FEBRUARY: The band played their first gig in 4 years at Brennan's Irish Pub in Marina Del Rey, CA; supporting Cockeyed Ghost. The turnout was very good and very nostalgic, and the Last played a good set, despite only 2 rehearsals. Standouts included a very melodic version of "Go Away Girl," which normally is played very hard, fast and rough. George Harrison was remembered with a nice version of the Beatles' "Don't Bother Me." You can read reviews of the show here. I was told Joe said more Last gigs might be impossible due to the band's conflicting work schedules; but he promised others there will be more Last gigs coming soon. Joe: "I told no one more Last gigs are impossible! Conflicting schedules do however make it unclear as to who will be playing what in the future, and hell it could be a perpetual rotation. The reason I stopped all activity for a while is that I was unwilling to do a show every six months or so, which is what we'd been doing in '96 & '97. I vowed that when we returned, we would be back to stay. We did, and we are."

APRIL: The band played the Stockage festival in Colorado - a 2-day event centering around All and their fans. This included a reunion of the original Descendants as well as some 30 other bands, many of which were composed of All fans who frequent the band's internet message board. Missy returned to her duties as Last bassist, but Robbie Rist had prior commitments, so longtime Last fan Josh Pickering filled in on drums. Except for the band missing their return flight to L.A., the event went extremely well. Next up in April was a gig at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood with The Records, The Question, and Jupiter Affect. This show was originally scheduled for the same weekend as Stockage, but they graciously rescheduled so the Last could hike up to Colorado for the weekend. The only drawback was instead of playing the Knitting Factory on a primo Saturday night, the show was rescheduled for a Sunday night, with the Last playing just past midnight.

View pix of the Last at Stockage here or here or here or here or here...

NOVEMBER: A skeleton-crew version of The Last played at the Garage in Silverlake - just Joe, Missy and Robbie. Mike and Luke were unable to attend. Started earlier in the year, recording continued on "Shank," which was to be the band's next release. Here's a Real Video clip of one of those sessions. [40 Kbps] [269 Kbps] Here are the 2002 performances by The Last: Feb 22, 2002 - Brennan's Pub (Marina Del Rey) w/ Cockeyed Ghost, Mockers Joe Nolte, Mike Nolte, David Nolte, Luke Lohnes, Robbie Rist April 14, 2002- Starlight (Ft Collins, CO) Stockage festival Joe Nolte, Mike Nolte, Missy Buettner, Josh Pickering April 21, 2002- The Knitting Factory, Hollywood, w/ The Records, The Question, Jupiter Affect Joe Nolte, Mike Nolte, Missy Buettner, Luke Lohnes, Josh Pickering June 22, 2002 - private party Joe Nolte, Mike Nolte, Missy Buettner, Luke Lohnes, Robbie Rist July 20, 2002 - Café-Club Fais Do Do, L.A. w/ The Travoltas, Rob Goraieb, 5 Star Crush, The Shambles, The Loons, The Wombats, Pop Lolita and Jupiter Affect Joe Nolte, Mike Nolte, Missy Buettner, Luke Lohnes, Robbie Rist Aug 30, 2002 - The Knitting Factory, Hollywood, w/ The Records & 20/20 Joe Nolte, Mike Nolte, Missy Buettner, Luke Lohnes, Robbie Rist Nov 3, 2002 - The Garage, Silverlake, w/ Cockeyed Ghost Joe Nolte, Missy Buettner, Robbie Rist