Hi.

Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!

Review: The Garden at The Orange Peel

Review: The Garden at The Orange Peel

The line leading up to The Orange Peel and extending past Wicked Weed Brewing on April 29 was feverish with anticipation despite the fact that it would be a little over two hours until the crowd was able to fill the venue. As I sat on the sidewalk, sharing in the excitement, I talked to some of the folks around me. About half of the attendees (myself included) were clad in the signature jester looks that have come to be associated with The Garden, which provided a good stepping off point for conversation. 

While discussing different brands of face paint and snickering at the confused looks we got from tourists passing us on the street, we got to talking about the shared adoration for the band. Many of my new acquaintances were from out of town, some even having driven all the way from Georgia. But there was no sign of fatigue from the long commute — only ever-increasing enthusiasm as time ticked by. 

Finally, we filed into The Peel, and I followed the push of people to the barricades. The floor quickly became packed, and in nearly no time I was squished between painted faces and spiked hair. California-based openers T.S.O.L. warmed up the crowd with their classic hardcore sound, ensuing some presumptive moshing. Due to the generally young fanbase that The Garden drew, the significance of the veteran punk band’s performance seemed somewhat lost on attendees, but the collective head-banging revealed a shared enthusiasm for the blasting sounds. Clearly, punk wasn't dead here. 

A little after 9 p.m., The Garden frontmen (and twins) Fletcher and Wyatt Shears — flanked by an eight-foot-tall inflatable jester — emerged onto the stage sporting jester face paint, and immediately launched into “Horseshit on Route 66,” sending the crowd into a frenzy. There were no casual listeners there — everyone around me knew every word and shouted over Wyatt’s droning bass lines and Fletcher's madman drumming. 

Typically, I’m not one to enjoy mosh pits, but the one that Saturday night was completely different. It was intense and harsh, but there was something nearly jovial about these revelers. Hard elbows in my ribs felt more playful than angry — perhaps in part due to the humorous absurdity of the Shears twins' music. With lyrics about haunted houses, salmonella, and Party City, there was a sort of Dada-ness about the whole experience. 

As I worked my way to the back of the audience to get a different vantage point of the stage, I was able to catch a good glimpse of the hoard of people. Crowdsurfer after crowdsurfer appeared, pulled out of the sea of bodies by The Peel’s watchful security team. The energy of the room showed no signs of calming down, and neither did The Garden. While Wyatt waved the mic stand over his head, Fletcher somersaulted across the stage as the crowd raged to the hit “:(“ — pronounced “Frowny Face” — off the siblings’ 2018 album, Mirror Might Steal Your Charm. 

Their final song of the night, “Banana Peel,” was punctuated by actual banana peels thrown by the audience — a fun apparent tradition that I wasn’t expecting. It was a communal experience so unifying that even after the Shears left for good, the stage lights went off, and the main area lit up, there wasn’t movement in the crowd. Mostly everyone stood just for a moment longer — paint sweating off faces and banana peels underfoot, reveling in a shared buzz.

So, no, punk certainly isn’t dead. And with jesters like The Garden contorting its foundation with bizarre lyrics and boundless creativity, it’s sure to survive for years to come. 

(Photo by Whitley Albury)

Review: String Cheese Incident at Salvage Station — Night 1

Review: String Cheese Incident at Salvage Station — Night 1

Through the Lens: Merlefest 2023

Through the Lens: Merlefest 2023