Last weekend was the series of sold out Jawbreaker shows at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. The infamous ‘90s band sold out The Wiltern three nights in a row as they celebrated 25 years of their album, “Dear You.” For this show, they brought Face to Face and The Linda Lindas with them.
The Linda Lindas definitely hold their own in a stacked lineup. You might know them from the viral video of them playing “Racist, Sexist Boy” in a school library. The Los Angeles all-female punk band is comprised of Bela Salazar, Eloise Wong, Lucia de la Garza, and Mila de la Garza.
THE LINDA LINDAS LIVE | PHOTO by Tiny Toyland
The Asian-American and Latino foursome of teens was incredibly exciting to watch! You could feel their enthusiasm when they all ran onto the stage to start playing, and the lead singer even did a cartwheel when exiting the stage while her bandmate did a flying leap through the air. You can’t help but smile while watching them; yes, they are young, but they absolutely rock. They were also very nice people and were in the lobby mingling with fans, old and new. Their debut album, “Growing Up,” has just been dropped, so check them out.
SoCal’s own punk-rock heroes Face to Face hit the stage with next “No Way Out but Through,” “A-OK,” and “Walk the Walk.” Face to Face had the crowd moving with a set of sing-along songs and a mosh pit. Trever Keith, Scott Shiflett, Dennis Hill and Pete Parada filling in for Danny Thompson. These cats reminded everyone why they have been successful for so many years. Keith said it was the first time he’d ever been to The Wiltern and he was so excited to see it from the stage.
FACE TO FACE LIVE | PHOTO by Tiny Toyland
Face to Face kept fans going as they played “Velocity,” “Complicated,” “You’ve Done Nothing,” and they closed their set with “Disconnected.”
Jawbreaker hit the stage and you could see why the place was sold out. They played “Dear You” in its entirety all three nights of the concert series, and as a special keepsake, they sold shirts with each night’s set list on the back. “Dear You” is the band’s fourth and final studio album, and the band broke up afterwards. They regrouped in 2017 and has been putting on sold-out shows ever since.
JAWBREAKER LIVE | PHOTO by Tiny Toyland
The guys – Blake Schwarzenbach, Chris Bauermeister, Adam Pfahler – reminded us why they are legends. I must confess I loved watching drummer Pfahler blow bubbles with his gum as he laid down the beat for so many classic hits. “I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both,” “Save Your Generation,” “Accident Prone,” “Parabola,” “Boxcar,” and “Kiss the Bottle”… all great!
There were so many diehard Jawbreaker fans in attendance and I met people that had been fans since the ‘90s. They were all so happy to relive their youth with this amazing band and help celebrate this special anniversary.
