LETTING IT ALL OUT. Youth Brigade brought passion to their performance at Call the Office on Saturday night.

The Saturday night bill at Call the Office proved to be an evening of excitement for punk fans. The rare double headliner show saw iconic band Youth Brigade share the stage with the younger, yet largely influential quartet, The Bouncing Souls.
For Youth Brigade, a prominent band out of L.A., the punk scene they helped pioneer has since changed considerably in their 25 years — and counting — of touring and releasing music. However, it appears the punk-rock scene isn’t ready to go down quietly. New bands have kept this fire burning, and the sold-out show at Call the Office proved punk-rock is still popular in the underground scene.
Opening bands Off With Their Heads and Saint Alvia provided an energetic and engaging start to the night, and certainly didn’t disappoint fans who quickly crowded the stage. Although both opening bands had similar and repetitive playlists, the energy from each song had mosh pits and skank circles popping up all over the venue. The vocal arrangements of both bands proved explosive — although at times hard to distinguish — but the overall sound quality was surprisingly clear.
Youth Brigade was quick to keep the adrenaline high and put on a timeless performance, proving their age simply isn’t a factor. At this point Call the Office was packed to capacity and standing room was virtually non-existent. The crowd was bouncing from the first chord and stayed engaged during the entire hour set.
The highlight came when the band played their well-known track “Sink with California,” which had the entire crowd singing along. The mix of old favourites and newer songs kept the set from feeling too drawn out, and allowed fans to catch a much needed breath.
It wasn’t long before the second headliner The Bouncing Souls took the stage to ignite the crowd once again. Amassing a large following in their 20 odd years of touring, The Bouncing Souls have been at the heart of punk-rock revival since the early 1990s.
Playing a light-hearted and fast set, they picked up right where Youth Brigade left off, challenging the fans to keep the pace and continue to bring down the house with loud, intense energy.
Hailing from New Jersey, The Bouncing Souls played a strong set of classic hits and a few new songs yet to be released. Well versed in touring and playing to sold-out crowds, their sound was bar-none the best of the evening. The voice mixing was easily distinguishable, and the multiple vocals provided a strong backing to the fast-paced guitars.
As the night came to a close, the crowd dispersed, knowing that punk-rock institution Youth Brigade and the equally anticipated Bouncing Souls, have continued to keep the punk movement going. The mixture of older and influential punk bands with these new, up-and-coming bands provided the crowd with an opportunity to not only see into the near future of punk rock music, but also to see the torch passed from one generation to another.