Well I was late leaving home and I honestly don't know what I was thinking, taking my sweet time. After waiting in line for ages I finally got in to continue off in the middle of San Jose's No Use For a Name. (I missed The line and Guttermouth who I was originally there to see) The first full song that I saw was "Coming too Close". They played a brand new song that I didn't catch the name of, but it sounded strangely similar to new Bad Religion. I was surprised at the number of fans in the audience. Some people were going crazy for this band and I didn't know that many people knew of them. Other songs played were Misfits cover "I Turned into a Martian", "Justified Black Eye" and "On the Outside".
Next up, Face To Face. This band is plain awesome. I only picked up a few of the songs played which were from their 91-92 release "Don't Turn Away". The songs were "I want", "Walk away" and "Disconnected". In the middle of their set they had a little "reunion" with original founding member Matt Riddle who is currently in No Use for a Name. It was a privilege to watch the original members play together. Face to Face also announced an upcoming split with the Dropkick Murphys which caught me off guard because the bands are not very similar in the least. Also announced- new signing to Vagrant Records. Can't wait to see what that brings.
Headliner band Pennywise was up next on the bill. They dropped a huge banner in memory of late member Jason M. Thrisk. (For those who don't know, Thirsk was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head in 1996.) Because I was so angry I missed Guttermouth, I didn't really pay much attention to PW. I did take notice of the kids on the floorâ¦the pits were large. It was almost like the whole floor section was one giant mosh pit. I don't think I've seen a bigger pit, ever.
A friend of Pennywise was called up on the stage and I thought for sure he was just going to sing with them, but instead, he had his girlfriend come out on stage. He got down on his knee and the crowd went wild. He proposed to her, (She said yes!) and Pennywise played "Stand By Me". It was sweet stuff.
Here is the list of the songs played (in order as best as I caught it): "Can't Believe It", "Homesick", "The World", "Living for Today", "Fuck Authority", "Society", "Stand By Me", "Killing Time", "Fun and Games", "Perfect People", "Among Us", and basically everyone's favorite "Bro Hymn".
For those of you who live in San Diego, closed venue SOMA was brought up. Sounds almost for sure we are going to get that place back. It's been long enough right? I had a somewhat decent time at this concert. I think what took from the enjoyment were the uncomfortable seats (they need cushions) and the fact that I missed Guttermouth. I really, really wanted to see them. Hey, if you're in the Midwest in January, check Pennywise out!