{"id":202447,"date":"2026-03-03T17:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/202447\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T17:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:25:11","slug":"sf-celebrates-50-years-of-punk-at-iconic-mabuhay-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/202447\/","title":{"rendered":"SF celebrates 50 years of punk\u00a0at iconic Mabuhay Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whoever said \u201cpunk is dead\u201d in the Bay Area wasn\u2019t at Mabuhay Gardens <\/a>Saturday night. Hundreds of fans celebrated 50 years of San Francisco punk at the legendary venue where it all started.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some came with canes; others came in plaid miniskirts, but all came with a love for the music and its rich history. Mabuhay Gardens, or the \u201cFab Mab,\u201d hosted icons like the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and Devo in the 70s and 80s, but perhaps more importantly, it was a place for punk to gather and evolve in San Francisco, launching local legends like The Avengers, Dead Kennedys, The Nuns, Crime and Flipper (the evening\u2019s headlining band).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Members from The Avengers and Dead Kennedys also joined the stage during the event at at 443 Broadway St. near Montgomery.<\/p>\n

The venue recently reopened<\/a> after closing nearly 40 years ago. For many, Saturday night was a reunion\u2014an evening to reconnect with old friends and reminisce about earlier shows. Aileen Sullivan recalled growing up in the Bay Area punk scene. Her first show was Black Flag and Flipper. \u201cNo matter where we go, I guess we all just sort of find each other and gather,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Others were visiting Mabuhay Gardens for the first time. \u201cWe\u2019re here for the history,\u201d said Matthew Brown, who came with his 11-year-old son Collin for the first time. \u201cWe love Flipper and Fang. I drag him to all kinds of shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabiah Harrison said she never thought she\u2019d have the opportunity to experience the venue. She\u2019s from the Midwest and always wanted to move to San Francisco and be a part of the scene. \u201cI really hope Mabuhay stays,\u201d she said, \u201cespecially with Bottom of the Hill and Thee Parkside closing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pam Satterthwaite was confident of punk\u2019s endurance. \u201cWe\u2019re like water,\u201d she said. \u201cWe find a way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chuck \u201cThe Freek,\u201d who was working the door on Saturday night, agreed.\u00a0 \u201cThe punk scene here is very vibrant. People that say there isn\u2019t a scene just don\u2019t leave their house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Radio Valencia, an independent online radio station based in the Mission District, presented the event as part of SF Music Week<\/a>. The event focused on punk\u2019s history with a daytime panel discussion and headlining acts, but it also introduced a \u201cNew Guard\u201d of bands with acts like Bitchfit, who have yet to record an album, and False Flag, who have made waves with their unconventional show locations on BART<\/a> or in the middle ofdowntown<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lausen Kai, whose father John Hell of Radio Valencia, said she was proud of her generation for keeping punk going. \u201cI think it\u2019s evolved with the times while seeing the influence in past bands.\u201d She would like to see less misogyny and more confident young women in the scene, but feels like the punk is moving in that direction.<\/p>\n

Newcomers have strong models in Patti Smith and Penelope Houston of the Avengers, who both once graced the stage at the original Mabuhey Gardens. Nowadays, there are more women on the scene, including the sisters and frontwomen from False Flag, Pretty and Strong Sims. They wailed on their guitars, belted lyrics, and kicked their legs in the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bitchfit, whose members are all minors, took the stage in brightly dyed hair and commanded the crowd, shredding on their knees at the crowd\u2019s eye level. The crowd mimicked the confidence on stage, as more young women took to the pit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

San Francisco\u2019s punk scene remains diverse and Saturday night\u2019s mosh pit told that story: it included a child on top of a father\u2019s shoulders, an old man with a cane in hand and studs on his vest, and a young woman whipping her hair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AMabuhay Gardens on Feb. 28, 2026. Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n

\"AnInjun Ron poses for a photo during the 50 Years of Punk event at Mabuhay Gardens on Feb. 28, 2026. \u201cI know it\u2019s a slur, but that\u2019s just me, I\u2019m Injun Ron.\u201d Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n

\"AFlipper performs at Mabuhay Gardens on Feb. 28, 2026. The drummer, Steve DePace, co-produced the event with John Hell of Radio Valencia. Photo by Jess Lynn Goss\"AFlipper performs at Mabuhay Gardens on Feb. 28, 2026. The drummer, Steve DePace, co-produced the event with John Hell of Radio Valencia. Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n

\"AMembers of Bitchfit hang out with friends after their performance at Mabuhay Gardens. Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n

\"AFang performs at Mabuhay Gardens on Feb. 28, 2026. Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n

\"AnMatthew Brown came to the Flipper and Friends show with his 11-year-old son, Collin. Fans of Flipper and Fang were excited to come to \u201cFab Mab\u201d for the first time. Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n

\"AThe crowd moshes during the Flase Flag set at Mabuhay Gardens on Feb. 28, 2026. Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n

\"AFalse Flag singer and guitarist Strong Sims laughs in between songs while performing at Mabuhay Gardens on Feb. 28, 2026. Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n

\"ASan Francisco based independent publisher V. Vale, who founded the punk tabloid Search & Destroy in the 70s, sells zines, books and magazines by his publishing press RE\/Search. Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n

\"TwoLausen Kai kisses her girlfriend Nelli Skelli at Mabuhay Gardens\u2019 50 Years of Punk. Kai\u2019s father, John Hell, hosted the event with Radio Valencia, an independent radio station. \u201cI\u2019m proud of my generation for keeping punk going \u2014 it\u2019s evolved with the times while seeing influences in past bands.\u201d Photo by Jess Lynn Goss<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whoever said \u201cpunk is dead\u201d in the Bay Area wasn\u2019t at Mabuhay Gardens Saturday night. Hundreds of fans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202448,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[330,143,145,144,71880],"class_list":["post-202447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-music","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-san-francisco-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}