Kevin Bronson on August 8th, 2012

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About the time Redd Kross busted into the 20-year-old nugget “Lady in the Front Row” on Tuesday night, a 4.4-magnitude earthquake rattled the Southland. Nobody in the sold-out Roxy Theatre noticed, especially the sweat-drenched denizens of the mosh pit, a multi-generational gang who were banging bodies to a band well into their fourth decade.

Whether you knew Redd Kross back in the day – that being the early ’80s; their debut came out in ’82 – or whether you’re catching up with them in their FYF Fest-approved resurgence, it was a pulse-pounding hour-plus of vintage guitar rock …  “punk” to some, “power-pop” to others, virtuoso to the many musicians in the crowd, delirium to just about everybody. Bless your AARP card, this would have been as good in ’82, ’92 and ’02 as it was in ’12.

Tuesday marked the release of Redd Kross’ first album in 15 years, “Researching the Blues” (Merge), as if fortysomething brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald needed any additional adrenaline. From the moment they launched into the new song “Stay Away From Downtown,” they established that this show was not about legacy (or in Redd Kross’ case, a legacy denied) or about “showing the kids how it’s done” (though there was plenty of that), but about pure energy. Teenage rage, slightly aged.

How Redd Kross never became a huge band is a mystery to be solved some pop historian. Their garage-y beginnings and their chunky/hooky albums of the early ’90s certainly hold up in 2012 better than most music from their era. But the Hawthorne-bred quartet settled largely for cult status over the years, despite the impressive resumés of its players. And with bassist Steven McDonald calling attention to his own lineage because of his duties in Keith Morris’ punk band OFF!, the timing was perfect for Redd Kross to reassert itself.

“Researching the Blues” is a masterful chunk of pop and punk, but it can be argued that Redd Kross’ comeback would be falling on deaf ears without the influence of promoter Sean Carlson and FYF Fest (who presented the Roxy show). Carlson’s curatorial sense continues to connect the dots between generations – especially his embrace of seminal bands that coulda-shoulda-woulda been iconic. Today’s back-to-basics punk-, psych- and garage-rock owes everything to yesterday’s, no matter how many of today’s artists act like they invented it. FYF Fest’s young audience, if they are paying attention to things like Morris’ astute DJ set on Tuesday night at the Roxy, gains a rich perspective. Times and toys and methods of product delivery change, but the roots of young angst haven’t seemed to.

There was plenty of generational common ground to stomp on Tuesday. “Linda Blair” and “White Trash” from 1982, “Annie’s Gone” from ’90, “Crazy World” and “Lady in the Front Row” from ’93 and “Pretty Please Me” from ’97 all sounded like they just burst out of some Eastside practice space, and the new album’s title track and “Stay Away From Downtown” sounded based in everything that preceded them, only wiser.

When Astrid McDonald – the daughter of Jeff McDonald and Charlotte Caffey – guested on vocals during the encore, the night was complete.

Newhall-bred garage-rock quartet Pangea (who copped to the fact that this was their first time ever at the Roxy) opened the evening with 30 minutes of exceedingly catchy, technically sharp songs dimmed only slightly by the same smirky slackerdom that makes bands like Wavves so off-putting. Hopefully they took notes during Redd Kross’ set.

Tijuana Panthers followed with a set of surf-punk that, while lacking a broad dynamic, succeeding in ratcheting up the energy for the headliners. No word yet on when their new album will arrive.

||| Live: Redd Kross plays FYF Fest the weekend of Sept. 1 and 2 at L.A. State Historic Park.

Photos 1 and 2 in the gallery courtesy of Todd Nakamine