By DONNA BALANCIA
The Longshot played a great show at the Hi Hat Monday night, but the rest of the shows on the West Coast have been postponed, it was announced via social media Tuesday.
An Instagram post by The Longshot and which was “regrammed” by guitarist Kevin Preston, indicated a member of the band is dealing with a “serious family emergency.”
No details are known. Information will be forthcoming about rescheduled dates. The Longshot played The Hi Hat in Highland Park on Monday night (See review and photos below).
The Longshot had West Coast shows scheduled for the Observatory in Santa Ana on Tuesday night; San Francisco on Wednesday night; Seattle on May 11, Bellingham on May 12, Vancouver on May 13 and Portland on May 15.
Review of The Longshot at The Hi Hat May 7, 2018
Billie Joe Armstrong’s band, The Longshot, lived up to its new reputation as the hottest ticket in town with a wild rockin’ show at The Hi Hat Monday night.
The Longshot has been playing smaller gigs on the West Coast, mainly in California, and has been touring its new, self-titled EP.
The Longshot brilliantly blends Armstrong’s talents with those of Green Day bandmate bassist Jeff Matika, and guitarist Kevin Preston and drummer David Field from Prima Donna. It’s a high-energy group and the band is so explosive, it’s like taking a Fizzie and putting it in Pepsi — times 100.
On Monday at The Hi Hat, it was a high-energy show that ran the gamut from covers to new songs to Green Day tunes and it all sounded big and focused. The strong combination of musicians cranking out tune after tune was mind-boggling as the show included 21 songs all executed in rapid succession with military-like precision.
It was an unforgettable night for many as Green Day and Prima Donna fans waited in line for hours outside the very popular Highland Park venue. The Hi Hat has been in business for only three years but has booked some of the biggest acts in music to its abundant stage.
The Longshot followed two excellent bands on Monday, opener The Trash Bags, which immediately became a new favorite of the fans, and The Longshot’s other touring comrades Frankie and The Studs. Frankie and The Studs shows all the prowess of a rock and roll band. Frankie is similar in style to Joan Jett ,and the studs have some great musical chops.
At The Hi Hat, The Longshot played the songs off its new EP, opening the night with Kill Your Friends moving into Devil’s Kind, Taxi Driver and Happiness. They skipped the slow one
The band broke things up with a section of great cover songs, including The Ramones’ “Rockaway Beach;” “Bastards of Young” by the Replacements; “As Tears Go By” by Marianne Faithful before playing Green Day tunes “Fell For You,” “Walkin Out on Love” and “Body Bag.”
The big song off the album is “Love is For Losers,” and in fact it’s so good the band played it twice, about three-quarters of the way through the show and again towards the end of the night. The Longshot’s “Turn Me Loose” and “The Last Time” and Green Day’s “Stay The Night” were followed by “I Fought The Law” by The Clash. Longshot’s “Chasing a Ghost” was followed by “Ziggy Stardust,” which Green Day fans recognize, and the guys wrapped up with “Kiss Me Deadly” by Generation X.
Apart from a string breaking on Armstrong’s guitar during Stay The Night, the night at The Hi Hat had a triumphant tone to it, as if a local hero were returning to a wild party. It’s a high-energy group, with Kevin doing his trademark leaping and windmills and Armstrong tossing his curly black mane and using to the fullest that instantly recognizable voice.
Last week, Armstrong put to rest any speculation that The Longshot may have taken the place of Green Day in the frontman’s heart with a profanity laced Tweet, saying he is just having fun playing music with friends.
The band is set for it and hopefully there is staying power in The Longshot band with its strong, veteran talent. Armstrong and his bandmates are clearly enjoying themselves and chat easily with the fans, and yes like he said, they’re having fun. It’s a refreshing and dynamic new group, extremely polished and promising of bigger things yet to come. Don’t miss this.
5/8 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room *
5/9 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop *
5/11 – Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey *
5/12 – Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo House of Music *
5/13 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre *
5/15 – Portland, OR @ Dante’s *
5/22 – New York, NY @ Coney Island Baby
5/23 – New York, NY @ Coney Island Baby
5/25 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
5/26 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
5/28 – Toronto, ON @ The Horseshoe Tavern
5/29 – Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes
* Show postponed