Song Spotlight: Chase Petra's A Bug's Life (a night at The Roxy)

I recently covered Chase Petra at The Roxy for US Rocker Music. If interested, you can read the review here. It was their home coming show to celebrate the release of their sophomore album Lullabies for Dogs.

Chase Petra at The Roxy

My first three encounters with the band was online. That's right. I guess you can guess which year that occurred in -- 2020. In Sept, they played the online version of Echo Park Rising, playing the Bands in a Barbershop stage. I actually had a small part that year when it came to that stage. I dropped by and took photos of Fart Barf. Photographers of Bands in a Barbershop (the 2019 photographers) were shuffled in and out (so that there weren't too many people in the barbershop) throughout the pre-tapping of the festival so I wasn't around when they played their set. The whole thing was done guerrilla style, because technically something that big wasn't supposed to be done. I remember all the shades at the Barbershop (the filming took place in an actual barbershop) were drawn. I believe I was asked to show up just a few minutes before Fart Barf played so that I could just slip in and the police wouldn't ask any me any questions about why I was loitering in Echo Park. Unfortunately, I think the video of their set is forever lost to the Internet (I suppose it is on someone's hard drive). I've searched around Youtube and can't find it. 

Chase Petra at The Roxy

My second encounter can actually still be viewed. A former music venue, The Satellite, allowed their Instagram page to get taken over. The 6660s held weekly concerts during this time frame. I attended some of these nights, but not Chase Petra's. You can catch their set (split into two videos) here and here. The final time was at Wonder & Awe. That video may have also disappeared.

I finally got to catch the band in 2021 and I had so much finally catching them on stage. Obviously, the made my list of favorite new bands that I saw in 2021. You can see that list here. 

Back to The Roxy, for my full review, it is best to read my US Rocker Music write-up, but here are some random observations that didn't make the cut.

Chase Petra at The Roxy

Guitarist Hunter Allen introduced her bassist Brooke Dickson as Jamie Lee Curtis.

Allen discussed needing a fortune teller as all her tarot cards fell out of her backpack during their tour -- I guess that was a bad omen. 

One of the most fun moments of the set was when Allen and Dickson danced in circles around each other. Of course, that meant a timeout was needed so that they could untangle. 

I had this weird observation that Allen had a tendency to always lift up her left foot when she was about to hit the power chord on her guitar. Meanwhile Dickson would tend to launch forward.

Chase Petra at The Roxy

From Lullabies for Dogs, their song "A Bug's Life" got perhaps the loudest approval from all the songs that they played from the sophomore album. What am I to dispute the crowd's response. It highlights the political bent that many of their songs take in the album. The song takes a more acoustic approach as compared to many of their pop punk tunes. In fact, the recording has what sounds like a banjo. Per Genius, the song is about being less polite when it comes to political activism. 

I trapped a spider under a candle in my bedroom
Left him to die of starvation, it still haunts me to this day (Haunts me to this day)
If I could go back maybe I'd have done it different
But if given half the chance, oh yeah, well I'd still fucking kill him

Setlist: Reliable Narrator, In an Emergency Such as the End of the World, Centrifugal Force, Keanu Reeves, A Bug’s Life, Because I Am My Own Dog, Prologue, Catharsis, Soapy Water, Nature vs Nurture, Have Faith Horatio, Pacific, Hospital Bills and Scratchers.