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07/14/2024

Through the Eyes of a Preteen: Punk in Drublic

By Sydney and Mike Lewis //  Sydney quickly learned that this is a very different festival than what she has experienced in the past. Of course it’s going to be different. It’s punk.

For those who have been following the photography exploits of Sydney, she first started out in the photo pits of the Waterfront Blues Festival. It’s technically more appropriate to say pit since she only wanted to get pictures of one band and then decided she was hungry, she was tired, she wanted to go home, but she at the very least did get a few pictures. Since then, she has been to the Blues Festival a few more times but I don’t think in her mind she realized that there were other festivals and she could photography even if she may not have wanted to.

This brings us to Punk in Drublic, a festival that I’ve meant to attend / photography in the past but never had the opportunity. Sydney, as most are aware, has been subjected to quite a few different genres of music over the years. Her tastes are diverse for the most part. She likes metal but certainly not everything and often dad’s tastes may lean towards being far too extreme for her. She has started discovering 70’s and 80’s music recently, she enjoys rap and hip hop (much to my dismay) but she has never been to a punk show. At least not until now.

Granted, I did have to fight a little with her on this. She was against going at first, but this is also the child who always asks when her next show is. Unfortunately, the bands she really wants to get photos of play at one venue here locally that she isn’t allowed to get photos at until she’s a little older, and it’s not a 21+ club either. Eventually I convinced her into getting into the pit with me and there may have been a bit of bribery involved as well.

Sydney quickly learned that this is a very different festival than what she has experienced in the past. Of course it’s going to be different. It’s punk. However, an eight-hour festival also wore her out and she decided to take a break at one point which caused her to miss out on getting photos of Codefendants who were extremely entertaining in my opinion. She experienced quite a variety of artists however with her favorites being Poli Van Dam and Bad Cop Bad Cop. With music that goes against the norm, Sydney really enjoys seeing the woman get on stage along with the guys, and that’s why she gravitated towards these two bands.

Above everything I informed her that the main bands were really the big focus given their status in the genre. TSOL and the Subhumans have been long standing punk rock acts, and it was amazing to see them both on stage, at least for me. Pennywise I’ve photographed twice this year while this was Sydney’s first time and of course the evening ended with NOFX on what is their final tour. Sydney tried to take everything in and eventually reached a point where she didn’t want to stray too far from the photo pit and was keen on watching the crowd surfers coming over the barricade. She claims she didn’t enjoy the show, but I don’t think that was really the case. I think there were plenty of bands there that she did enjoy seeing.

I will also note in our video, she was a little tired so I couldn’t really get the most energetic version of Sydney and she’s also focusing on the negative aspect of, as she claims, that she had to stand all day. That wasn’t really the case, and we did find a few spots of shade that we could retreat to on occasion. Security was also nice enough to allow her to sit close to the stage so it’s not as bad as she wants to make it out to be. She’s nearly a teenager so she has that attitude where everything is horrible. I’ve tried to inform her that once you’re an adult, that doesn’t really change.

I might have enjoyed the show more than what my daughter did, but overall, I think the experience was good for her. She had the opportunity to take in some new music, she continues to grow with her photos at each show, and she even gained some followers for her social media that she met in the photo pit. This is a festival I’d certainly get into the pit again for. Sydney might fight it again but I think in the end, she’d be up for it and she’s already asking the usual question: When is my next show?

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