Hollywood is cool. The Troubador is in Hollywood. Cool. Packed a car of supplies and friends and made the hell-drive from San Diego to L.A. relatively unscathed to arrive in Hollywood around 6ish. Had some time to kill so we checked out the rock star shops on Melrose. If you've never been to Hollywood, Melrose Ave. holds a large number of cool clothing stores that are as expensive as they are cool. After finding out one of my female companions passed out for about 30 seconds in the middle of the store we were in (long story, she’s all right though), we decided to get to the Troubador so I could interview purveyors of the Epitaph school of punk, "Ten Foot Pole."

When we arrived, the doors we not open yet but there was already a line of about 50 kids patiently waiting. The (rare) way helpful security/door guy directed me to Dennis, lead singer and rhythm guitarist of "Ten Foot Pole." Immediately friendly and accommodating, Dennis made sure my friends were taken care of (thanks Dennis! - from the friends) and we ventured into the Troubador to find a quiet spot.

The Troubador is a legendary Hollywood club, often mentioned in the same breath with other historical landmarks like the Roxy and the Wiskey A Go Go. This place has held most every rock-n-roll legend ever to play in Hollywood. My first impression was how small and cozy the layout was. The stage ran the length of rectangular room, the audience area was directly in front of stage, the bar directly behind that, and a balcony with tiered bench seats above the bar. The Troubador is all ages, but you can get a beer with ID. Why can’t San Diego get on this tip? Shows have maximum attendance when you can lets the kids in but the +21 crowd can get a beer, and this show was already evidence of that as the crowd grew in front of the stage, waiting for the first band.

Dennis walked us up to the VIP room (complete with shower) and I noticed he stopped to pick up a huge cooler with beer and water for the bands. “Might as well give these guys a hand” Dennis said. How many headlining bands offer to help out the crew? Actually, I soon found out that Dennis sometimes runs sound at the Troubador, so most of the staff are his friends, but still a valiant gesture. I found Dennis to be. . .nice. Almost too nice to front a punk band. But those familiar with the "Ten Foot Pole" approach know it is not one born out of angst or frustration with the "system," but rather out of desire for a good time and to make some music. (See interview section for the full interview with front man Dennis)

The first band of the night, “The Deviates,” were already started as I made my way downstairs from the interview. The first thing I noticed was how much the crowd had grown and was already fully into pit mode. From the few songs I caught, "The Deviates" play a version of fast older style punk. The guitarist has full spike Mohawk in true punk tradition. They had energy, some presence, and seemed pretty confident, despite their young age. Entirely listenable and would prove to be the second best band of the night.

I made my way up to the balcony to join some friends and get a good vantage point for some pictures. The set changes tonight were smooth and quick, serving well to keep the evening moving. The crowd had pretty much grown to capacity by the time No Motive hit the stage. Attempting to ride that melodic punk train, No Motive stumbled through a set redeemed only in the guitar melodies and lyrics. The drumming was terrible! The Troubador had an excellent sound that night, which unfortunately for No Motive allowed every off time kick stutter to be heard with embarrassing clarity. Their approach was decent, in fact interesting enough for me to try to understand what they were trying to accomplish. But my attention kept coming back to the off-time stumble of the drums. The vocals weren't that strong, but close. With some time they will smooth out. At best No Motive shows some potential, and they kept most of my attention.

Assorted Jellybeans were the third offering the night. I have seen their name many times on bills at the SOMA in San Diego and the Corona Showcase Theatre. I've also seen some print on these guys, and it was usually unfavorable. Unfavorable would be a compliment. Assorted Jellybeans play a really bad take on Rancid. Being a 3-piece, vocals duties are split fairly evenly between the guitarist, who primarily scrapes out sloppy ska chinka chinka chinka riffs, and the bass player who plays sort of circus, cartoonish bass scales. They were really just plain annoying, lacking a hook, melody, intensity or any other factor that I look for in this type of music. I assume they have a sort of comical gist, considering their name and the fact their CD comes wrapped in foil looking like a Beer Nuts package. They would have to have a sense of humor to get up in front of people and compose this squawk. I was bored completely by the third song. I will admit, however, for some reason beyond anyone I was with could explain, Assorted Jellybeans actually rocked a good chunk of the crowd. Every song was followed by a pretty sincere amount of applause and screams, mostly from the kids on the floor up front. Whatever. I applauded when they said it was their last song.

After the set change was completed, "Ten Foot Pole" (after waiting a bit to let the crowd get antsy) walked out on stage all smiles. This was "Ten Foot Poles" CD release party and they were sincerely happy at the sold-out crowd numbers. Singer Dennis has a permanent grin the whole time he plays, and runs marathons around the stage when he's not singing. Tonight's set included numbers from past releases, as well as a good chunk of material off their newest, Insider. All of the songs were greeted warmly and with recognition. This Is But A Test, off the new album, was pretty dramatic, with drummer Tony really hitting the rolling beat of the chorus. All songs were offered with the same amount of sincerity and good-times enthusiasm. Guitarist Steve likes to do these little back kick jumps and split leg stance in true rocker fashion, and was impressively tight when mirroring singer Dennis punk guitar strumming.

A memorable highlight was the intensely paced My Wall from their album Rev, but it can also be found on the original Punk-O-Rama compilation where I first heard a Ten Foot Pole song. It was toward the end of this set when the song really started to bring out meat head moshers. Y'know, those bald dicks that weigh in at about 280, wearing the muscle T-shirt and throwing every skinny kid they can get their jobless mitts on across the length of the pit circle. These guys were particularly pathetic tonight in their selective lameness. I was watching this one dink just hover on the edge of the circle and wait for some hapless kid to come skankin' by him, and then he'd grab or shove him violently across the circular pit area. The coward wouldn't do it to anyone as big or bigger than himself. Only smaller, weaker kids. What a pussy. A couple of other brick walls posing as people staked out territory in this swirling mass and almost dared anyone to bump into them. Most stayed out of their way, but you could feel the camaraderie of the crowd switch to "survival" mode. I'm glad this was only for the last couple of songs, so most of the cool kids got in their share of stage diving and moshin'.

The Troubador sort of discourages stage diving by escorting people who make it on the stage off to the side, but just let them go and rejoin the crowd from the floor. A good percentage make it aloft from the stage though. One girl kind of took a header into singer Dennis mike stand and stumbled dizzily off the side of the stage. Dennis inquired about her well-being in the pause before the next song. What a caring guy! And speaking of caring, I saw both Dennis and bass player Glen Vegas (at one time a member of Dead Surf Kiss) hand out water. Dennis has learned from experience to kind of dump water into peoples mouths from the bottle because it gets spilled all over when I give it to the crowd. At least this way a couple of people get some water. Guitarist Steve copied Dennis skill with the water bottle but used bottles of Miller instead. I saw him playfully spray the crowd with beer foam a couple of times. With a quick thank you, Ten Foot Pole quickly exited without the rock star trap of an encore. A tight, enjoyable and comprehensive set.

Summary: The Deviates = pretty listenable old school punk with some intensity (again admirable considering how young they looked). No Motive = passable melodic punk band in need of a new drummer. Assorted Jellybeans = I didn't even waste one picture of film on these goofs. Ten Foot Pole = Tight, catchy nice-guy punk, energetic and bouncy stage presence, and generally a good time.

Oh, yeah. . .

The Troubador = cozy medium/small all ages club w/ beer for 21+ and cool to hang out in. A music bar only though - no games or pool tables or booths (except in the bar area in front where they have a live feed television to watch the stage - also the area where bands pimp their wares), and the layout is designed to focus attention toward the stage. Cool club, fun night