The stage was set, the lights were dimmed and Fury 66 slinked onto to stage and began to breathe life into the over capacity crowd Saturday at
What started out as a "wouldn't that be cool" show became somewhat of a Santa Cruz punk rock reunion. People I hadn't seen in over a decade filtered into The Catalyst, passed the band merch table; Were we in the 90's? Is that Fury 66 merch?
At 3 p.m. Fury 66, At Risk and Good Neighbor Policy did sound checks to prepare for what was probably the most talked about punk rock show in a long time. As each band took the stage there was a sense of awe as one after another tuned their guitars and played shortened versions of the song sets. Ladies and gentlemen, game time was T-minus 5 hours and counting.
When 8 p.m. rolled around I was receiving rapid fire texts "Can you get me in?', "Do you think there are any tickets left?" This was a classic one and I probably got over a dozen of them "You put me on the guest list, right?"
Even in all the madness Eddie Numbskull put up 25 more tickets for sale on The Catalyst website and they vaporized before I could even tell anyone.
As people from all over Santa Cruz and California filed into the Catalyst Good Neighbor Policy and At Risk performed and the energy was mounting. Fans were ready for Fury 66. Punk Rock fans had been waiting 12 years for this night and you could feel it.
Fury 66 took the stage under darkness and Jon Cattivera on guitar, Micky Dunegan on bass, Jeff Frady on guitar and Joe Fish on drums took the stage, waiting for frontman Joe Clements to make his entrance.
As the lights went up and the crowd went nuts Clements opened his first song with "Glad to see all of you got babysitters tonight" and immediately went into the show playing "Grown Up" (see video to right).
Throughout the almost two-hour performance Fury 66 continually thanked its fans for supporting and coming out.
Punk rock fans were crowd surfing as the Catalyst security was handling them with grace of the 90's, letting people do their thing without any problems.
For a punk rock show of that size everyone had fun with Joe Clements repeatedly mentioning "Guys let's remember to respect the bouncers, they are being way cool but if you get too crazy...well you know what happens."
I was sitting side stage and I saw security have to walk out less than 10 people which insane in a 900-plus capacity crowd.
It was definitely well documented with band photog's Peter Angelo Saporito and Tom Audisio getting the shots.
The Grind Out Hunger benefit skateboard could not have been what it was without these guys contributing their iconic photos. Punk rock photo/video legend Guerin Myall was posting up in all the right spots to get this last show completely documented. Fury 66 always had some of the best action band shots and these guys are the reason why.
Even crazier was the outpouring of fans to Jessica McDermott's of Staircase Tattoo offer to tattoo Fury 66 for free onto anyone that came down. I have to admit, I got one with Jeff Frady the guitarist standing right over me. It was sick
This show was benefiting Grind Out Hunger and Multiple Sclerosis and overall the fans came through, supported and had a great night. All three bands gave it their all and left it on the stage, but definitely for the fans of Fury 66 and the band members this was a night to remember for ever.
In case you lost your cassettes you can get Fury 66 songs click Fury 66 iTunes link
