Marina Bravo
Arts Editor
Love can be soft and gentle, a warm hug, but love can also be cathartic, exciting and loud. The Valentine’s Day hardcore show on Feb. 14 at the Haven in Downtown Pomona, joined attendees together for a loud mosh-worthy show.
A show that not only spread a message of protest and to join together in the fight, but a message of love and an unspoken understanding of community through music.
Frogger Joe presented local SoCal bands including: Serenity, My Heart is Yours, Pura Vida HC, Frogger, Breed Bone, Till the End and headliner Symptoms of Suicide.
With the doors opening at 6:30 p.m., the event had around 70 people in the audience. Each band performed a set between six to eight songs. The energy only became more contagious after each musical act.
The first band was a local girls pop-rock/alternative group. Their music was vibrant and had the crowd dancing.
They performed an unreleased original song titled “Annoying Orange.” Lead singer/guitarist and senior at Claremont High School, Sofia Delgado with her vibrant pink hair, shouted her message of protest to the crowd.
“F– that ‘Annoying Orange’ and f– ICE,” Delgado said.
Their performance of this song had elements inspired by the current government and political climate.
Alongside this, they helped a crowd member with their Valentine’s proposal to elevate the mood and keep the excitement rolling.
Serenity concluded their set with a cover of “Deceptacon” by punk band Le Tigre. Making a mark for the night.
The band that followed Serenity’s performance was a two piece hardcore band called Breed Bone.
Hardcore band My Heart is Yours rocked the stage. The five piece band gave a riveting performance. Their passion and emotion exuded off of the two vocalists. The two performed with their hauntingly beautiful fry vocals.
Their music also being a reflection of the current times in the nation.
“F– Trump, F– ICE, Free Palestine,” vocalist Roy Guzman said.
After their performance of protest they invited audience members to take care of themselves and each other. To join together.
“You belong here, don’t let anyone tell you different” second vocalist Noel Diazdeleon said.
Their moving set concluded with audience members joining them on stage and jumping off back to mosh and stage-dive into the crowd. It created a unifying environment along with their powerful message.
Pura Vida HC, a hardcore band from El Monte took the stage. Lead vocalist and guitarist, Ernesto Montes, guitarist van , bass player Sam Schwadron and drummer Jacob Ayala were all wearing ties and looking uniform. However, they went against the grain with their performance.
Their performance of “Al Pastor” was powerful and energetic. Behind gruesome vocals and guitar, the meaning of the song echoing through the venue.
Al pastor is a traditional and very popular Mexican dish. It is marinated pork cooked vertically. The song calls out police officers and it is a protest against the horrors of police brutality.
Montes had the crowd headbanging to this song of protest.
“I’m hunting al pastor till we win this fight.”
Pura Vida HC urged the community to stick together and to stick up for each other.
“They can’t stop us if we all come together,” Montes said.
Montes then held his guitar that had the message, “F– ICE.”
The Haven became a place of expression and a place where people found community through protest. It was also a place of love and passion for the scene.
Although there is a lot of division surrounding areas, love and community always finds its way.
Marina Bravo can be reached at marina.bravo@laverne.edu.
Marina Bravo is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is arts editor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times, and has previously served as a staff writer and photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She enjoys going to live shows and everything spooky.
Vicente Rodriguez is a senior photography major with a marketing minor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times. He has previously served as photography editor of the Campus Times and a staff photographer for La Verne Magazine.
