Every year, the Vandals get together to celebrate Christmas. They typically do a tour, bringing Yuletide cheer wherever they go. This year, they came through Phoenix and I was able to attend.

The show took place on December 11th. I knew that Brooks Wackerman, Bad Religion's drummer, would sometimes drum for the Vandals while Josh Freese was busy. I texted Brooks earlier in the day to see if he would be out. He said that he would, but that the day was very busy and he wouldn't have too much time to hang after the show.

I worked all day and then headed to Tempe for the show. I made a few pit stops to bide my time. The Vandals went on at 10 and I arrived around 8:30. I got a parking spot and headed into the Clubhouse. I got in without issue and made my way through the crowd. I ran into Will, and headed outside to talk with him for a while.

After talking with Will for a while, I headed back inside. I went backstage and found Brooks. We caught up for a little while, talking about family, and what had been going on for the past few months. By the time that we were done, it was time for the Vandals to hit the stage.

The Vandals put on an amazing set. They opened with Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy, surpassing what Tchaikovsky could have done with it. They tore through the set, playing a variety of Christmas songs and mixing it up with some oldies, such as And Now We Dance. To be honest, the set was a bit of a train wreck. The sound was a bit weird and there was lots of feedback. The sound man took a long time to figure out and correct it. The stage would also be almost dark for an entire song and then lit with the entire lighting rig and strobes for the next. The band made the best of it, giving everything that they had for the kids and trying to work around the problems that the venue presented them.

After an hour and fifteen minutes, they headed off the stage. I wanted a setlist and got hooked up with one (Thanks Shakes!!!). I found Brooks and tried to figure out what the plan was. We settled on going to the Denny's that was conveniently located right up the road. We went there, got breakfast, and discussed our home renovations until almost 1 am. I took Brooks back to the hotel. I dropped him off, parting ways until Bad Religion in Vegas in March of 2010.

I would like to thanks the Vandals for a great show. They were presented a multitude of difficulties and they faced them all. They put on a great show, focusing on their fans and not their problems. Big thanks go to Shakes for the setlist. Last, but certainly not least, thanks to Brooks for setting me up on the list and generally being a good friend.