When you invite a punk band to play inside a Denny’s, you can expect two things. One, for the video to go absolutely viral, and two, for the damages to be wildly excessive. Thanks to the band Wacko, both occurred, but the damages bill? That was covered by Green Day.
First, let’s get acquainted with the Great Denny’s Punk Show Riot of 2019.
Watch Wacko perform a punk show in a Denny’s.
Bryson Del Valle, 17-year-old promoter, booked a five-band gig at a Denny’s in Santa Ana, California. His genius planning of having punk bands all clamour into a restaurant, however, came with a few obvious downsides. The damages were intense. Bryson ended up becoming famous when a video of hardcore band Wacko’s ensuing mosh pit made headlines, in part because the musicians could be seen performing atop tables while giant hanging lights swung violently above the pit. Denny’s promptly issued Del Valle a $1,000 bill for damages done to the lighting. Like good community members of a DIY scene, though, Wacko created a GoFundMe to crowdfund that money for Del Valle and cover the costs of the damages, the $400 rental for the venue space, and a generator rental for a post-show afterparty.
Eventually, an additional GoFundMe was created after damages were determined to be even higher than previously expected. That’s when Green Day of all people stepped in to save the day, by donating $2,000 under their name to help the cause. On top of this, they left a note for Del Valle implying that they would play a show, DIY or otherwise for him.
“Hey Bryson call us!” the note reads. “We wanna play at the Bastards Club. Love, Green Day.” When Del Valle posted a screenshot of the news, Green Day shared it in an Instagram story and wrote “The kids are alright”, reports Exclaim. See it below.
https://twitter.com/RealDaveBrooks/status/1208448077276708864?s=20
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As far as Denny’s stance on the matter, the restaurant chain have issued a few statements to various news sources regarding the hardcore show at the Santa Ana location:
“Denny’s is a family-friendly restaurant and while we do have banquet space available at some restaurants, we do not allow events that can disrupt the dining experience of our guests. The manager was unaware a concert was planned, and the event organizers have been asked to pay for damages.”
