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Mark Unseen gets close to the audience during The Unseen's performance @ Southern California's premiere all-ages punk venue The Showcase Theater in Corona, CA on April 4, 2008.

Hellcat Records The Unseen shared the stage with opening bands Civet, Viva Hate and A Wilhelm Scream, who delivered a sonic assault of punk rock, hardcore and hard rocking psychobilly to a packed house of local diehard punk kids that screamed, moshed and not infrequently flew through the air from the stage and in one case the upper balcony.

The Showcase Theater, host to inumerable punk bands large and small over the past 20 years, including AFI, Tiger Army, Saosin (who played their first live show there), Sick Of It All, The Unseen, and a an endless roster of local and national bands, from the unsigned to the major label, will be closing it's doors for the last time at the end of May, as local development in downtown Corona forces the older stores and strip malls out of it's path.

The Showcase is located in an old movie theater in a small strip mall, across the street from a church... and the newly built upscale Corona Public Library and business bankers. The owners plan to reopen a venue in another OC city (one source mentioned Rancho). It is always sad to see a landmark of local and alternative music have to close it's doors due to "progress", hopefully the new location will as accessible and welcoming to the generations of fans and bands that have considered The Showcase if not a home, a welcome stop on their tour schedule alongside larger mainstream venues.

©2008 MiseryXchord

The Unseen "Paint It Black" Live @ The Showcase 04.04.2008

Viva Hate "Goodnight, My Love" Live @ The Showcase 04.04.2008

Viva Hate "Surprise" Live @ The Showcase 04.04.2008
Turn your volume WAYYY down before playing this one!

Civet performing @ The Showcase Theater in Corona CA on April 4, 2008

Also on the bill were Viva Hate, A WIlhelm Scream and The Unseen.

All photographs ©2008 MiseryXchord
Rights Reserved

...if there is such a place, I think it'd be a whole lot like being in the Showcase Theater last night.

Sorry my uploads stopped... I need to get a spare battery for my Buzznet phone. However, I do have 1100 photos, videos of Viva Hate, A Wilhelm Scream and The Unseen (I got photos but I don't think any live video of Civet) and a bunch of phone media to download, edit and upload over the next few days.

Because the crowd was so intense by the time The Unseen came on, I ultimately ended up onstage taking photos/vids, because it was the only moderately safe place to stand... after being tackled, crushed under 12 people, knocked down UP a set of steps, stage-dived onto, and knocked in the head (twice) by an electric bass.  When you see the vid of the utter churning sea of chaos that was the crowd beating itself onto the stage (and frequently, the band) that was The Unseen's set, you'll understand.

It was beautiful.

I could have wept for the sight of it.

I HAD SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...

Quickie review... (with quick and dirty grabs from my point&shoot... the Nikon shots are downloading)



Civet = ♥
Beautiful women playing ass-kicking punk rock. REAL Punk-Rock Princesses.



Viva Hate = ♥♥♥ Have I told you how much I love this band? I mean, lately?

Matt - Sweetest guy with the sweetest smile offstage. Step one foot onstage and someone pushes "The Exorcist" button and cranks the dial up to "Scary voice & potential to rotate head 360 degrees while stalking around grinning evily" (but thankfully still short of projectile pea soup level).
        I've noticed lately that some women like to pet his head while he's at the front of the stage screaming. I am not brave enough to pet Matt. In part this may be because I still want to be able to speak to Matt when he gets off stage, and petting him would be a little weird (I also have an inate fear of band's possibly homicidal girlfriends mistaking my intentions as a photographer if I start petting the musicians). But it's also because Matt is scary onstage. I like my soul. I'm afraid he might eat it if I get too close.

Eric - Prowls around the stage like a cat that was grafted to a guitar at a young age and became one with it, but his bad ass cool look will be broken at unpredictible intervals by the goofy-face. Much like some actual cats I know.

Greg - The Energizer bunny would hang up his drum in shame and take up beat boxing if he ever saw Greg onstage. He looks like, this is where he is absolutely the most alive, this is where he is absolutely meant to be, right there and then, and is pouring 110% of himself into every second.

(Old, my ass. Take the shirt off and I'll die a happy woman ;)

The Replacement Killer - with stand up bassist Geoff Kresge back in Tiger Army, Viva Hate has been using 'temps' to fill the position. I couldn't see that side of the stage most of the set, but it sounded good, and there was some nice technique going over there (more finger tapping goodness)... and when he (with bass in hand) lept up on the (very elevated) drum riser to trade riffs with Greg I was seriously impressed.



A Wilhelm Scream = FINGER TAPPING GOODNESS!!!

Holy. Hell.

And I have never seen guys look like they were having so much fun onstage.

Did I say Holy Hell?

SHRED SHRED SHRED = ♥



The Unseen = Beautiful Chaos ♥

I don't know what I can even say other than you HAVE to see the videos. The people were there for The Unseen. The people obviously love The Unseen very much. I love The Unseen very much, too.

And I want Mark Unseen's indestructable mohawk.

Seriously. How do you jam someone's trucker hat over your 12 inch 'hawk, take it off, and the damn thing is intact? And do this, like, 2-3 times?

Okay, I can still only say, you HAVE to see the videos. I keep trying to play it all over in my mind and can't think of any better way to describe it than I did at the beginning of this journal, without getting seriously lyrical and embarassing myself greatly. It was an awesome set. Just trust me on that. You'll see... then you'll know.



...and since I just walked in the door, haven't slept, and am still running on bad gas station coffee colored water... and am not going to go into the bus story or the Denny's story or the attack of the well meaning clerk at the MAC Cosmetics counter resulting in having to walk around looking like Marilyn Manson's ugly sister most of the night... at least until I go remove 12 billion cats from my bed so I can collapse for a few minutes... I'll end this here...

~Misery

In a couple hours I'm heading off for a new concert trip... it should be as exciting as usual, as I don't have a ride to the venue and will surely end up stranded in yet another strange city at 3am, with no money and no phone (the Buzznet phone doesn't include phone service :P) and no Greyhound stop...

...but this time out, I'll have my wonderous Buzznet streaming media device (see above, no phone service) with me, so I'll be beaming back live photos and not so live video from The Showcase Theater in Corona... so if you like The Unseen, A Wilhelm Scream, Civet, or Viva Hate, or just punk rock in general, check my concert photo/tour site here on Buzznet, Misery's Wonderful Life of Doom starting this afternoon for my coverage of the show.




Civet "Pay Up" @ Annie's Social Club, San Francisco 08.10.2006.
Video by Daniel Nolan



Viva Hate "Save Me" at the Knitting Factory Los Angeles CA 03.15.07



A Wilhelm Scream "Cancer Dream" @ the Glass House in Pomona, CA on 08.032007.
Filmed by Mike Expo



The Unseen "Scream Out" Live @ Saratoga Winners, Albany NY on 08.05.2005
Video from joemaconmovies