Published: Feb. 17, 2015 | Posted: March 1, 2015 | Written by: Alejandra Garcia
Pat the Bunny, Moon Bandits and Breaking the Heavy kick off tour in Riverside
Folk punk brought a different wave of fun on Riverside’s second Arts Walk of the year. The Blood Orange Infoshop hosted a show with two musical acts and a game show that professed the message of change.
With bands like Moon Bandits and Pat the Bunny, the message was clear in their lyrics that encourage do-it-yourself and individuality. Dozens of teenagers filled the venue with their demure excitement as they awaited the performances of the night.
Before their performance I spoke with Moon Bandits member Astrid Witchtree, who mentioned that her band has played in Riverside many times and she enjoys performing at the Blood Orange Infoshop.
Witchtree is also part of Bridgetown, a collective from La Puente, Calif. She spoke about her collective and the space they run which host art and dancing classes for children and teenagers.
Between sets people would run out for fresh air. The venue is a tight, hot space and when it’s blended with the musk of excited teenagers the only remedy one can have is to escape outside.
The Moon Bandits played their set which was followed by a game show inspired by classic game shows like “Jeopardy,” “Wheel of Fortune” and charades only it was done in the punk style.
Ruby one game show hosts introduced the “Breaking the Heavy”, the name of the game show, with two other hosts. The eccentric hosts encouraged members of the audience to participate in the game.
The game consisted of two groups: team sparkle, sparkle, sparkle and team polka dot plaid. Each team had three audience members and their task was to answer a series of questions created from the hosts.
The question topics ranged from astrology, bioregional facts to music. They asked questions like, “What plant is native to California?” and “What band inspired the punk movement and anarchism?” The answers being Manzanita and the British band Crass respectively.
What made the game fun for the audience was that they could help out the team member if he or she didn’t know the answer. Each time a team member would answer correctly they would have the opportunity to choose a letter and hope their letter would appear on the board that would spell out a phrase.
“There’s nothing that ever changes” was the mystery phrase, which the audience repeated as a mantra.
“Change is always happening,” said Jacin Glitterdirt. “Things won’t always be the same.”
The message of the game (and the whole night) was that despite of all the occurrences that have damaged society, such as police brutality, racism and classism, is that one has the power to change the outlook on society.
Pat the Bunny, who is from Tucson, Ariz. was the final and most awaited act of the night. The crowd gathered around him and his acoustic guitar. As soon as Pat began playing “Times Worth Living” the crowd began to sing along.
It’s safe to say that many people were satisfied with the show arrangement of the night. The bands and game show started their mini west coast tour in Riverside.
As for their visit to Riverside, Pocketknife, one of the game show hosts, enjoyed the diversity of the city as well as its preserved churches and buildings of downtown. Their last show will be in the Bay Area city of Berkeley.