RECAP: DOUBLE DOSE OF SNOOPER FROM LOS ANGELES TO SAN PEDRO
by SOPHIE PRETTYMAN-BEAUCHAMP
Nashville’s SNOOPER made their way back down to California during their west coast tour - we had to pull up to every show and get sweaty
snooper by james duran
One of our obsessions for the past year-plus, Nashville egg-punks SNOOPER are known for putting on a rowdy good time–last summer, they turned LA’s Permanent Records Roadhouse into a wild mosh pit that nearly toppled the shelves of rare vinyl. Celebrating the release of their debut album Super Snooper (out now on Third Man Records), their most recent tour brought them back down our way, and we couldn’t get enough.
Kicking off a bill of heavy hitters at famed Hollywood venue The Roxy, Long Beach post punks Self Improvement oscillated between moodiness and angular hysteria. Front-person Jett Witchalls loomed onstage with a misleadingly controlled, austere demeanor, breaking the audience out of their hypnotic state with shrill screams and a penetrating gaze.
self improvement by james duran
Fusing rap, hardcore, and trap, Nashville’s Kent Osborne and company turned up the energy to 1,000. Untethered and dynamic in movement and sound, Osborne and Ryan Browning (aka The Wicked Lemon) stomped, jumped, rolled, and thrashed across the stage and into the crowd. Their guttural screams and high-voltage performance style sparked a whirlwind moshpit that they couldn’t resist joining in on. Equally community-oriented, anti-establishment, and exhilaratingly angsty, they embodied a uniquely contemporary and future-forward interpretation of punk.
kent osborne by sophie prettyman-beauchamp
Raucous and tough as hell, Atlanta band Upchuck brought a heaviness and raw authenticity that sent the audience into a holy experience–vocalist KT a mighty minister, the pit an earth-shaking worship circle. Enraptured, two punks next to me stayed front and center the entire set, hanging on KT’s every movement and shouting every word along with her as they danced. In all her thrashing, mean-mugging, flexing, and brutal headbanging glory, her commanding stage presence is truly a treat to witness.
Versatile as they are, Upchuck also took a foray into indie rock territory with bouncing fan favorite “Facecard,” and later on drummer Chris Salado took over on lead vocals for several hardcore punk-inspired songs, before leaving everyone drenched in sweat yet more energized than ever.
upchuck by sophie prettyman-beauchamp
Like a mega-rush of caffeine and sugar pumping through every single major artery and the tiniest veins, Snooper was adrenaline incarnate. Clad in colorful, vintage tracksuits, the band ran in place and engaged in some DEVO-esque choreography, with guitarist Connor Cummins periodically blowing a silver whistle. More high-energy than the Energizer Bunny himself, singer Blair Tramel jumped and smiled nonstop, leading the band and crowd in a frenzy of eggy perfection.
From jumbo telephone and traffic lights to the iconic big iron she pumped during “Fitness,” Tramel’s paper maché artistry was on full display, immersing us in the wildly fun world she and her bandmates created. The crowd especially went wild when one of her signature, giant puppets–a green, alien-like guy in a black cloak–stagedived and danced among the writhing masses.
snooper by james duran
Recordings cannot fully capture how hard Snooper shreds–Cummins, fellow guitarist Happy Haugen, and bassist Jacob Corenflos were agents of chaos, quite literally led by the power of their axes. While playing at breakneck speed, they flailed, threw themselves into the audience, and climbed amp stacks and venue barriers. Tramel (who joined in on the crowdsurfing herself) and the gang really know how to party.
snooper by sophie prettyman-beauchamp
Although the Roxy crowd showed up and showed out, we knew that The Sardine in San Pedro would be a rager in a league of its own. Hot, wet, and packed, we were stuffed like the venue’s namesake to catch local band Paranoise and a second helping of Upchuck, who were met with gratuitous moshing and slam dancing.
upchuck by sophie prettyman-beauchamp
The Sardine crowd went absolutely fanatical for Snooper, pushing and moshing so fervently that crowdsurfing was virtually impossible–that night was a movie. Hitting close to home, the band’s cover of Long Beach no-wave legends Suburban Lawns’ “Unable” was a highlight of the set. It was a quintessential South Bay punk affair, and according to Haugen, “the sweatiest show of tour”--we saw that one coming from a mile away. There wasn’t a place more perfect to experience their delightful cartoonishness.
snooper by james duran