Hometown Shows Hit The Hardest
An article about MEST, Unwritten Law, and Allister
Written By: Richard Sutton
Edited by: Amanda Valdivieso
What happens when you leave a show feeling like you walked away from a pivotal historic moment? A monumental juncture in the scene for music and culture?!?
You feel full of life! You feel inspired!
It gives you the energy to defeat that task you have been putting off, like breaking down the recurring wall of writer’s block, finishing that song or article, and saying to yourself that is what it is all about.
You glaze over the events that had just happened as if they were a movie reel happening inside your head…A perfect show.
What show am I referring to?
I’m talking about Tony Lovato of MEST putting together a truly stacked line up of quality, one night only, 5 miles from where he grew up! August 30th, 2025 is marked for history.
Here Is the simple breakdown of the set for the night:
Opener:
Tim Rogner of Allister/Hot Alice Acoustic
(With secret performance of “Somewhere on Fullerton” with Mest to finish his set)
Direct Support:
Scott Russo and Chris Lewis of Unwritten Law Acoustic Greatest Hits
(ending on E minor for dramatic affect)
Headliner:
MEST
(Playing the album Wasting Time in full as well as songs from Mo Money Mo 40z and various hits!)
Lets Dive In!
Tim Rogner
Allister/Hot Alice Front man Tim Rogner broke the ice with some rare acoustic renditions of classics including, “Radio Player,” “Scratch,” and “Racecars.” . His voice is still as good as when they recorded Last Stop Suburbia if not better.The crowd was giving good vibes, and knew almost every lyric. I felt amongst my people! Tim finished off his set with a surprise rendition of “Somewhere on Fullerton” with MEST backing completely for one of the best versions you will ever hear live! If you have never heard of Allister, go listen now! there isn’t a bad song but I suggest Last Stop Suburbia which is a pure no skip classic off of Drive-Thru Records. His new band Hot Alice is a must check out if you are fans of Allister.
Unwritten Law
As a two piece acoustic set with perfect harmony playing hit after hit ending on E minor (for dramatic effect) Unwritten Law brought it! So vibrant and youthful Scott gave off the perfect SoCal vibes, aging like fine wine! The famous Unwritten Law logo placed perfectly in the background with dimly lit fog filling the stage made for your favorites in a setting you have never seen! Hit after hit, every high note hit effortlessly. At one point during the chorus of “Seein’ Red,” Scott chose to sing the lower parts while the crowd sang the higher parts like a choir of emo misfits joining together for their own version of devotion. It sounded perfect. It was a moment for me. My first CD ever was a Vans Warped Tour demo given to me at the X Games bike practice trials in San Diego when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. Unwritten Law was a significant discovery of music for me. It was track 11, the song “Lonesome”, I don't know why I remember this so profoundly, but I do.
(Fun Fact! Cailin Russo is Scott's Daughter!)
MEST
I cannot stress it enough how incredible it was to see MEST performing absolutely rare material they may never perform again, improvising on the spot, and carrying the crowd of old and new, the youth, the mid-life crisis Millennials and Gen Xers uniting inside the friendly confines of 115 Bourbon Street. Ferris Bueller would be proud. One of the tightest shows I have seen this year. From playing “Flawless” to absolutely having fun with old rarities. At one point breaking down a song mid-set for the crowd to help out with, as if we were at an intimate band practice. Genius. Did I hear a five second guitar check turn into an entire undiscussed improv cover of the Proclaimers “I’m Gonna Be”?? That happened, and it was AWESOME!
MEST was so in sync, at one point after ending a song with a clever outro, bassist Dave Gomez and singer Tony Lovato jinxed each other on a perfect “nailed it!” in unison not realizing the other was going to say anything at all. Tony being a man of the people gave everyone their money's worth with a set list of 20-25 songs. For me, I got excited for classics like “Dody Road” and new material like “Hate You Sober”.
My greatest takeaway from this show was actually not the music at all but the idea of coming together as family, whether it be by blood or chosen. Some of the best highlights happened with Tony’s family being not only there by his side but involved in the show as well! His friend Sven joined them on stage, as did his wife and children at certain points of the show.
The show and final portion of the set was dedicated to Steve and Tony’s mother who recently passed. And this. This was the most important moment in the show. We got to see Tony be vulnerable, see the love and heartbreak in his eyes, and this was a testament to his character making the show an intimate gig for not just him and his family, but the fans.
It was family representation at its finest and I can’t say that I don’t know another thing that is more Punk than that…
