Staff Editor on November 17th, 2019

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The Paranoyds took control of the Bootleg Theater on Friday night, playing in the larger theater space to hold the capacity crowd that would have been hanging from the rafters if the band was in the smaller bar space. If needed, the crowd would have willingly hung from those rafters to welcome back their hometown heroes, who were celebrating the end of their tour and recently released album, “Carnage Bargain.”

With riot grrrl attitude mixed with a touch of lava lamp psychedelics and garage-rock, the Paranoyds fed the hungry crowd with a 16-song set, which included covers of songs by the Ramones and My Chemical Romance. The three oversized toothbrush replicas on stage (see their album cover) could help brush those teeth after the satisfying big meal.

The Paranoyds got the fans going with songs such as “Face First” and “Girlfriend Degree.” Like any gathering, if one or two individuals go too far someone has to step in and the band did when they asked the crowd, “Are you being nice to everyone?” Fan favorite “Freak Out” had the crowd singing back the lyrics to the band. Grabbing one of the toothbrushes, keyboardist Laila Hashemi handed it to the audience who passed it along like a trophy. Knowing the night was coming to a conclusion, the crowd got a renewed surge of energy and spent the final songs in a frenzied mosh pit. Earlier this year, guitarist Lexi Funston did a stage dive during the Feels album release show at the Echo. To return the favor, fans spend those final songs stage diving into the pit. To end the set, the band made sure to give proper appreciation to drummer, David Ruiz, letting him take a proper final bow.

Opening for The Paranoyds were Sabrina is Not in This Chat, Kevin, and Strawberry Army. Sabrina is Not in This Chat was in good humor. Knowing that the red lights of the theater were saturating the colors of her accessories, Olivia DeBonis began the set by letting all know the various colors she was wearing. Bassist Maddie Calderon told everyone that even though she hates cars, she personally drives a Honda Fit. “Go f*cking get one . . . Ah, no one has a Honda Fit!” The band had the under-18 crowd smashing into each other from song one.

Meanwhile, Kevin went through malfunction hell. A guitar string broke nearly immediately. Pedal plugs went dead. Kimi Recor exclaimed, “All of our stuff stopped at the same time.” That didn’t dim their enthusiasm. When the lone person named Kevin in the audience refused to come to the front of the stage to “be with your people,” the band went out to the crowd to be with the people. They got people down on their knees and leaping in joy. Long Beach’s Strawberry Army is the creation of the twin Infante sisters, Zoe and Rio. Their music had the Paranoyds’ Funston looking on with fascination.

The night had Staz Lindes of the Paranoyds letting Buzzbands.LA know, “We made something. Everybody understands it. And they’re all here tonight.”

The Paranoyds’ set ist: Face First, Carnage Bargain, Girlfriend Degree, Laundry, Egg Salad, Hungry Sam, Heather Doubtfire, Pet Sematary [Ramones cover], Courtney, Bad Idea, Freak Out, Ratboy, I’m Not Okay (I Promise) [My Chemical Romance cover], Maldito, Bear. Encore: Sunburn.

Photos and recap by Notes From Vivace