Garden Amp was the place to be Saturday night. Unless you were one of the thousands in the desert for Coachella, the real show, the one full of grit, sweat, and noise was happening in Garden Grove.
The night kicked off with Toxic Energy, an Anaheim-based crew that came out swinging despite a noticeably mellow crowd.
They tore through a mix of originals and punk classics, kicking things off with their own track, “Go Away.”
It set the tone for what should’ve been a rowdy start, and the band did their best to shake the place awake. Midway through, they spiced things up with covers of “Just What I Needed” by The Cars, and a gritty version of “Sonic Reducer” by the Dead Boys.
It was a tight set, raw and well-executed, but unfortunately, the energy in the crowd didn’t quite match what was coming off the stage.
Next up was The Heros, a rock band with strong vocals and a dialed-in sound. While their style leaned more polished than punk, they held their own.
A shift started happening – people were trickling in, and the vibe was starting to morph.
They played through a solid list, including “Droppin’ Bombs,” and their quick cover of “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick turned into a little crowd sing-along.
By the time they launched into their final song, “Electric,” the crowd had started to cluster closer to the stage. And then… it happened. The Fear faithful had arrived.
Almost like a switch was flipped, people began flooding in from all directions. The front lawn of the Garden Amp filled up fast – within seconds, it felt like the crowd had doubled in size.
People weren’t just showing up – they were ready. Ready for mayhem. Ready for Fear. Ready for 40 Years of “More Beer.”
And just like that, the punk gods answered. As soon as the first notes of “The Mouth Don’t Stop” rang out, the entire front of the stage exploded into a swirling, brutal mosh pit.
It was like watching an accretion disk spin around a black hole, fast and violent, but with a weird kind of order. It wasn’t a chaotic free-for-all, though – it was that rare kind of old-school punk pit where everyone’s looking out for each other.
People were going down and immediately being helped back up. They even slowed the pit down at one point to let a little kid – the undisputed pit grom – get in a few good swings. Pure punk family vibes.
Fear’s performance was ridiculously tight. Lee Ving, the iconic front-man, was a force. His vocals cut through the chaos like a punk rock pulsar – raw, powerful, and sharp.
The band behind him was just as insane. Spit Stix on drums is an absolute machine – relentless but precise. Frank Meyer and Eric Razo tore through riffs like their guitars owed them money, and Amos Cook on bass kept everything thunderous and grounded. Every member was locked in, and the whole band moved as one organism.
Their setlist was a firestorm of classics and deep cuts. “Beef Bologna,” “Bomb the Russians,” and “Fuck You, Let’s Rodeo” had the crowd in a frenzy. The venue absolutely erupted during the sax-fueled chaos of “New York’s Alright If You Like Saxophones,” with Geoff Yeaton blazing through a solo that somehow made a punk song feel like a horn-fueled bar brawl.
They followed with anthems “Let’s Have a War” and “I Don’t Care About You,” before dropping a surprisingly tight cover of Bob Seger’s “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man.” Yeah, that Bob Seger. Somehow, Fear made it work – and it hit hard.
The only downside? The dreaded curfew. Shows at Garden Amp have a strict cutoff, and just as the energy felt like it could carry through the night, the lights were up and the amps were off. But it didn’t take away from what was an incredible, high-octane performance.
If you’ve never seen Fear live, seriously – what are you doing? They’re a living piece of punk history, and they still deliver like it’s 1981. It’s loud, fast, and wild – as punk should be.
