Molotov, Los Abandoned

Photo By Gary Miller

Molotov, Los Abandoned

Stubb's, Sept. 18

Underground rock shows are still sleepy-eyed at 8pm on a Sunday night, but tonight there was a rowdy, full-bodied crowd out to witness one of Mexico's most popular rock acts, Molotov. L.A.'s Los Abandoned opened with a half-hour of Pat Benatar fire and ice as lead singer Lady P. wiggled her body and pink shoes to their insistent upbeat, finishing with a Ramones-like rendition of Selena's "Como La Flor." Molotov stepped onstage precisely at 9pm, knowing they owned the place. Bassist Micky came out talking like the Disney mouse as they opened with a nutso cover of "Rock Me Amadeus." Randy's vicious drumming glued together the ziplock raps of Tito and Paco as their guitars cannoned forth metal riffs. They pulled out some 20 gems from their four LPs, from the Rage Against the Machine-meets-DJ Screw of "Molotov Cocktail Party" to the Norteño sounding immigration politics of "Frijolero." The entire stage front moshed while screaming along as Molotov mowed through an hour and a half of sweaty rock. For an encore, Tito began the anthemic "Puto" to hundreds of jumping kids with Los Abandoned joining them onstage to finish the song. With the lights on, and people already leaving, Molotov jumped into a mash-up of "Eye of the Tiger" over their own anarchist-leaning politics of "Gimme tha Power" to finish off the night, leaving everyone wide-eyed.