Thoughts From the Pit: Dickies, Shattered Faith, Soto St. and Unit F: Tiki Hut, Costa Mesa

Okay, I hate to admit this but I was a Dickies virgin. Last Saturday evening at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa was the very first time that I had the pleasure of seeing the Dickies. And trust me, there is a legitimate reason for my deficiency. I grew up in Western PA, where the most us youngunz could expect was an occasional Michael Stanley Band or Donny Iris concert. That was it, unless you had the money, car, and older friend to drive you to Pittsburgh or Cleveland. We had no Dickies and definitely no scene. Hell, we considered it a good night to hang with a bunch of Amish boys and do shots of Jack Daniels in their buggies! And, no, I am not joking. Of course I’d heard tell of the legendary stage antics of the Dickies, and who hasn’t heard “Gigantor”? I wasn’t living under a rock, just a cultural armpit. Before the Dickies burst on stage, the audience was treated to Unit F. Mel and the guys rolled out two new tunes, “Blacksnake” and “Bad Monkeys”. They’ll also be playing two shows in Vegas this weekend on August 7th at the Double Down and the 8th with Freeze at the Dive Bar. If you happen to be doing a bit of gambling, check them out. Next up was Soto St. with the cordless Jeff Soto at the front, back, and all over the place giving us so much onstage and offstage presence that I needed a Xanax afterward! (Love you, Jeff) And finally, Shattered Faith gave us a powerful, yet extremely warm, set before our headliner. The air conditioning could have been turned up a bit for the performers, Tiki. They were all struggling with the heat. And finally, the Dickies! I realize everyone talks about the penis puppet, but you never fully understand the enormity of the situation until it’s staring you in the face, or goose-stepping across the stage. Truly, by the end of their set, my face hurt from smiling. You’ve heard the ole theatre expression, “Leave ‘em wanting more!” Well, I want more Dickies…anytime, anywhere.