Back in the late ‘90s, the legendary San Francisco-based punk band THE AVENGERS decided to reunite under the name THE SCAVENGERS. As an avid fan of theirs, I tried to go see them in the fall of 1999, the one and only time they played on the East Coast (at a now defunct club called Life in New York City), but I couldn’t make it because of a major storm. Since then, they’ve stuck mostly to playing gigs on the West Coast, until now.
When I heard about this tour, I was totally and completely psyched because I wasn’t sure if they’d ever play the East Coast again. Before I start gushing about how great it was, though, let me state that the lineup consisted of original members PENELOPE HOUSTON on vocals along with guitarist GREG INGRAHAM. They were joined by the rhythm section of the Bay Area-based pop-punk band THE PLUS ONES, who also opened the show as well as the entire tour. And man, was it great.
Opening with their first single “We Are the One,” The Avengers played an hour-long set that covered all of the old classics. It was amazing to hear “Car Crash,” “Corpus Christi,” “Teenage Rebel,” “White Nigger,” their great cover of “Paint It Black,” and the closer “The American in Me” (the only song of the night which induced some slamdancing activity) in a live setting, as it’s an opportunity that I thought I’d never get. Penelope Houston, looking and sounding much younger than her years, was in fine form, though the sound was a bit off for one of the songs, where it seemed like she had trouble hearing her vocals and the band didn’t sync with her.
That very minor complaint aside, Ingraham also played well, but the pleasant surprise was how tight the new rhythm section was. In contrast to the saccharine power-pop of their main band, bassist JOEL READER and drummer LUIS ILLADES played these old Avengers songs (written when they were toddlers in the late ‘70s) as if they were old pros – with precision, ferocity and energy. They also seemed to be completely enthralled with the idea of playing for The Avengers, which is understandable given their legendary stature. At one point, Reader even kissed Houston to show his enthusiasm.
The crowd, although small (the church basement couldn’t have been more than a third full), responded in kind, showing an infectious enthusiasm that’s understandable given the long wait (27 years) that Philadelphia had to endure for The Avengers to come play here. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another 27 years for them to come back!
The photo above of Penelope Houston was taken by Kirstie Shanley at the Chicago show, which happened a week or so before they played Philadelphia. If only THE EFFIGIES had opened for them here. Sigh!
