Live review: Agent Orange, Spice Pistols live at Tip Top Deluxe

Features, Live Reviews, Reviews

Grand Rapids, MI – 30 Sep 2023

A wide variety of punk thrills and spills.

Seeing has pretty much become an annual tradition, and I'm not complaining. If the Orange County trio wants to play the Bar & Grill every fall, I will probably keep showing up. Apparently I'm not the only one. The intimate venue was sold out for the second year in a row. 

This time around, Agent Orange brought with them. Spice Pistols are a Southern California band made up of older guys who dress in drag and speak in cockney accents. It's delightfully politically incorrect. Names like Hairy Scary Spice, Ginger Binger Spice and Maybe Baby Spice might give you some idea of what to expect. I guess the homely quartet even appeared on America's Got Talent before being run off by Simon Cowell. 

They made their grand entrance at 9 pm sharp. (It was memorable!) They played mostly Sex Pistols' songs, but did throw in a few (in)appropriate curveballs. Cyndi Lauper's “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” was a big hit, as was “Sweet Transvestite” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. As old as I am, I never saw the Pistols. (Even the ‘90s reunion.) I enjoyed singing along to “God Save the Queen”, “Anarchy in the U.K.” and the rest. Spice Girls' “Wannabe” closed the strange set. Overall, it was a lot more fun than the typical local opener. 

Agent Orange took the tiny, low, corner stage a little after 10 pm. They wasted little time in tearing into a bunch of favorites. (If Spice Pistols were a fruity dessert, Agent Orange were a steak cooked medium rare.) Punk classics like “Living In Darkness”, “Everything Turns Grey”, “A Cry For Help In A World Gone Mad”, “I Kill Spies” and “No Such Thing” were interspersed with surf standards like “Pipeline”, “Miserlou” and “Mr. Moto”. Founding guitarist/vocalist Mike Palm was in good spirits. It seems he's come to enjoy playing at the Tip Top. His voice had that weary and worn quality that is a sure sign he's been on the road. 

It's really always been Palm's guitar playing that sets him apart. An unsung six string hero, he's certainly among the greatest guitar players in punkdom. “Bloodstains” and “The Last Goodbye” closed the regular set. After a little prompting, the band came back and treated the enthusiastic crowd to “Too Young To Die” and their take on the Dead Kennedys' classic “Police Truck”. There's a reason we come back year after year – Agent Orange continue to deliver. 

Confessions of a merch whore; As usual, Agent Orange had a huge spread of stuff for sale. Tons of T-shirts, skateboard decks, stickers, patches and even keychains. I've bought a fair amount of stuff the previous 15 or so times I've seen them, but nothing really caught my eye this time. Spice Pistols had T-shirts and a ten-inch record. I questioned whether it was “too novelty” to listen to at home and skipped it.