Italian glam-punk band Giuda headlines the Bottom of the Hill
Italian glam-punk band Giuda returns to the Bottom of the Hill Tuesday to headline a raucous bill that includes South Bay garage-rockers Jonny Manak and the Depressives and like-minded Oakland act So What.
Formed in Rome in 2007, Giuda rose out of the ashes of punk rock band Taxi when the rising group dissolved after the death of their drummer. Singer Ntendarere Djodji Damas and lead guitarist Lorenzo Moretti regrouped to pursue a sound that drew heavily on British influences. Mixing the anthemic proto-glam stomp of pioneering '60s British soul/rock group the Equals and '70s powerhouse Slade with the energy of classic U.K. punk groups like Slaughter and the Dogs and Cock Sparrer, the band released its debut album Racey Roller in 2010.
Guida has released a string of singles and full-length efforts through a variety of labels since then, continuing to refine their simple but effective approach to making hooky, heavy tunes combining pop melodies and crunchy guitar riffs. The band's reputation as an incendiary live act would lead to invitations to play stateside festivals including Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas and the 2018 edition of the Burger Boogaloo in Oakland's Mosswood Park that saw the band play a storming afternoon set to an ecstatic crowd.
The band released its last studio album -- the space-themed E.V.A. -- on Burger Records in 2019 before issuing the concert document Giuda Live At Punk Rock Raduno two years ago. Guida recently put out its latest 7" single "Louder Than Action" on the once San Francisco-based TKO Records ahead of its current headlining tour of the U.S. For this all-ages show at the Bottom of the Hill Tuesday night, they will be joined by veteran South Bay garage skate/surf punk trio Jonny Manak and the Depressives.
Coming together in San Jose almost 20 years ago around titular lead singer and guitarist (who has played with such notable punk acts as the Cliftons, Fang, Texas Thieves, the Forgotten and the Odd Numbers), the band has put out six albums, including their latest propulsive blast of party punk Anybody Wanna Skate from 2019.
Opening the show will be Oakland's self-described "bubblegum punk" outfit So What. Anchored by lead guitarist/singer Jason Duncan, So What has been a Bay Area fixture for over a decade. Heavily indebted to the Equals and unsung UK glam rockers the Jook, the group released their first single in 2014 on Grazer Records. Late in 2016, they put out their debut album Hard Gum on Bay Area imprint Just Add Water Records.
The band has also served as the backing band for the Equals singer "Derv" Gordon, bringing the vocalist to San Francisco for a one-off show in 2017 for his first ever U.S. performance. The success of the sold-out appearance would lead to full-blown tours of both coasts later that year and eventually an appearance at the Burger Boogaloo in Oakland's Mosswood Park in 2019. The band recently welcomed Gordon back to play an ecstatically received run of West Coast shows in February and will once again be backing him for an appearance at Gonerfest next month. DJ Cristy Bubbles plays records before and between bands.
Giuda, Jonny Manak and the Depressives and So What
Tuesday, Aug. 20, 8 p.m. $20
The Bottom of the Hill