By: Jesse Perez
For the first time in 15 years, Circle Jerks have gone back out on tour in the United States for what could be their final time. At their latest stop, the hardcore punk rock band from sunny California found themselves at White Oak Music Hall in Houston, Texas on a rainy Saturday night. Not even a rainy day would slow down the excited crowd that had already experienced an extended wait due to a postponement of the show, which was originally slated for April 30th of this year.
The tour went through many changes and, due to the nature of touring in these times, covid being the cause of the postponement and rescheduling of their many stops. Lead singer and founder of the group, Keith Morris, had tested positive for covid in early April, which caused him to put the tour on hold for a brief period. Luckily, there seemed to be no slow down in the group as they burst out onto the stage and got the already warmed up and highly energized Houston crowd rocking from the jump! Thanks in part to the two openers, Negative Approach and 7 Seconds, the crowd was more than ready to keep the mosh pits going all night long.
The scene of the crowd was electric and the personality of Houston’s rock fans was in full effect. Mohawks and spiked hair could be spotted in every corner of the downstairs area of White Oak Music Hall. It was also easy to see why it was such a packed house as the excitement of fans that had been waiting so long for this filled the room. The absolute climax of the show was when Circle Jerks played Wild in the Streets from their 1982 album by the same name, and the intensity of the mosh pit took it to another level! It was also a major point for myself, since that song had been apart of my childhood. The song was a fan favorite from Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, a video game released in 2005.
Lots of people were also being pulled out of the crowd, but that’s definitely to be expected from these types of shows. Thankfully, nobody seemed to be injured in all the rage, in no small part due to the great security on hand and the help of other Houstonians taking good care of one another. This wasn’t my first rock show, but I can say, like all the other shows that I’ve attended, this crowd was much friendlier than you’d imagine. The rock community has a great reputation and so does this band. It was an absolute pleasure to attend this show and capture a piece of history.
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