By: Shawna Vogeltanz
Location: House Of Blues San Diego
Dated: 03/17/10

I can’t think of a better day to launch a tour with a new lead singer than St. Patrick’s Day. San Diegans demand to hear some “Pen-ny-wise, Pen-ny-wise, Pen-ny-wise…” But what should we really expect? Twenty-year front man, Jim Lindberg, has been replaced. Will they still be the Pennywise that’s well-known for putting on one of the best live punk shows to spawn from the Socal hardcore scene in the late 1980’s? The intensity of the crowd instantly increases as the curtains open and the pink smoke starts to thin. Not to differ from past shows, a whirlpool of people takes over the floor in a giant mosh pit as the new lead singer belts out ‘My Own Country’. Zoli may be new to the band but they are so cohesive, it doesn’t matter. Having seen the band perform live nearly a dozen times, I was extremely skeptical of how the band would sound without Jim. I was afraid they would sound like a cover band, but that absolutely is not the case. The show included some of my own favorites such as; ‘Out of Time,’ ‘Society’ and ‘Fuck Authority’. It wouldn’t be a Pennywise show without a ‘Bro Hymn’ tribute to Jason. It wouldn’t be a punk rock show without crowd surfing and the pit. I am pleasantly surprised that one of my all-time-favorite punk bands remained just that.

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