LIVE: PENNYWISE – Brookyln, NY, USA – October 3, 2026

Venue: Warsaw

City: Brooklyn, NY

Date: October 3, 2026

Review and Photographs by: James Zambon (https://jameszambon.com)

Sometime around 1992, if I remember correctly, I started listening to Pennywise. I probably first heard them in a skateboarding video, then got a mixtape from a friend with songs pulled from a bunch of those videos. It came complete with room noise because the recorder was a little too far from the TV speaker. Primitive? Absolutely. But it got the job done, and those songs stuck. What I can’t explain is how I managed to go from then until now without seeing Pennywise live. When I saw they were playing Warsaw in Brooklyn on October 3, that seemed like the perfect place to correct a decades-long oversight. I booked a flight, a hotel, requested my credentials, and finally made it happen. DFL opened the night with the kind of old-school West Coast punk that fit perfectly with how I’d found my way to this music in the first place. Their raw, direct approach made a fitting introduction to the evening and put me in exactly the right mood for what was ahead. There’s something immediately appealing about that style of punk: it doesn’t require much explanation, and it certainly doesn’t need much dressing up. For someone whose introduction to this world came through skate videos and homemade tapes, it was a welcome way to get things started.

The Dopamines were up next, shifting the feel of the room with their more pop punk style. That extra emphasis on melody made for a nice change after DFL’s old-school attack, while keeping the evening firmly in punk territory. I appreciated having that different flavor in the lineup. A four-band bill works particularly well when each act brings something of its own, and The Dopamines gave this one a welcome dose of tunefulness before H2O came out to crank up the intensity. H2O took things up another notch. Their mix of hardcore and punk got the crowd moving and Toby Morse got the circle pit spun up, ratcheting up the energy in the room as their set went along. This was the point where the night really started gathering speed. They were a great fit in that final opening slot, giving the audience plenty to respond to and leaving Warsaw thoroughly warmed up for Pennywise. By the time they finished, I was more than ready to find out what I’d been missing all these years.

Pennywise’s entrance came with one small personnel issue: bassist Randy Bradbury was still attending to some pressing business in the little bassist’s room. The rest of the band had made it out, which left just enough time for his absence to become part of the entertainment. When he joined them, his bandmates gave him the sort of grief you’d expect from a group of longtime friends who had just been handed free material. After all my anticipation, that was a pretty great way to start. Some laughs, a little friendly abuse, and then the music I’d traveled to hear. “Peaceful Day” opened a set that quickly worked through “My Own Country,” “Straight Ahead,” and “Same Old Story.” Hearing those songs live after living with this band’s music for so long was enormously satisfying. “Violence Never Ending,” “The World,” “Homeless,” and “Every Single Day” followed, giving the first stretch of the show plenty to dig into. I’d had decades to build up expectations for my first Pennywise show, and they were delivering. Warsaw had felt like the right choice when I booked the trip; standing there finally hearing these songs in person confirmed it.

When Pennywise broke into some crowd banter and launched into a few covers, they were some of my favorite moments of the night. “Minor Threat” fit right into the proceedings, but hearing Pennywise take on NOFX’s “Bob” was a particularly welcome surprise. Then came the Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right,” and the Brooklyn crowd collectively lost its mind. I absolutely loved it. There’s a special pleasure in going to see a band whose own songs you’ve been waiting years to hear and getting a few unexpected favorites thrown in along the way. That stretch of the set gave the night an extra dose of fun without taking anything away from the Pennywise songs surrounding it. The band returned to its own catalog with “Pennywise,” “Fuck Authority,” “Broken,” and “Society,” before another cover, Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me,” led into “Bro Hymn” to close things out. Pennywise brought all their friends and family onstage for the finale, making it a fitting celebration of the people and connections behind the music. For me, it capped a night that had started more than three decades earlier with a skate video and a rough-sounding mixtape. DFL, The Dopamines, and H2O each brought something worth showing up early for, and Pennywise more than justified the flight and hotel. I still don’t have a good explanation for why it took me this long to see them. After Warsaw, I certainly don’t intend to let that happen again.

Setlist: Peaceful Day – My Own Country – Straight Ahead – Same Old Story – Violence Never Ending – The World – Homeless – Every Single Day – Minor Threat – Bob – Fight for Your Right – Pennywise – Fuck Authority – Broken – Society – Stand by Me – Bro Hymn

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Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries