Corning calling

In the oblong town of Corning there is a decent little oblong pizza joint called Marco’s. It is filled with oblong picnic-type tables with oblong black napkin dispensers placed dead center on each. It was here last Saturday night that Chico bands Indecisive Youth and the Asskickers joined with Corning-area groups Ed and Ohana for a decent little all-ages gig of mostly energetic rock.

Opening was Ed, a four piece that played mainly ‘80s New Wave and punk with an exciting flair. Of note were Ed’s covers of “Blitzkrieg Bop” by the Ramones and “99 Luft Balloons” by the German pop singer Nena.

Following Ed was Chico’s own power-popping punks Indecisive Youth. The group’s riff-driven rock got the locals off their oblong seats and shaking. The guys’ vocals were tight, and their stop-start rhythms were, as usual, flawless.

The low point was Ohana. The band came off as amateurish with its covers of Santana tunes, Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks’ “Stop Dragging My Heart Around,” B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone,” and so on. The group lacked cohesion.

Then those cowpokes of the Apocalypse, those new riders of the punk rock sage, the Asskickers, hit the stage. “I Cut Down Trees” was met with hoots of recognition, and the band tore through leader Bob Howard’s tale of rural desperation with a panache that was at once poignant and humorous. As the group gained momentum, more and more teens gathered toward the stage, the males among them shouting for Howard’s “Wide Eyed, No Teeth Leroy.” The band eventually answered this demand with a punchy rendition of the call-and-response ditty.

All in all, not a bad little out-of-town show for the boys. Note: Marco’s makes a killer meatball sandwich. It too was oblong.