2024 Punk In The Park Orlando: Part One
Rex Everything (Nick Oliveri) of The Dwarves - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Brew-Ha-Ha Productions does a great job with shows, so I was excited that they were bringing Punk In The Park to Orlando, FL. 16 bands, two stages, and no overlapping sets (sort of). I’m from Michigan, so I had to fly in for the weekend, but it was worth every penny. This was one of the best one-day festivals I have ever been to, if not the best.
I’d been to this venue (Central Florida Fairgrounds) the previous year for the Punk In Drublic festival, part of the NOFX Final Tour, so this year I planned better. Most importantly, I flew in a day early to check into the hotel and I rented an SUV. Last year, I flew in the day of the festival and couldn’t check in to the hotel until after the show. The hotel had overbooked, and the lobby was filled with tired, sweaty punk rockers whose rooms were unexpectedly not available. I also planned better for the weather, and we had a cooler full of snacks and iced beverages waiting in the car for after the show (it gets hot in Florida).
Although I was prepared, what I didn’t predict was the amount of rain that would fall the day before the show, and how it affected the fairgrounds. It was a major downpour, so the parking lot (a grass field) had a lot of standing water. I had an SUV this time (versus a sports car last year), so I had no issues but we heard the attendants telling others not to worry because they had three tow trucks standing by (apparently expecting people to get stuck).
While we were lined up (before doors opened at Noon) they came through the VIP line and handed out our laminates. At 12:00 sharp, the line started moving and we were quickly in the venue and on our way to get drinks. First up was Suck Brick Kid, a local band that we were not familiar with, but we didn’t want to miss a single second of the action.
Suck Brick Kid from Orlando, Florida is solid skate punk and got the festival started with a bang. This was the second (smaller) stage, and the crowd was just starting to arrive. Regardless, they had a mosh pit going which resulted in quite a few fans repeatedly slipping in the mud. A couple of guys had bought turkey legs from a food vendor, and were holding them in the mosh pit. The band called for a “turkey leg circle pit” which they got. I picked up on the song “Here In My Car” during the show, but later I checked out their most recent full length. “Salt To Taste” contains a lot of great songs including my favorite “Granola Cereal Clusters”. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to see these guys again.
Slaughterhouse
As mentioned, there were no overlapping sets (sort of). No complaints, as I really liked how the festival moved right along and maximized the time that every band had to play. The main and secondary stages were easily 5 – 8 minutes apart, but as soon as the band on the secondary stage finished, the band on the main stage started playing. This meant that I had to start walking slightly before Suck Brick Kid finished in order to not miss the first couple of songs by Slaughterhouse. I got used to that pretty quickly, and although it was a lot of walking on a very hot and humid day, it kept me moving (and there were plenty of vendors along the way to grab a drink or some hot food). I was glad that I didn’t miss any of Slaughterhouse, as they were surprisingly good.
I was originally shocked to see them on the bill, as I thought they were the 1980’s punk/noise band from Detroit (with the same name) that I had seen a few times at the legendary Blondies. It turns out that this Slaughterhouse is from Los Angeles, with a female singer, and they tear it up. I later found that I just missed them in 2023 at Punk Rock Bowling when they played with Alice Bag Band while I was at a club down the road seeing Pulley. I was especially impressed with their cover of “Subliminal” (Suicidal Tendencies), David Rodriquez from The Casualties watching their set side stage, and singer Meriel O’Connell’s energy (including jumping down from the stage and singing directly over the barricades). I will definitely see them again the next time that I get the chance.
430 Steps
Next up was the first hardcore band of the festival. I prefer hardcore and street punk, so I was looking forward to this one a bit more than the others. This was back to the second stage where the pit was on the grass (versus cement for the main stage), which in retrospect worked out well given their sound. 430 Steps are also from Orlando, and have been around since 2016. Their “Lights Out” album is recommended, just check out the video of “First Punch” from this festival.
One of the things I like the most about festivals is finding new bands that I may not have otherwise known about. Suck Brick Kid, Slaughterhouse, and 430 Steps checked that box, but coming up were the legendary bands that I flew out here to see. I was starting to get excited. Next on the main stage was Down By Law. Dave Smalley (singer for Down By Law) was fighting cancer last year, but this year he is cancer free and back to doing shows, so this set was extra special. This was the only legendary band on the bill that I had never seen before, and I was really hoping that they would play “Haircut” or “Put The Boots In”. They didn’t play either of those, but they played many good ones and finished out with the classic “500 Miles”. Check out their new album as well, “Crazy Days” on Cleopatra Records.
Dwarves
The Dwarves surpass even legendary status, being one of the best punk rock bands of all time (and in their words, the last punk band). I’ve seen them more times than any other touring band, and I’m always glad to add one more. This iteration didn’t include HeWhoCannotBeNamed, but we did get Rex Everything (Nick Oliveri, previously or also of Queens of The Stone Age, KYUSS, Mondo Generator and The Svetlanas). Their set included “I Will Deny”, “Everybodies Girl”, “Pimp”, and “Let’s Fuck” and it sounded great (no broken glass, nudity, fights, blood, or smashed equipment at this one – which is what I was hoping for).
Guttermouth
It would be hard to overstate how much I love Guttermouth, and this may have been the best show of theirs that I have been too. Mark Adkins (vocals) has a great sense of sarcasm and humor, and it always shows in their live performances. It was extremely hot and humid at this show, and as Mark was taking his shirt off he tried to get the entire audience to undress (to no avail). It worked on the rest of the band though, and they blazed through a set of classics that included “Baker’s Dozen”, “Destroying The World”, “Lucky The Donkey”, “Asshole” and “Hit Machine”.
Against All Authority
I first saw Against All Authority back in 1990 or so, at Pharoahs in Detroit. Then again in 2023 (over 30 years later) with The Suicide Machines in Detroit. The third time was at Punk Rock Bowling, and this was the fourth. I hope there are many more shows to come, as they are on the top of their game. One of the few bands that call pull off solid punk rock, that also have a trumpet and saxophone player in the band. They opened up with “All Fall Down” and played most of my favorites including “Hard As Fuck” and “Dinkas When I Close My Eyes”. After their set, they could be found over by the Punk Rock Saves Lives booth hanging out with fans, signing posters, and taking photos.
That is 7 bands down, with 9 more to go. Check out part two and part three of this story, coming soon.
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