Margaret Contreras
Staff Writer
The band Agent Orange performed a sold-out concert on Saturday in the Rök House Brewing Company in Upland as part of their ongoing tour.
The bands Western Conference, Animals and Children and Since We Were Kids! opened.
The venue was at max capacity with 250 people in attendance.
The Sucka Punch Productions company was responsible for advertising, managing and planning the concert.
“It’s exciting, we are stoked,” said Brooke Jackson, the wife of a guitarist of Western Conference. “It’s Western Conference’s first time playing a show that is through a promoter, instead of just doing it through the venue’s owners.”
The punk rock songs had a fast tempo and shouted lyrics. Punk is a non-conformist style of music with distorted riffs and stripped-down instruments.
People of all ages seemed to enjoy the show. The bands participating in the concert played original songs and covers for the audience.
It was Animals and Children’s first time opening for Agent Orange. Their drummer Jasmine Tomita was excited to play as one of the opening acts for them.
“We are stoked to be playing with them, we are longtime fans,” Tomita said.
As the attendees checked in they got one of two wristbands: blue for guests under 21, and orange for those 21 and older. Soft drinks were available for those not able to drink alcohol.
Fans gathered before the concert at the venue to eat and socialize. Taco Punx offered Mexican food to guests.
There was no indoor seating other than the bar in the venue. However, there was a set-up of tables outside the brewery for people to eat and drink.
Attendees were able to walk in and out of the venues with their wristbands. Inside the brewery, there was a movie playing on the television while fans waited for the concert to start.
Fans could also purchase merchandise from each band playing. They were selling t-shirts for $15, records for $15, pins for $1, patches for $1 and stickers were free.
The demographics of the crowd attending the event were mostly middle-aged and up who have been fans of the band for a long time. The rest was a mix of young adults, teenagers and kids.
The show was open to the whole family. A fan of Agent Orange Shaafi Farooqi was surprised to see families with kids of all ages attending.
“It’s cool, my dad introduced me to this type of genre of music and Agent Orange,” Farooqi said.
A fan of Agent Orange, Cristian Duarte, was attending the event and was glad to see young kids and teenagers interested in punk rock music. She liked that parents and their children can enjoy music together.
“I think it’s great to see families here… There has to be someone to continue this genre of music,” Duarte said.
Margaret Contreras can be reached at margaret.contreras@laverne.edu.
Magaret Contreras is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is editorial director and LV Life editor of the Campus Times and previously worked as editor-in-chief and a staff writer.
