So coming off the last show, last night. I headed in the opposite direction to Sacramento, California, to the Channel 24 venue where the West Coast 2026 tour was taking place. The event brought H2O, DFL, and The Circle Jerks all opening for Pennywise, and it was an awesome show.
H2O was up first. Normally, they would be up second, but they had an important meeting later. They were excellent as they ripped through their set, touching on much of their history, including “Don’t Forget Your Roots,” which featured some Warzone lines: “Don’t Forget the Struggle, Don’t Forget the Streets, Don’t Forget Your Roots, Don’t Sell Out.” It was awesome after all these years for a band to give a shout-out to Ray Bees and Warzone.
The lead singer paused for a major shout-out to Rusty, the man with the best mustache in the house. From there, they moved on to “One Life One Chance.” When they started “Guilty By Association” by Madball, they tore it up. Next was “My Friends Look Out For Me Like Family” from their first album. We knew it was coming to an end, but didn’t care. These guys shredded and left everything on the stage.
Follow H2O band members on social media
Toby Morse – lead vocals
Rusty Pistachio – lead guitar, backing vocal
Adam Blake – bass, backing vocal
Matt Henderson – rhythm guitar, backing vocal
Max Morse – drums
DFL was up next. DFL stands for Dead Fucking Last, and they are anything but. These guys hit the stage, and it was just about done when they finished. They started with “Why You DFL,” and it was great as they played it into a breakdown only to pop it back up. They performed powerfully and were loved by the crowd.
They went into “Patty Wagon”, a new song, and it was well received by the crowd as the pit was flowing. The set was jamming, and the crowd was into it, singing most of the words as the lead singer rocked them out. They hit “Proud To Be DFL” for their last song, and it was fantastic. They put 100% into it, and it showed. And just like that, they were out of there, left with a huge round of applause.
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Tom Davis – vocals
Monty Messex – guitar, vocals
Jordan Jacques – drums
Patrick Sullivan – bass
The Circle Jerks were up next to a thunderous applause. Up first, they played “Deny Everything”, a monster of a song right out the gates. The bulk of the songs came from the Group Sex album, and it was excellent. With songs like “Paid Vacation”, “Back Against the Wall”, and “I Just Want Some Skank”, no one there could deny it. They were great songs.
Keith is almost 74 this year and just started collecting Social Security. He was saying that the powers that be would like nothing less than to take it for themselves and leave us hanging. I believe him. That little speech brought us into “When the Shit Hits the Fan”, a song off the Golden Shower of Hits album. An awesome song from the set. When they started “Coup D’Etat,” the audience lost their minds as they rocked out to that song. From there, they played “Moral Majority”, “Don’t Care,” and “Live Fast Die Young”. They worked on “Wild In the Streets,” which was fantastic. One of their only sing-alongs, according to Keith.
The set was rolling right along when they started “World Up My Ass” and the iconic “Wasted”. “Wasted” is one of those songs that gets you going in the morning. Very powerful!
Another stunning moment was when they played “Depression”, “Fix Me”, “Revenge”, and “Nervous Breakdown”, for songs by the mighty Black Flag that Keith originally sang for. Those were the four songs we thought we would never see, but we were glad we did.
From there, it was “What’s Your Problem” before wrapping this up with “Question Authority,” which was perfect for the set. It was about the perfect set for the evening.
Follow The Circle Jerks band members on social media
Keith Morris – vocals
Greg Hetson – guitars
Zander Schloss – bass
Joey Castillo – drums
Setlist
1). Deny Everything
2). Letterbomb
3). In Your Eyes
4). Paid Vacation
5). Behind the Door
6). Back Against the Wall
7). I Just Want Some Skank
8). Beverly Hills
9). When the Shit Hits the Fan
10). Under the Gun
11). Coup d’etat
12). Moral Majority
13). Don’t Care
14). Live Fast Die Young
15). Wild In the Streets (Garland Jeffreys cover)
16). I, I & I
17). Beat Me Senseless
18). World Up My Ass
19). Wasted
20). Red Tape
21). Depression (Black Flag cover)
22). Fix Me (Black Flag cover)
23). Revenge (Black Flag cover)
24). Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag cover)
25). What’s Your Problem
26). Question Authority
When Pennywise hit the stage, it was on. They started with “Homeless,” and that set the pace. Right from the get-go, they had the crowd singing along with them. It was fantastic. When they started the next song, “Peaceful Day,” it was on point, following the last one. They had the pit moving, and the people who weren’t in the pit were singing along.
The next song was dedicated to all the audience members who had to go to work the next day. It was called “Straight Ahead,” and the crowd went wild. When they started “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” it was awesome. They played so hard and fast, yet the crowd kept up with them. “Same Old Story” was about dads but tonight it was all about the moms; it was Mother’s Day after all. They played a Limp Bizkit song that no one knew. Then there was a song called “Dying To Know,” which they said they had only played about 6 times in their lives. They did an awesome job.
After a bit, they decided to take requests. They played “Bob” by NOFX and “What Do You Want” by Bad Religion, which was awesome and sounded just like the original bands. From there, they broke into “Pennywise”, and that song, upon playing it, the crowd exploded with excitement.
The next songs were “Broken”, “Can’t Take Anymore,” and “Society,” all great songs. From there, they entered “Perfect People,” and for the second time ever, they played “Anyone Listening”. They said that everyone should tell them they heard it, and it was awesome. It was!
From there, they slowed it down a bit and shocked everyone by playing “Stand By Me”, a Ben E. King song, and they killed it. They sped it up towards the end, and it was fantastic. Wrapping up the night was the song “Bro Hymn,” in which they invited all the people backstage onto the stage and rocked that song so hard. It was awesome hearing the whole crowd singing the chorus with them and having the pit flowing hard. And with that, they were done. It was a fantastic show and one I will remember for some time to come.
Follow Pennywise band members on social media
Fletcher Dragge – guitar, backing vocals
Byron McMackin – drums, backing vocals
Jim Lindberg – lead voals
Randy Bradbury – bass, backing vocals
Setlist
1). Homeless
2). Peaceful Day
3). Straight Ahead
4). Wouldn’t It Be Nice
5). Same Old Story
6). My Own Country
7). My God
8). (Unknown) (Limp Bizkit cover)
9). Dying To Know
10). Fuck Authority
11). Bob (NOFX cover)
12). What Do You Want (Bad Religion cover)
13). Pennywise
14). Broken
15). Can’t Take Anymore
16). Society
17). Perfect People
18). Anyone Listening (Second time this was ever played live)
19). Stand By Me (Ben E. King cover)
20). Bro Hymn
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