Concert Review: ArnoCorps Blaze Through A Rocking Set At The Fireside Lounge in Alameda, CA. 

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If you’ve wondered why I haven’t posted in a bit, it’s because I just came back from a trip in San Francisco, one of my favorite places to take a trip.

One of many vacation highlights included a blistering set by the band ArnoCorps who played a secret show at the Fireside lounge in nearby Alameda.

For the uninitiated, Arnocorps are a band that fuses punk and thrash metal. But that’s just for starters. The band’s stock in trade is their lyrical subject matter; all of which either quote or comment on the films of Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger. They even look the part, wearing camouflage war paint akin to Arnie’s look in both “Commando” and “Predator.”

And for the record, they were the first to do so, later to be copied by Austrian Death Machine (featuring As I Lay Dying’s frontman Tim Lambesis, currently facing charges for conspiracy to murder his wife. He’s blaming steroids).

Opening the show was Jack Killed Jill, a band the offered vintage punk, followed by Year Of The Fist, which gave a high energy performance of  their Runaways style mix of metal and punk.

When ArnoCorps took the stage (with theme music and billowing smoke machine, mind you) , it became clear the small club could barely contain their boisterous brand of rock and their rabid fan-base, as they usually play larger venues locally (and in Europe, where they have a sizable following).

The band is that rare breed that are satiric while keeping stoic poker faces.

Upon opening rocker “Predator”, their fans did their best to earn the presidential award for physical fitness, (which Arnie spearheaded from 1990-1993!) doing jumping jacks and push ups.

“Discipline” (which references “Kindergarten Cop”) followed and got the crowd moving with singer Holzfeuer playfully berating the crowd; “You Lack Discipline!”

“I’m Ballsy” is their anthem, and featured the band members walking through the crowd to encourage their fans to sing along; “I’m ballsy! I’m a stud! I don’t take shit from anyone! I’m ballsy! I’m a stud! I smoke my stogies wherever I want!” This was followed by several audience members lighting up cigars, defying the no-smoking venue.

Between the band’s energy and Holzfeuer’s towering figure, the venue felt cramped. I’ve seen bands at huge arenas whose crowds barely had an inkling of Arnocorps fans energy. Crowd surfing, embracing each other and screaming lyrics at the top of their lungs, they provided just as much entertainment as the band members. Many of which also had their faces painted, showing a Kiss-like devotion (the band refer to them as goddamn heroes and sheroes!).

Another element that makes the band unique is their use of two bassists; Inzo Der Barrakuda plays lead bass, while Karl Dichtschnur holds down the low-end. All this seismic bottom-heavy activity provides great bombast to tracks like “Terminator“, “Total Recall” and “Eraser.”

The crowd got even more whipped into a frenzy when two past band-members joined the stage, giving the entire night a party-like atmosphere.

After plowing through the set with more tracks like the Conan themed “Destroyer” and “Hercules” (a nod to early Arnie catastrophe “Hercules Goes Bananas”) the band left the stage briefly, but the fans demanded an encore. The band obliged with “Last Action Hero” that had everyone screaming along.

Schwarzenegger’s best days of his career and personal life are well behind him, but ArnoCorps preserve the memory of the days when kids in the 80’s were immersed in his sci-fi, fantasy and action movies. Last Action Heroes indeed.

SETLIST:

Arno Intro

Predator

Discipline

I’m Ballsy

Total Recall

Terminator

Eraser

Commando

Pumping Iron

Destroyer

Crown

Hercules

Rise Of The Machines

Last Action Hero

And click here for my review of their new release ‘The Fantastic EP.’

And here’s some links to some cool Arnie memorabilia: