Punk rock and craft beer enthusiasts gathered at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, the first day of the inaugural two-day Punk in the Park craft brew and music festival.
The festival, which was originally scheduled to begin in early 2020 and had been postponed many times owing to the COVID-19 epidemic, began at noon, with thousands of fans already waiting in line. During the pre-COVID days, attendance at a music event would generally be lower during the early hours of a daylong event, with most attendees arriving later for the top-tier acts.
On Saturday, that wasn’t the case.
Pennywise, The Vandals, Lagwagon, Guttermouth, Fear, TSOL, and other bands played sets. The joy was infectious, as small groups of friends, many of whom hadn’t seen each other in more than a year and a half, toasted with tiny plastic cups of craft beer. It was also a family-friendly occasion, with some attendees bringing their children. There were little kids dancing, play-moshiing, and eating pizza at the site, which was quite adorable. Some guests wore face masks, and the open area of the venue certainly gave enough space for social distance.
Patrons were able to view the bands and walk about the grounds freely because there were no overlapping bands in this two-stage event held at Woodburn Park. Patrons stood in lines to try craft beer from companies like Helmsman Ale House, Brewery X, Stone Brewing, Broken Timbers Brewing Co., Brewheim, All-American Ale Works, Belching Beaver and more.
The name of the event, Punk in the Park, is self-explanatory. The location was originally intended to be April because it would have provided warmer temperatures and longer light hours. There was a biting cold out in the canyon when headliners Pennywise began their performance around 9 p.m., and it felt like midnight by the time they hit the stage.
Despite the darkness, the cool weather, and a long day of punk rock, fans were ready for Pennywise. The band sprinkled in big hits like “Society,” “Same Old Story,” and “Bro Hymn,” as well as a few covers with Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” and its pumped-up version of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me.” There were also a few surprises when the guys brought out NOFX frontman Fat Mike for a cover of Bad Religion’s “Do What You Want” and Jakob Nowell, son of the late Sublime singer Bradley Nowell, for Sublime’s “Same in the End.”
The Vandals had a similar approach. While Josh Freese was performing with Sting in Las Vegas, Avenged Sevenfold’s Brooks Wackerman filled in on drums. The guys took requests from the audience and simply had fun with songs like “Cafe 405” and “Anarchy Burger (Hold the Government),” which they played.
Lagwagon performed a unique set of their 1997 “Double Plaidinum” album, which was previously only heard in its entirety at the band’s reunion show at El Corazon on April 24. Riverside ska-punk act Voodoo Glow Skulls filled in on the side stage as a substitute for Pulley, who could not attend.
With tracks like “I Don’t Care About You” and “I Love Living in the City,” Fear ripped it up with songs like “I Don’t Care About You” and “I Love Living in the City.” Jack Grisham was charming as ever, singing “Give Me More” and “In My Head” on TSOL.
Around it was a great day of music, with even the early groups such as Hilltop Rats, Raptors, Chaser, Jughead’s Revenge, The Last Gang, The Bombpops and Guttermouth putting on energetic shows that were devoured by this crowd, many of whom stated that it was their first concert since the epidemic began.
NOFX, Me First and the Gimmes, The Bouncing Souls, Strung Out, Authority Zero, The Dickies, Teenage Bottlerocket, Ignite, Left Alone, Get Dead , La Pobreska are among the acts performing on Sunday at Punk in the Park.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login