Strung Out Stirs Up the OC Observatory
Strung Out packed The OC Observatory in Santa Ana, CA for their second stop on a two month tour supporting their newest release Transmission.Alpha.Delta. Opening the show was La Armada hailing from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and Wisconson’s own Masked Intruder; but Strung Out truly owned the night. Veteran rockers who have toured worldwide for a couple of decades, Strung Out always puts on dynamic shows and this one was off the charts.
La Armada brought their self-proclaimed “Latino Hardcore Fury to the stage as they began the night. Originally from the Dominican Republic the band has carried their sound to the U.S. and now make Chicago their hometown. Delivering fast-paced, aggressive songs in their native language (Spanish), the band’s set broke down any communication barriers with their English speaking crowd. If you didn’t understand all of the lyrics, you could feel the energy and were soon head banging along.
Next up, Masked Intruder brought their pop punk attitude and colored ski masks to the stage. If you have not seen Masked Intruder live, you should. These guys called Red, Blue, Yellow (aka Orange) and Green clad all in black with the exception of their masks and matching converse shoes. As the group sang fan favorites about crime sprees and law avoidance like “Stick Em’ Up” and “Heart Shaped Guitar” the audience began to dance around. All the while Officer Bradford, the police officer on set, kept an eye on these criminals. Bradford jumped into the pit and ran all around the venue engaging the crowd in his antics.
When Strung Out took the stage with “Rats in the Walls,” the first track off of Transmission.Alpha.Delta it was obvious that the band was energized and ready to go. It’s a rare band that has the crowd singing along to newly released material and Strung Out had hundreds of fans belting out the lyrics to their old favorites as well as some of the tracks released last week. The set included new songs, “Rebellion of the Snakes,” “The Animal in the Machine,” “Modern Drugs,” “Tesla,” and “Black Maps.” Excellent on the album, the songs take on new life when you can see the passion and energy from not only the vocals of Jason Cruz but through each and every band member’s playing. Chris Aiken energetically went from one side of the stage to the other climbing atop the side platforms as he drove his bass lines right into the crowd. Jordan Burns at 
the kit sets a high bar for other drummers with his spirited and powerful skills. Awestruck at Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos’ frantic guitar work, the audience was entirely engaged from the aggressive mosh pit, to the barricade and throughout the crowd. The set mix was just the right blend of new tracks with fan favorites such as “Velvet Alley” and “Matchbox.” Strung Out not only continues to put out great albums, but they bring extreme amounts of skill, precision and a large dose of enthusiasm that bleeds into the crowd. This writer will be sure to catch Strung Out as soon as they are back in town. If you have yet to see them, or have fallen out of touch with their recent releases By the Barricade recommends catching a stop of this tour!
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