Agent Orange formed their surf and skate fueled hardcore trio in 1979, originally with Mike Palm on vocals and guitar, Steve Soto on bass, and Scott Miller on drums. The name Agent Orange must’ve been quite the shock tactic for those times, with Vietnam ending roughly 10 years after, and some vets being exposed to the deadly gas. Over the years Orange has had many different lineups, with people coming in and out from other bands, or leaving to create their own; Mike Palm being the founding and consistent member throughout the years. Agent Orange started in Orange County and was also the first band to be labeled as skate rock.

With their famous self-released 1980 single “Bloodstains,” they came straight into the fists and wheels of a most disgruntled youth in the fast paced 80’s grind. Over the years, Agent Orange has been synonymous with anything that involves a board. Chances are that if you have seen a skate, surf, or snowboarding video in the past 30 years that you’ve heard an Agent Orange song. When I saw Orange at Temecula’s Boiler room, it was the first time that I’d seen a punk band play there, due to the fact that this venue is a handful of months young. It is really nice to have a venue close to home that is hosting shows of this nature. The few other venues around the valley have either been closed or moved for a few years now, leaving the listeners to travel elsewhere for shows. I’m glad that we have a new home to keep the music going.

As per usual with an Agent Orange show, it’s fast, loud, and hosts a variety of different people; both young and old fans join in their timeless songs and are reminded of the times of yesteryear. Miserlou was the opener and their fast-paced version of the traditional Middle Eastern song, made famous by Dick Dale in 1962 was a great way to lure people in and have them hooked for the rest of the set. Most of the songs played that night were from their “Living in Darkness,” album, with the songs “No Such Thing”, “Everything Turns Grey”, “Bloodstains”, “Living in Darkness”, to name a few. It was another good show for them, and even though the house rules say no pitting, the crowd was not having it. A quarter of the way through the set, which is all of 10 minutes after they came on a few guys started to pit, it progressively got larger and larger, until Orange was done with the encores and headed out to the next show further south. It was another fun night with Agent Orange, and if you grew up by the beach, or are looking for something darker and faster than The Beach Boys, they give them a chance, and if you are already a fan and it’s been a while, then re-listen to them I’m sure it’ll bring up some sort of memory for you. Keep shredding and catch them next time they swing by your area.

Setlist:

Miserlou

Everything Turns Grey

Tearing Me Apart

Too young to die

Secret agent man

It’s all a blur

America

Whistling past the graveyard

Mr.Moto

Voices in the night

Breakdown

Say it isn’t true

Fire in the rain

This house is haunted

No such Thing

Cry for help

I kill spies

What’s the combination?

It’s in your head

Police truck

Somebody to love

El Dorado

Living in darkness

Bloodstains

This is not the end

Pipeline

Last Goodbye

Wouldn’t Last A Day

This is all I need

Shakin’ All Over

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