Backyard Party – Santa Ana, CA

It's true that out of all the cities encountered in Orange County, Santa Ana is the city that singlehandedly and frequently hosts the largest quantity of backyard gigs. Last night however, a backyard gig was to be hosted in North Santa Ana, which is an area close to the city of Orange. The neighborhood is known to be a pretty upscale area; an area in which the majority of Santa Ana's Punk scene has little connection to. Most of the people planning on going to the gig joked that the party would most likely be raided within ten minutes because of the location, but to the scene in the city, a party is a party, so the plan was set to invade the neighborhood. The bands listed on the flyer that were set to play consisted of: Nuclear Rockets, O.K.T, The Sociopaths, Mafia Rusa, Trauma, Dawn of Eternity, and Riff Raff.

Upon arrival at 8pm, the party was barely commencing, and most people of age were drinking, and others were waiting around for the bands to start setting up. The backyard was relatively large, and most cliques could be seen interacting amongst each other and occupying separate places in the yard. A band quickly began to set up, and within 15 minutes, Nuclear Rockets began to play. The band performed a 30 minute set and upheld music that resembled the sound of The Casualties. With sloppy energy, the band conveyed their street Punk persona through their lyrics above all. Once the band's set was over, the next band began to set up their equipment, and more people began to flow into the yard to fill it up.

Anaheim metal band Dawn of Eternity began to play shortly after and performed a 20 minute set. Dawn of Eternity maintained a death metal sound combined with thrash metal. Few metalheads were present during the band's performance, but a couple of punk kids attempted to cultivate a circle pit in which individuals would clash their bodies against each other one on one. When the band's 20 minute set was over, another band began to prepare the equipment for their band's arrival.

Close to 9:30pm, most people were surprised that the party STILL had not been raided by the cops. As everyone continued to engage in the festivities of the party, Trauma commenced their set and immediately induced an aggressive circle pit. The band played fast paced punk rock and through it, upheld nonstop action in the pit. The band performed a lengthy set of approximately 30 minutes, and throughout that time, played one of the best sets of the night. Eventually the band's time ran out, and once they dismissed themselves, people began to walk back to their cliques to await the next band.

As the night approached 10:15pm, people were anxiously waiting and wondering who the next band up would be. Out of nowhere, a drunk man walked up to the microphone and began to sing a song in an R&B manner. Most of the people at the gig were laughing and yelling out, "American Idol!" Part of the crowd was confused, and others were simply consumed by laughter as the man attempted to sing in a soothing voice. Within 5 minutes, a girl ran into the pit and yelled out, "Party's over! The cops are here!" Loud groans could be heard from all sections of the yard, and those who were of age, finished their drinks and began to walk out. The cops made their way into the yard and began to tell the crowd that it was time to go home. It was almost 10:30pm, and the party was officially over.

While it was rare that a Punk backyard gig was held in the vicinity of North Santa Ana, the location proved to be competent in successfully hosting a Punk rock evening for the city's scene. It was surprising to most that the party even lasted 30 minutes, and the fact that it lasted 3 hours was unbelievable. The upscale suburban neighborhood exceeded our expectations and bestowed upon Santa Ana's Punks a perfect setting that they would otherwise never consider. The backyard gig was innovative and immensely exciting, let's hope this won't be the last we experience of Punk rock nights in private residential neighborhoods.
 

-Stephanie M.-
Big Wheel Senior Staff Writer

 

More photos of the event can be seen HERE

 

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