Allston Pudding - Expendables and Pepper

EXPENDABLES AND PEPPER RESURRECT THE SPIRIT OF SUMMER (HOB 9/13)

Photo by Chad Jenkins

Last Friday’s abrupt climate drop did little to impede the west coast’s invasion of the east. Boston, and its’ inhabitants enjoyed the last of summer’s sultry heat. Thus, Boston’s premature signs of winter’s (frigid) tides, fired up an onslaught of students, and music-lovers, directed towards The House of Blues. Eager for one last dance with the summer solstice, New Englanders’ entrusted Santa Cruz’s surf-inspired group, The Expendables, and Hawaii’s most tanned, chiseled abs, and idolized rebel, rock sound, Pepper, to accomplish the job. The door’s opened as the sun began to set, and the wind (unsurprisingly) began to pick up. Clad in apparel fit for the winter: jackets slowly came off, hipster-central’s favorite lager, PBR, was cracked open, and, Maryland’s revered, reggae group, Ballyhoo!, elicited, within the audience, the same, care-free spirit associated with the night’s headliners.

The sunshine-yellow lights of The House of Blues, Fenway Park’s neighboring music hall, transformed the somewhat bleak, dark venue into a pacific ocean beach retreat. Red, yellow, and green projected across the insides of this makeshift island, all of which cooperated in painting the elated crowd, vibrant hues of the Rasta movement. The Expendables, played the expected hits, and played them well. Although, the group’s performance strayed little from the typical concert, lead vocalist and guitarist, Geoff Weer’s, enthusiasm and charisma on the House of Blue’s stage, instilled a sense of warmth and nostalgia, in the attendees of the night’s show. The Expendables performance of their hit, Bowl for Two, accordingly, appeared responsible for the standing ovation, and over all satisfaction beckoned by this California-native quartet.

Pepper’s set, as expected, proved to be the show stealers, for the Boston event. From the beginning to the end, and some, the pacific islanders kept the audience alive with their witty one-liners, perverted, yet appropriate shout outs, and a perfect blending of their old (flash back to middle school) hits, and new singles. Although the Hawaiian ska/punk group played a majority of their set off the normal tempo from their studio albums, the sped up and slowed down styling’s, offered a fresh perspective to Pepper’s oldest songs. After The Expendables, routine performance, Pepper offered fans, a much needed, change of pace. Rebels, with, or without a cause (you decide), afforded sweat-drenched concertgoers the opportunity to jump up and down, scream, shout, and, well, just be a kid again. After the lead vocalist’s multiple rips on “wanky town” aka New York City, and the endless love, the band bestowed on the bean, Pepper’s high-energy and flawless sound, concluded with pleas from these “Kona Town”-ers to keep the party going after the concert ended, and a gratitude that promised to leave the group, “Boston Hung over”, exclaimed Weer’s. Evidently, love, reigned over the House of Blues last Friday. Pepper, surprisingly, didn’t just revel in the audience’s cries of praise, but consistently gave back to Boston’s pepper fan’s, the same enthusiasm they so humbly accepted.

–Madi Silvers