A Naked Lightbulb Joint:
Black Mambas, Mala Vista, Civil Rats, Street Vengeance (members of Pure Hell)
Cousin Danny's Lounge
5001 Market St.
Philadelphia
May 22, 2026
I spied on the flyer for this show that the band "Street Vengeance" included members of the legendary punk band Pure Hell — and did a double take. I was determined to check this one out, and last Friday, the guitarist, Chip, gave us some pyrotechnics I was not expecting from a 75-year-old man. Bands Civil Rats, Mala Vista, and Black Mambas (all the way from L.A.) were all down to come out to watch and take it all in while performing some punk of their own.
Street Vengeance is the current band from guitarist Preston Morris III aka "Chip" from Pure Hell. Pure Hell was birthed in Philadelphia around 1974. During their roughly four years of existence, they released just one single, and had some flirtations with fame. At one point they were friends with the New York Dolls; they played with Sid Vicious and even had Curtis Knight as a manager (he had previously been an R&B singer from the group The Squires featuring a then young Jimi Hendrix). In '78, they disbanded after flying out to London to record. There's an incredible archival album, Noise Addiction, that features the absolutely blistering guitar work of Chip. If you want to hear just how original their flavor of punk was, there is an existing recording pulled from an acetate they made in 1975 called "Wild One," which dips into two worlds, one in pure Psychedelic Fuzz and the other looking forward towards Raw Punk. It's an incredible proto-punk document, and it sets the stage for Chip as he becomes both a punk innovator and a guitarist steeped in psyche in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix. Needless to say, I was beside myself to see him perform, especially in the company of high caliber punk outfits like Mala Vista. I also couldn't think of a more perfect location for this gig than Cousin Danny's.
Arriving at Cousin Danny's, I found an unmarked row home right off 50th and Market. You enter the side door that heads down into what looks like a bar your uncle proudly built in his basement. The ambience of the place — the time-kissed furniture and decor, along with no visible marked signage outside the bar — gives the feeling that this used to be operated as an illegal bar back in the day. The upstairs of the bar acts as the show venue and gives major VFW vibes, proving that all punk needs is a long wooden hall, an electrical outlet, drop ceilings, and a door to a smokers porch behind the band.
Civil Rats warmed us up with some endearing, melodically structured Punk that offered catchy pop hooks and set the tone with Marshall amps and a nice loud sound. It only got louder from here on out. When Mala Vista (NYC) hit the stage, they brought a kind of melt-your-face-off vibe, and were probably my favorite act of the night. These guys played as one unit, blending like a seamless wave of sound submerging the audience. Black Mambas kept the wave going, but switched things up by giving us just a smidge of country-fried flavor. You could hear tinges of blues or even rockabilly, which functioned like a permission slip for the audience to let go and party. The crowd, although not huge (maybe 40-50 people), was electric, buzzing along with the music. Each band before and after their sets stood right up front with the audience, watching each other, taking pictures and operating as fans as much as performers.
At the point Chip set up and started playing, I don't think the Marshall head and the 4x12 it was perched on had sounded quite that loud. Chip's attack was ear-splitting. Street Vengeance had only a handful of songs and were missing a singer, so the drummer took that duty, and if they hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have known. At some point during the first song, the shock set in while watching Chip fly up the fretboard. His attack still had that raw quality you hear on the Pure Hell recordings. I was definitely standing there in front of him like a goof, grinning from ear to ear in disbelief that I was privy to this. Preston Morris threw his leads around like they were candy, and at one point was even plucking a solo with his teeth. The band played a track or two from the old recordings and did a great cover of the Stooges "No Fun." Thank God Alex from Naked Lightbulb brought out free ear plugs tonight — it probably saved my hearing.
I talked to the bass player from Street Vengeance after the show and asked him: how did you guys get hooked up with this guy? He relayed to me that he and his friends were already big fans of Pure Hell and that one day his roommate was in Point Breeze getting Chinese takeout. While waiting for the food, Chip had wondered in, and somewhere in the midst of ordering diner he started staring at the roommate — then walked up and asked "Do you know any bass players"? The only thing the bassist added at the end of his story was a deep chuckle, like he couldn't believe it himself.
