Vic Bondi and His Issues headline crushing gig at the Kraken in Seattle on June 6, 2026 / Review and Cat Rose photos

Vic Bondi. (All Cat Rose photos)

By Andy

Hefty. Sweaty. Gnarly.

Vic Bondi and His Issues were on full display at the Kraken in Seattle on June 6 for their debut gig in front of a thrilled throng. We were more than ready to soak up the riveting sounds of the sterling foursome whose cracking record recently dropped on Alternative Tentacles Records.

Bondi (guitar/vocals), Fred Speakman (guitar), Tully Potter (bass) and Adam Dahlquist (drums) fired new tunes our way and also leveled us with gut-wrenching gems from Bondi’s prodigious career. Yes, that would be Articles of Faith, Alloy, Jones Very, Dead Ending, Report Suspicious Activity and Redshift. They all struck us like punk rock bolts of lightning that left us shook and shattered in the best way. These are crucial times where you need to be fully immersed in the moment to truly feel what’s being offered. Looking around the place, I believe we were all in it to the hilt. Just fucking perfect.

During the blistering AoF song and set-closer “What We Want is Free,” Bondi ditched his guitar and barreled into the crowd for a classic punk sing-along.

Comrades in the punk and surf realms, The Woodhavens and Dick Rossetti and Bulk Male, excellently set the stage for Bondi and his crew. Punk points to The Woodhavens for their raucous instrumental cover of Black Flag’s “Rise Above.”

Cat Rose cranked out the following pics of the trio of bands:

VIC BONDI AND HIS ISSUES

Cat's promo shot after a recent practice.

THE WOODHAVENS

DICK ROSSETTI AND BULK MALE