Pennywise
November 18, 2016
Ventura Theater- Ventura, CA
Punk rock on a Friday night is a perfect way to end anyone’s week. The Majestic Ventura Theater in Downtown Ventura was buzzing with people whether they were local or from out of town. Two big punk names were performing at the Ventura Theater and those two band were Strung Out and Pennywise. The show had been sold out for weeks and was quickly filled with fans as they were anticipating what was to be a a very wild night.
California punk rockers Strung Out came out and started the show with Too Close to See. Right from the start you could see that the band has a very energetic stage presence as font-man Jason Cruz and both guitarists were actively running and jumping around. The fans responded positively and were moshing and occasionally crowd surfing. Strung Out never showed signs of slowing down as they played fast punk tracks like Velvet Alley, Solitaire, Razor Sex, and The Animal and the Machine. With Strung Out being a supporting band, it was a shame to see them playing a short set as the fans were clearly enjoying themselves. The band finished their set with their No Use for a Name cover of Soulmate and made way for the headlining band of the night.
Hermosa Beach, California Punk legends Pennywise were out on tour to celebrate a special occasion. It was the 20th anniversary of of their 1995 album About Time which is to date, one of their most successful releases. Pennywise came out and started the show with the first track from the album, Peaceful Day. In true punk style, the fans responded with crazy mosh pits and crowd surfers. The fans were loving the entire album being played as they played classics from the album like Perfect People, Every Single Day, and Same Old Story. The album finished with Killing Time and the whole album was met with positive energy from the audience. The band came back out since the show still wasn’t finished. A few words from frontman Jim Lindberg and the band went on to play a medley of covers which included punk bands like The Ramones, Misfits, and Bad Religion. For the rest of the setlist, Pennywise went back to playing a regular setlist filled with their concert staples. The first track played was the song Pennywise from their debut album of the same name which is also the name of the clown from the Stephen King novel/film, “It”. Two more songs played which were Society and Fuck Authority. To have a bit of fun, the band played a cover of Ben E. King‘s Stand By Me and the crowd loved singing along to it. To end the show, Pennywise played their staple hit Bro Hymn and the crowd loved whoa-ing along to the intro. This is the part where the fans were allowed to come on stage and dance with the band. The stage was quickly filled with fans that were singing and stage diving. Even a blow up sex doll found its way to the stage. The show ended and the fans left the venue happy, smiling, and of course, drunk.
Review by: Misael Ruiz
Pennywise
Strung Out
