestly one of the best punk rock tunes of all time. And hearing it live, in 2026, the lyrics took on new meaning. Living in the age of Trump and “fake news” added new depth to;
Trust is something that comes easy
When you’ve never been a victim
Lies and promises and words are said
It’s your decision to accept them, accept them
And in a time when we’re all worried about losing more and more of our civil rights, “No, you don’t know what you will give up” carried even more power. It says a lot that a band can write a song in 1992 that’s even more relevant three decades in. And that’s why Face to Face are still going strong – their songs age like fine whiskey, while the band are sounding just as good as ever.
Keep up with the band’s touring here, and keep an ear out for Trever Keith‘s upcoming solo album (coming later this year). And if you couldn’t make it out last Friday, you can experience the show by listening back to the band’s album Live here.
The Indy Review 