blast from the past and into the future
by xhead on 12/30/24The Observatory - Santa AnaRating: 5 out of 5X delivered in every way. Hard and fast, slow and jazzy. Hard to believe they're all still together, and playing so well! Many of the old favorites, and in new arrangements using the vibe and sax. Exene is singing better than she did back in the day, John Doe still sounds great, DJ and Billy Zoom still playing strong. For any old So Cal punker from the 80s (or earlier), these guys are must see! Just wish more of them had gotten into the show, floor was half-filled with standing people. Standing. Felt a little awkward to be bouncing around and sing/shouting along like I used to 40+ years ago hehe but hey, that's how we used to do it... guess it's different these days...
As for the Observatory, my first show there, but not the last. Great venue, small floor section for moving around, tiers for greater views for more people, "premium"seats in back. I had a premium seat (shared 4-person table) just in case I needed a break from the floor (I didn't!), but those seats are way too cramped. 2 seats side-by-side extend past the tiny table, and there's literally no room to turn the chair towards the stage as "shown"in Ticketmaster's seat selection image. So buy a ticket, yes, but don't but a premium seat ticket unless you're with 3 other smallish friends that you want to get cozy with.
Parking was easy, $10 on night of show in the lot across the street. No need for VIP parking.