I wasn’t exactly on the guest list for this one, but when Descendents played the Hollywood Palladium in 2016, I wasn’t about to miss it. Coming off a long hiatus, this was one of their first shows back, and I needed to be there. So, I made my own luck, walked in with my camera like I belonged, and shot the first three songs from the photo pit.

After those first three songs, I somehow found myself on stage for the rest of the show, standing next to family members of the band, completely unaware at the time that they’d become some of my best friends. The Palladium floor was chaos—scattered shoes, crushed beer cups, and a pit that was nothing short of a full-speed caffeine-fueled riot. Milo Aukerman ripped through vocals like he never left, Stephen Egerton shredded every riff with precision, (The Bass Master General) Karl Alvarez kept the bassline locked in, and Bill Stevenson annihilated the drums—definitely running on five shots of espresso.

This show was part of The Hypercaffium Spazzinate Tour, celebrating Descendents’ long-awaited return. The setlist in the background of this print is actually from a different festival in 2015, but it felt like a perfect piece of their story to include.

Years later, I got this shot signed by the entire band, and Chris Shary even sketched Milo on the guitar cabs. Bill pointed out how rare it is to have a handwritten setlist from them since they almost always type them out. This moment, this band, and their impact on punk? I couldn’t be more stoked to have captured it.

Setlist from October 1, 2016 at The Hollywood Palladium:

Everything Sux, Hope, Rotting Out, Pervert, Victim of Me, Silly Girl, I Wanna Be a Bear, Nothing With You, My Dad Sucks, Clean Sheets, On Paper, Suburban Home, Without Love, Coffee Mug, Bikeage, Weinerschnitzel, No, All!, Talking, Myage, Get the Time, I Don’t Want to Grow Up, Shameless Halo, I Like Food, I’m the One, Testosterone, When I Get Old, Coolidge, Thank You, Descendents

Encore: Feel This, Van, Smile

Encore 2: Sour Grapes, Catalina

Show Lineup:

Descendents, Modern Baseball, Sharp/Shock