Nardcore and More at Alex's Bar: Nardcore, for those new to the term, simply means hardcore punk music from Oxnard, plus Silver Strand Beach and Port Hueneme. It's a geographical reference rather than a musical one -- some say that there was a street-punk edge to nardcore bands such as Ill Repute, Dr. Know, Stalag 13, False Confession, Agression, etc -- a UK influence from the likes of Discharge. But that influence could be heard in hardcore bands all over L.A.
What it was, was a real scene. To this day, those aforementioned bands and their nardcore brethren play on bills together betraying their lingering camaraderie. And that's what happened on Friday night in Long Beach, as Dr. Know and Stalag 13 joined forces for what must be the millionth time.
Earlier, Dry Sockets opened -- a band that describes themselves as "California street punk rock 'n' roll." It is wonderfully gnarly too. The frontman told a story about trying to smoke a lump of crack he found in the carpet, only for it to turn out to be his own tooth. Then he sang a song about that very same incident. At one point, N8NOFACE joined the band on stage during what was a short but memorable set. After that, Fang did a fine job of keeping the evening rolling along. New tunes sat comfortably alongside closing crowd fave "The Money Will Roll Right in."

And so on to the main event, as the nardcore portion of the evening began with Stalag 13. It's a big deal because original singer Ron Baird was in from Australia for a short run of gigs that included Long Beach, and the man was clearly fired up.
John Crerar replaced Baird (with Baird's blessing) in the mid 2000's, and that lineup of the band put out the Fill in the Silence album in 2020 -- a fine effort. Crerar alternated vocal stints with Baird at Alex's Bar on Friday -- the set had to be stretched to 45 minutes, they said. That approach paid off; the new material is certainly strong enough.
But really, the joy at this show was seeing and hearing Baird band with the band, blasting through tunes from the In Control album -- a nardcore, nay a punk, classic.
That just left Dr. Know to close it out. There's some debate about the legitimacy of this lineup and, unlike Stalag 13, there are no ex members blessing it. Frontman Brandon Cruz (who is also known for stints in the Dead Kennedys and Flipper) is leading the way, and he's joined by fellow long-timers Fred Mattaquin and Larry White. Adam Fuscaldo completes the current lineup, but the absence of the likes of Ismael Hernandez and Kyle Toucher gets people's backs up. The latter had his own version of the band touring at one point, muddying the waters further still.
So yeah, it's all a bit Black Flag. Or LA Guns. Regardless, the band was firing on Friday. Cruz initially entered the stage wrapped up like he was playing outdoor in New York. Maybe he had a cold or something. But the band soon got rolling.
"Father, Son and Holy Shit" was a riotous opener, an the circle pit never let up through the likes of "Fear of War," "The Intruder," and a closing "Die Hippie Die." The crowd lapped it all up, though the violence never approached '80s levels which is probably good thing. The enthusiasm for this music is the most important thing, and that's still there in abundance.
Nardcore, apparently, lives on.