Pennywise brings a real rock show to Reno

Pennywise singer Jim Lindberg works the thrilled crowd. Click on any of these pics to see our gallery from the night. (Credit: Justin Sullivan / Special to Metromix)

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I had no idea Pennywise was a surf-punk band, but that’s what many in the New Oasis crowd did throughout their hour set on Wednesday night. There seemed to be a constant stream of bodies being jostled foward atop the packed sea of fans, with quite a few repeat customers.

One zebra-print-clad woman estimated she did it "10 times … per minute," an exaggeration that isn’t completely unbelievable.

Unsurprisingly, many people aren’t fans of having shoes, elbows and other body parts constantly falling into their faces, and one woman named Arielle even single-handedly shoved a surfer up and over the front barrier, earning high-fives and smiles from security personnel.

Real turnout for real show

But such fervor was a great sign that this was a real rock show, filling the New Oasis’s space. Though dominated by males, the band observed, “There are a lot of girls here.” And fans were enthused about seeing the punk rock band, which is proud to be making music 20 years after forming.

Singer Jim Lindberg worked the crowd and described the band as a jukebox for the night, although they didn’t seem to take many requests (but rejecting “Happy Birthday” wasn’t surprising). Even when turning down a track, Lindberg would joke that they were at too high an altitude or would surely mess up a harder song.

Early in the show, they did a few covers, including the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” and Minor Threat’s eponymous song, and name-checked their influences, including the Circle Jerks, the Descendants, Black Flag, the Misfits, the Dead Kennedys, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, 7 Seconds and … Death Cab for Cutie, which was met with an indignant “What?” from lead guitarist Fletcher Dragge.

Punk rock dialogue

Lindberg and Dragge did a fair amount of talking to each other and the crowd during the show, making an hourlong set that flew by seem a little short on actual songs, though repeated complaints that the New Oasis’ lights made it feel like a discotheque were warranted.

They got through “F--- Authority,” “Pennywise,” “My Own country,” “Society,” “Perfect People” and others from their newest album, "Reason to Believe," before the traditional finale of "Bro Hymn," which has become a tribute to Pennywise’s deceased bassist Jason Thirsk. But fitting in more songs would have better represented the band's nine albums.

True to the punk label, some quality ranting was included between songs, with Dragge blaming banks for the nation’s economic woes before “My Own Country.” He asked “Isn’t it funny how everyone now hates Obama?” and Lindberg quickly interjected “No, we don’t.”

And after already starting into “Perfect People,” the band had to pause so Dragge could dedicate the song to actor Mickey Rourke, who was in his eyes robbed of the Oscar and was just about the only person he approved of at the Academy Awards.

Lindberg seemed amused at his bandmate’s outspokenness and played the role of straight man, always bringing things back to the music.

Appreciative of the big turnout, the band had only great things to say about Reno, lauding it as one of the last places people still have some freedom, mostly in the form of gambling and prostitution, and proclaimed that they’d be at the Nugget afterward, drinking and losing money. Clearly, the members of Pennywise have not lost touch with the common man.