Adolescents full of fire

Orange County skate-punk band the Adolescents always puts on an energetic show, even after 35 years of running the gamut of punk hits. The band was full of fire as they played tune after tune with little or no breaks between songs. They seemed like they were trying to jam in as many songs as they could within the time allotted for their set.

Frontman Tony Cadena (aka Tony Adolescent) chugged along in a cheery mood, dressed in a Dragons T-Shirt in honor of Dragons bassist Steve Rodriguez’ recent death.

The odd mix of surf/beach crowd that often turns up at the Belly Up got well into the music as a small, harmless pit started up and surged with the music. Belly Up security made sure everyone stayed in control of his and her aggressions. (Punk shows are allowed in Solana Beach, but only if The Man says it’s okay.)

The best part of the show was when someone took a stage dive into the crowd and seemed to levitate on the shoulders of the audience all the way to the back of the crowd like a choreographed sequence from a modern dance routine. Tony and bassist Steve Soto both seemed in awe as they looked at one another and back into the crowd as if to say, Did you see that? These things don’t happen at the Belly Up.

• Concert: Adolescents
• Venue: Belly Up
• Date: July 23
• Seats: General admission