Many moons ago (back in 2003 if memory serves me correct) when I was still hitting up every and any punk and/or metal show I could get my hands on, I had a chance to catch second wave hardcore punks The Exploited play in Orlando. For whatever reason, the opportunity to see them that night slipped from said hands of mine, and they have since remained on my list of “bands that got away.” All these years later, I can finally say I’ve scratched them off that list now.
However, a lot has changed in those twenty plus years since then, and I no longer really fit in the “angry young man” category I was lumped in at the time, nor do I honestly align much these days with the politics typically associated with punk (life experience will do that to you). So I wasn’t sure how I’d feel going into this past week’s recent show at Cafe DaVinci in DeLand, FL with Exploited, Total Chaos, and Tarah Who? on Thursday, October 3.
My fears were quickly put to rest within minutes after entering the venue though – this time with long-time associate and friend of the Rewind It Magazine family, Seth Johnson by my side to handle photography duties again – when we were greeted with a warm welcome by Exploited guitarist Steve Campbell.
Not long after this encounter, a brief interaction with Tarah Who? singer/guitarist Tarah G. Carpenter also presented itself. Having been the band that put Rewind It on the guest list and overall reason we were essentially there to cover things that night in the first place, I expressed my gratitude and wished her a great show.
Tarah Who? performing at Cafe DaVinci in DeLand, FL on 10/3/24 (photo by Seth Johnson).
The quartet took the stage just before dawn as the crowd was still piling in for the evening. After a brief recorded spoken intro, the group blistered into their set that included the likes of “Sirens,” “Grown Up,” “Army of Women,” “Bitchcraft,” Pantomath,” “Ache,” “Linger,” “Dimples,” and “Burn This Shithole Down.”
The author Jesse Striewski (left) with Tarah Who?’s Tarah G. Carpenter before the night’s proceedings (photo by Seth Johnson).
The only band on the bill that night I had previously seen before was Total Chaos, first at Warped Tour way back in 2002, and then again at an Orlando show opening for Fear in 2009, where their set was famously cut short due to an unruly crowd that simply could not behave themselves (leaving Fear another band still on the old bucket list of mine).
Needless to say their lineup had changed considerably since each of those shows, with sole original member/singer Rob Chaos and longtime guitarist Shawn Smash remaining the only two members still intact from those days. But I could tell right at the onset with new tracks like opener “War is a Racket” the band likely just wouldn’t hold the same effect on me as they once may have.
Longtime personal favorite of mine “Babylon” may have helped pique some interest in me, though the rest of the set – which included “Squatters Song,” “Pledge of Defiance,” “Punk No Die,” “Running with the Youth,” “Street Punx,” “Police Rat,” and the anthemic closer “Riot City,” all had mixed results for me to say the least. Still, if nothing else it was a nice trip down memory lane I suppose.
Total Chaos performing at Cafe DaVinci in DeLand, FL on 10/3/24 (photo by Seth Johnson).
And lastly, Scottish imports The Exploited, lead by trusty mohawked frontman Wattie Buchan (and with new drummer Garry GMan Sullivan, formerly of Cro-Mags and The B-52’s, in tow behind him) finally made their way to the stage (and to much applause), coming out swinging hard with “Let’s Start a War (Said Maggie One Day)” before launching into an onslaught of punk staples that included “Fightback,” “Dogs of War,” “The Massacre,” “UK 82,” “Chaos Is My Life,” and a personal favorite of mine, “Alternative.”
“Noise Annoys” followed before an intense rendition of “Troops of Tomorrow” (personally I prefer the more apocalyptic feel of the original album version myself though), which then lead to the likes of “Never Sell Out,” “I Believe in Anarchy,” “Holiday in the Sun,” “Rival Leaders,” “Beat the Bastards,” “Cop Cars,” “Fuck the System,” “Porno Slut,” “Army Life,” and “USA,” which all kept the momentum going smoothly.
As if this was all not enough, the band then returned and invited fans onstage for a healthy dose of “Sex & Violence” before finally calling it a night with the one-two punch of “Punks Not Dead” and “Was It Me.” After all these years, was it worth the wait? Perhaps, though there was at least one or two tracks I felt were left out I would’ve liked to have heard. And if this now works out to be the only time I ever see The Exploited, I think I’ll live just fine with that.
