Tearing out of Southern California way back in 1979, Agent Orange took the ferocity of the ripening punk rock sound, crushed up some surf rock, and threw that in, and the result ended up being one of the longest-running touring punk bands in the world. Their shows reflect that longevity and their ability to keep their sound current, and their show at Asheville’s Grey Eagle on February 25, 2022, was no exception.
Fans gathered well in advance, enjoying some of the best tacos in the city and reminiscing about who used to skate with whom, and how many times they’d seen the grandfathers of surf punk. Agent Orange is comfort food, in a sense: a classic you turn to when you want something you know is going to be outstanding, a tried and true recipe that never gets old and tastes as good the last time you had it as it did the first. Fans new to the band are just as appreciative of what makes Agent Orange a pillar of punk rock, and there is a seamless camaraderie among the several generations who come together to watch the show.
There was an audible buzz as punk fans moved toward the stage ahead of the performance; there’s something about a venue like the Grey Eagle that seems to heighten the anticipation. You can get right up close to the stage, face to floor with the amps and the pedals and the scuffed but polished surface of the platform. Agent Orange strolled onto the stage so casually that if you didn’t know any better, you might think they were just a few stagehands, preparing for the real stars of the show – but as soon as they launched into their set, there was no doubt about who they were or why they were there. The room once again exploded with sound and energy, building to a frenzied tidal wave crescendo that had the entire crowd pulsating to one frantic beachside beat.
“Once again exploded:” because while Agent Orange headlined the gig and put on a stellar show, the opening band, Pink Eye, tore through the venue with the kind of fury that an old punk can only dream of in a town replete with jam band fetishes and masturbatory tributes to the late great Jerry Garcia. What were they saying? Who the hell knows? What did it mean? Who the hell cares? What was abundantly clear was that these four middle-aged guys from a hipster town in Appalachia had more pent-up and ragged rage at… hell, everything, than they knew what to do with, and so they channeled it into the only appropriate vessel: loud, fast, dirty, furious punk rock that ignited a mosh pit that rivaled those seen at massive punk festivals and brought the crowd together in a collective sigh of “Oh hell yes, FINALLY.”
JP Kennedy, the force behind one of the guitars and some of the vocals in the band, chatted with Glide before the show. It’s clear from that brief conversation that while there’s a layer of angry ennui that propels Pink Eye to do what they do so well, there’s a foundation in very real issues that Kennedy hopes to address offstage. A founding member of Musicians for Overdose Prevention, Kennedy is committed to making Narcan affordable and available to anyone who needs it, and there are big plans in the works to make that happen. There are other issues as well: war, poverty, certain poorly-coiffed and arrogant political figures that are inexplicably and appallingly still relevant, and Pink Eye managed to accomplish their goal on Friday night of making it all go away, just for a while.
The songs are short and anything but sweet, the vocals rough and nasty like something left too long in the dark to the point that it’s nearly rotten, the music tight enough to set them well apart from your standard four-guys-with-an-attitude band. There was nothing not to love about Pink Eye, and the icing on the cake was them closing out their set with a song that some might say sparked the punk rock revolution: The Stooges’ “I Wanna be Your Dog.”
From the first note of the Pink Eye set to the last breath of Agent Orange’s exceptional performance, this won’t soon be forgotten. One can only hope that both bands go on like this indefinitely.
Agent Orange will be back on the road in the US in late September.
You can catch Pink Eye in venues around the southeast and in their hometown of Asheville, NC. Watch for more about Musicians for Overdose Prevention from Glide, coming soon.
