While most of the world was watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, a few hundred youngsters decided to spend their day with some of Los Angeles’ brightest talents (and a few welcome visitors) to help a lady named Irene Garcia in her struggle with cancer. Dubbed No Cancer!, it never quite became clear who Irene Garcia is to these bands (besides the fact that the event was subtitled “a benefit for our friend’s mom”), but the more you heard people talk throughout the day, it seemed therapeutic to put a single face on the mass of pain that cancer has caused to pretty much anyone you will ever meet. Most charities seem so vast (consider that most musicians are trying to save an entire country right now) that the idea of everyone banding together to help one single person was a refreshing change. But, though this sentimentality and social consciousness did provide a backdrop for the afternoon, No Age’s Dean Allen Spunt summed up the approach the day was going to take when he opened his band’s set with two understated words: “Fuck Cancer!”

The setting for the event changed twice in the days leading up, beginning as a joint house party, then a gallery show, and finally being staged at the yet-to-open venue The Strange. This was the first show at the space and minus a few quirks (would’ve liked a security guy somewhere near the No Age pit; the lights liked to turn off for minutes at a time), the room looks to be a welcome new spot to watch music in L.A. The line-up was equally strong, headed by L.A. residents No Age, Best Coast, Darker My Love, Abe Vigoda, and Graham Forest. To top things off, the day would be headlined by honorary Angelinos Vivian Girls (I know they are tied to their New York scene, but we appreciate the love they show over here, playing four shows in about 48 hours). Free punk buttons, feathers, and face painting were to be had. Vegan food was readily available. And, though no deal sweetener was needed, over-21 attendees received free Colt 45 malt liquor. Not just one. All you can drink Colt 45s (granted a tip jar for charity donations was utilized) until they ran out, which ended up being somewhere near Best Coast’s set in the early evening.

Thus, like any Super Bowl party, what began as a laid back affair full of lively discussion evolved into chaos. Damn fun chaos. And the perfect storm of charitable self-satisfaction, Super Bowl tradition, and malt liquor peaked at about 5pm when No Age took the stage. It was clearly the largest the crowd had been all day, but I wasn’t prepared for the eruption that took place when they kicked into their first song. I probably go to too many shows involving mandolins and/or xylophones these days, because I had forgotten how kids like to hurt each other. Within a couple songs, half the stage was occupied by the crowd, who just needed a place to flee the drunken slam dancing (note: it probably would’ve gone smoother if not for the kid in the leather jacket who couldn’t stand on his own and would take out five or six people with his stage-dives/collapsing). And it wasn’t like No Age were pumping out the hits. Save for “Teen Creeps” about half-way though their 25 minute set (I seriously felt like a mom worried someone was going to get hurt at the moment that intro kicked in), No Age stuck primarily to new material. You want the scoop on what the new No Age stuff sounds like. It sounds like No Age and makes kids want to hurt each other, so it rules.

The revved-up concert goers weren’t the only ones who got in the party spirit. The artists mingled throughout the day, with Vivian Girl bass player Kickball Katy getting the spirit award for watching nearly every band’s set. The festivities managed to creep into the performance quality, but in that charming well-I-only paid-ten-bucks-to-come-here kind of way. Cassie Ramone of Vivian Girls announced mid-set that they were “fucked up”, but the girls still managed to put on a fun, energetic, and crowd-pleasing closing set. They had the longest performance of the night at a mere 30 minutes, but managed to cover the bases of favorites (“Tell The World”, “Wild Eyes”), non-full-album-tracks (“Lake House”, “Second Date”), and a capella covers (The Chantel’s “He’s Gone”). Before them, Best Coast (also openers and drummer sharers of the Vivian Girls for a current tour) showed that the excesses of an all day party can affect the quality of your performance. Singer Bethany Cosentino was drunk enough to come across as a hot Courtney Love, but despite her sloppy play, was charming enough to pull it off. She got the biggest laughs of the evening with her uncensored banter and lighting complaints, and it is undeniable that the songs were good. “That’s The Way Boys Are” and set-opener “When I’m With You” came across in a similar way that the band Girls does, where they seem like innocuous pop songs with classic Americana imagery, yet you can’t help but feeling there is something dangerous lurking beneath the surface. Their debut full-length should be out this year, so we’ll see if the hype and promise are made good on.

The undercard offered a steady mix of solid performances throughout the day. But though quite different in sounds and influences, bands like No Age, Vivian Girls, Best Coast, Abe Vigoda, and NODZZZ (one of the afternoon’s most surprising and fun sets) can all be lumped in this noise pop category that blankets lo-fi and beyond. The two coolest sets came from bands that seemed out of place on the bill, except that like the aforementioned fuzz rockers, they are awesome. Darker My Love looks nothing like you would expect from an L.A. band, most notably lead singer Tim Presley’s cocked Dodger cap. But, they have been successful on the scene out here and bring classic rock and psychedelic influenced sound to the punk passion that links the entire bill. Likewise, singer Graham Forest and his band could inspire comparisons to Bill Callahan or The Mountain Goats, but in playing directly after No Age, he made singer-songwriter numbers seem like the punkest thing in the world. Forest passed the big singer-songwriter test in that his songs were well written and he could sing them well (although, he did sound a little like Billy Joe Armstrong at times). But, I think the greatest compliment I could give him is that his set made me want to see him without the band. Sure, they made him louder, but his songs are strong on their own and didn’t need the extra musicians, except only to keep the day as lively as possible.

And lively it was. From the bands to the crowd to the venue staff to the merchandise and drink crews, everyone seemed to want to remember that we were gathered for a serious issue by forgetting about it. All present are part of a culture that that usually spends Super Bowl Sunday more bored than not, but that doesn’t mean they need the slightest excuse to drink too much, scream and have a great time, like the rest of the country.

Vivian Girls Setlist:
All The Time
Wild Eyes
Walking Alone At Night
I Have No Fun
Can’t Get Over You
He’s Gone (A Capella)
Lake House
Moped Girls
You’re My Guy
Never See Me
Second Date
Tell The World

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