Pennywise Tickets

Pennywise, California's skate punk kings

Pennywise is a Californian punk band that straddles the transition from the raw classic punk of the first British wave and the US hardcore scene, and the lighter modern punk as played by the likes of Blink 182. They've been dubbed "melodic hardcore", but this is to overstate the hardcore credentials – the description that sits most comfortably is that they play good old '90s skate punk. Check them out right now – buy or sell Pennywise tickets on StubHub.

The melodic mid-tempo punk of Pennywise

Punk has always taken some strange turns in the USA. Early practitioners like the New York Dolls and Television were far closer to the New Wave of Blondie than the rabid fury of the Sex Pistols. On the other side of the continent, LA punk darlings X could have been The Cars a few years later. Up north were bands like Squirrel Bait and The Dickies, playing a breed of manically fast punk that, while should have sounded like thrash, was dubbed "chipmunk punk" instead. Which brings us to Pennywise, a punk band that emerged at a time when classic punk was still found in the music of many offshoot genres like hardcore. But the band opted for a different direction, slowing it down to mid-tempo punk and taking the Sex Pistols' sense of nursery rhyme melody and making it more obvious. In doing so, they predated the next generation of light American punk bands, including the one that would go on to become one of the finest bona fide rock bands of its time, Green Day. Go and get yourself an American punk education with Pennywise tickets.

Commercial modern day punk for everyone

That Pennywise chose their particular musical route was quite a risk at the time, as the prevailing trend was towards a rawer, more original sound, especially with two other bands emerging who would go on to become cult legends in latter-day punk, the sublime NOFX, and the hugely revered kings of them all, Rancid – who are probably only surpassed by Boston's Dropkick Murphys in their status as the most beloved punk band of the modern American era. These two have always understood that one of the cornerstones of classic punk, which simply cannot be ignored if a band is to have any authenticity whatsoever, is that it joined forces with reggae, both musically and politically. It's why almost every British punk band in history has hauled a reggae number or two out of the bag when playing live – and why most of them have infused their own punk with reggae overtones and straight-up reggae songs. The list is endless but think of The Clash's iconic "Guns of Brixton". Even the Pistols delved in the skank on songs like "Submission". So where does Pennywise sit in all of this? Somewhere in the middle, really. Too gently melodic to be called classic punk, but with an edge that keeps them out of mainstream rock territory. You'll just have to decide for yourself by getting your own Pennywise tickets on StubHub.