ExpendaHOO! hits House of Blues, San Diego

I decided to take a break from my usual hardcore metal shows and explore some different vibes! The Expendables were at the House of Blues in San Diego on October 9th! They had support from Amplified and Tunnel Vision. Ballyhoo! was on the bill to support, but unfortunately had to cancel their appearance in San Diego due to COVID. We wish them a speedy recovery, so they can get back to the stage!

I have to be straight up here… I did not know much about the bands or this tour, so I had to do some research.

This is why I love what I get to do. I love a good story about how a band came to be:

The Expendables started with three friends, Geoff Weers (vocals and guitar), Raul Bianchi (lead guitar) and Adam Patterson (drums) in elementary school in 1997. Are there any other bands that started this way and actually stayed together?! Pretty amazing! Ryan DeMars (bass) came in a few years later in 2000 to complete the quartet. The Santa Cruz boys played their diverse sound of ska, punk, reggae and surf rock for friends’ parties and family gatherings. They do have a bit of metal in them; there was some headbanging, hair-flying jams in there at this show. ‘BLM’ was written on their guitars in what appeared to be black duct tape, sending a clear message of their support for the cause. The fans were dancing and grooving to favorites like “Ganja Smugglin’”, “Down, Down, Down” (which was supposed to be with Howi Spangler) and closed out the night with crowd favorite “Bowl For Two”.

I thought ExpendaHOO! was just the name of the tour, but it’s actually the name of their album released back in September 2021. Yes, you guessed it, with that name, it is with Ballyhoo!.

You have to go check it out, it’s awesome! This tour is wrapping up in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico!

Photography by Kaiya Vandemark

Share this article

or