Mutants
I saw pretty much all the punk bands that played around San Francisco in the 70's and early 80's, and there were some very good ones indeed, and the Dead Kennedys were the biggest. But my favorites by far were the Mutants. They were one of the larger presences on the local punk scene, but not far beyond.
They were the dark, ironic side of the B-52's, having the same lineup, including 1 male (Fritz) and 2 females (Sue and Sally) as the artistically attired vocalists. The songs by guitarist Brendan Earley were pop/punk brilliance with killer melodies and singalong choruses. One of their classics is 'The New Dark Ages'; they saw that coming.
They really coulda been contenders, but I don't know how much they really wanted all of that; I don't know, but they seemed quite content with the local arts/music scene from which they started, and they occasionally do a show every year or so; most of the original members are still surviving and living around town.
Full Frame Thumbnails
Old Waldorf, San Francisco, date unknown
Savoy Tivoli, San Francisco, date unknown
Zellerbach Auditorium, Berkeley, 08/08/79
