The second annual Punk in the Park craft beer and music festival kicked off on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado and thousands of fans showed up right as gates opened for a day of fun at the sold-out show.
There was definitely something in that crisp canyon air and a palpable feeling of camaraderie and good times. Patrons rushed in to start sampling craft beers from dozens of local and regional breweries, posed for photos in front of various photo ops and installations on-site and hurried to the stages to catch the early bands.
Saturday’s lineup included sets by Bad Religion, Face to Face, The Adolescents, 7 Seconds, Manic Hispanic, Subhumans, The Bronx, The Flatliners, The Briefs, Love Canal, Bad Cop/Bad Cop, Suzi Moon, TV Party and Slaughterhouse.
Punk icons Dead Kennedys were also on the bill, however the band dropped off following the death of its drummer, Darren Henley, professionally known as D.H. Peligro. The band shared on its social media pages on Oct. 29 that Peligro died from trauma to the head caused by an accidental fall in his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28.
Festival promoters announced that a special guest would take Dead Kennedys place and the fans went wild when Orange County punks The Vandals showed up. The guys played fan-favorite songs including “I’ve Got an Ape Drape,” “I Have a Date,” “Anarchy Burger,” “My Girlfriend’s Dead” and shamelessly plugged their 27th Annual Christmas Formal show at House of Blues Anaheim on Dec. 23 by singing their holiday staple, “Oi to the World!”
With former Bad Religion and current Avenged Sevenfold drummer Brooks Wackerman on deck instead of Vandals’ drummer Josh Freese, who just played two Halloween shows with Danny Elfman at the Hollywood Bowl, the band paid tribute to Peligro with Dead Kennedys’ “Let’s Lynch the Landlord.” The festival crowd went bananas, singing and moshing through the two-minute, hard-hitting tune that left vocalist Dave Quackenbush breathless and admitting, “Oh God, their songs are so much better than ours.”
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It was a solid day of music with each band really bringing an elevated performance, seemingly feeding off the positive energy from the enthusiastic crowd. Aside from complaints from fans, and even some artists, about having to wait in the long line of vehicles to get into the canyon if they entered after 3 p.m. — which has been a well-known issue for those who attended the Hootenanny festivals in the area back in the day — things went smoothly.
Southern California Chicano punk rock band Manic Hispanic drew a massive crowd to close out the smaller side stage and English outfit Subhumans delivered a superb and fiery set following the heat brought by The Bronx on the main stage.
Fullerton punk rock band The Adolescents were definitely feeling the hometown love as fans roared along to “Democracy,” “Amoeba” and “Kids of the Black Hole.” Face to Face mixed in a bit of the old and new, opening with a fresh song, “No Way Out But Through,” which sat just fine alongside hits like “A-OK,” “Walk the Walk” and “Disconnected.” Vocalist-guitarist Trevor Keith did call out the crowd for its brief lull in energy, laughing and commiserating as he said he understood their pain of “all being over 40” and in the pit.
Headliner Bad Religion, with its massive catalog of songs, also blended the old with the new, coming out with 1993’s “Recipe For Hate” followed by 2019’s “Chaos From Within.” The band sounded fantastic as it blasted through two dozen songs including “Sorrow,” “Suffer,” “Do What You Want,” “American Jesus,” “You,” “Generator” and “The Streets of America.”
Punk in the Park continues on Sunday, Nov. 6 with Dropkick Murphys, The Bouncing Souls, The Murder City Devils, Anti-Flag, Agent Orange, Good Riddance, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Swinging Utters, CH3, Pulley, Beach Rats, Mercy Music, The Vulturas, Urethane and Winter Haven.
Punk in the Park
When: Saturday, Nov. 5
Where: Oak Canyon Park, Silverado