Ronald “Skip” Greer had something he needed to share with the audience.
“My doctor told me that, from a medical standout, I’m too old for punk rock,” the Dead Kennedys vocalist joked.
He then went right ahead and proved this (most likely fictional) doctor wrong, as he led the legendary San Francisco punk band through some of the greatest material ever produced in the genre.
Too old for punk rock? Is there indeed such a thing? It sure didn’t seem that way during the Punk in the Park American Road Trip at the Cow Palace in Daly City on Saturday. The event — which was held in the parking lot area as opposed to inside the barn-shaped venue that hosted everyone from KISS to The Doors in its heyday — featured some 10 bands, a goodly number of which include members who are in there 50s, 60s and even 70s.
And all of the ones I saw at this all-day event, which kicked off around noon and stretched past 9 p.m., had no problem turning on the punk-rock power as they delighted fans who, in many cases, were in the same age frame as these old-school punk performers.
So, yeah, take that Mr. (again, probably fictional) doctor.
This show — which represented the maiden voyage into NorCal for the Orange County-based Punk in the Park concert series — delivered nothing short of one of the finest collections of California punk rock ever witnessed around these parts. The list of participants read like roll call in a punk rock hall of fame, with the Descendants, the Vandals, the Dead Kennedys and Black Flag topping a bill that also featured the Exploited, the Dickies, the Adolescents and more.
There was also a pre-party show held on Friday at the same venue with Suicidal Tendencies, Guttermouth and other acts.
The Black Flag set alone was worth the price of admission — and certainly worth braving the cold, wet and uneven weather — on Saturday. The Hermosa Beach outfit delivered a high-adrenaline half-hour set that was filled with such memorable songs as “Can’t Decide,” “I’ve Had It,” “Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie” and “Black Coffee.”
The whole quartet — including vocalist Mike Vallely — sounded terrific. Yet, the star of the show remains the mighty Greg Ginn, who used the band’s Punk in the Park set to showcase why he’s one of the best guitarists in punk rock history.
The thing is, ironically, his leads can sound so un-punk rock, as he jams and twists his way through complicated passages in fashions that would impress the likes of Richard Thompson and Phil Manzanera. A few of those leads — such as the one that came in the blazing set opener “Can’t Decide” — were simply breathtaking.
Black Flag closed the set in triumphant fashion with a pairing of the fan favorite “Rise Above” and its raucous cover of “Louie Louie” — the latter of which delivering one of those wonderfully joyous moments that feels like it will stay with everyone in the crowd for years to come.
Next up was the best Bay Area punk band of all time — the Dead Kennedys — who also turned in a powerful half-hour set that inspired much action from the black-clad Dickies-and-Vans-wearing fans in the massive circle pit in front of the stage.
Opening with “Forward to Death,” the group — which still consists of original members East Bay Ray on guitar and Klaus Flouride on bass — marched on through such skewering slices of satire as “Kill the Poor” and “California Uber Alles,” all of which feel as relevant today as when they first came out in the ’80s.
Greer (a founding member the Wynona Riders before taking up with the DKs) was a whirlwind on the microphone, ending the show out in the audience and launching the biting words of “Holiday in Cambodia” right into the faces of audience members. (Personal aside: At one point, I lost sight of him in the crowd and then suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder — and it was Greer, microphone to his mouth, about 10 inches away from my face. Just plain awesome.)
The Vandals vibe, of course, was entirely different than the hardcore punk sounds of Black Flag and the DKs. They are purveyors of pop-punk, who don’t take themselves all that seriously onstage and may well have been the only people at the show not wearing mostly black clothes. Yet, the Huntington Beach act is seriously fun and sounded pretty great as it rolled out such favorites as “It’s a Fact,” “The Legend of Pat Brown” and — let us not forget — the classic title track to 1995’s “Live Fast, Diarrhea.”
The Vandals ended the set with a powerful one-two punch of “My Girlfriend’s Dead” — the proudly tasteless tune that basically set the blueprint for everything that would come from Blink-182’s career — as well as a nice cover of the Simpletones’ “I Have a Date.”
The Descendents closed out the day in rip-roaring punk rock fashion, running through the first half-dozen or so songs of their headlining set in what felt like about six minutes. Still led by Milo Aukerman — the “Milo” in the title of Manhattan Beach band’s legendary 1982 debut, “Milo Goes to College” — the Descendents wowed the fans with such offerings as “Feel This,” “On Paper” and “Clean Sheets.”
In all, it was quite the Road Trip for Punk in the Park. And we can only hope that organizers will decide to make another one to the Bay Area in 2025.
