Circle Jerks Celebrate Keith Morris’ 70th Birthday Bash in Hollywood

The Hollywood Palladium felt alive the moment I stepped inside. Negative Approach had already finished up, unfortunately, and Rocket From the Crypt were midway through their set. I only caught the back half—a tight horn section, sweat-slicked crowd, and the volume and ear-to-ear grins told me both openers had done their job and hyped the crowd up for this most special birthday celebration. Having seen Negative Approach in the past, I can imagine their set was as intense as ever.

Ceremony

From the very start, it was clear Ceremony were paying homage to everyone they were there for. The band themselves described the experience as surreal—being onstage surrounded by people and bands they admire so deeply, fully immersed in the moment. “Superfans,” they called themselves. As are we all. Purple light washed over the stage as they launched straight into “Open Head,” a blast of a song that set the pace for everything to follow. I had only seen them once before at No Values festival, and have been dying to shoot them ever since—their stage presence is unreal. They shifted seamlessly between older, jagged hardcore like “Kersed” and the moodier, post-punk side of their later material, keeping the crowd moving at all times.

Right before they started “In the Spirit World Now,” multi-instrumentalist Anthony Anzaldo set down his guitar and threw on a keytar. I quietly cheered “keytar!” to myself, and seconds later vocalist Ross Farrar shouted the same thing—“KEYTAR!”—which got a good laugh out of me and a few people nearby. Ross also made multiple trips offstage, climbing down to the barrier to interact with the crowd, pulling fans in and feeding off the energy in real time.

Mid-set, they dove into “American Society,” originally by Eddie and the Subtitles—though many know it from L7’s cover—and, to top it off, brought Donita Sparks onstage to lead the way. The room absolutely exploded as she took the mic, her voice cutting through with the same edge that made the original so sharp. They followed it up with a gritty cover of Dead Kennedys’ “California Über Alles,” which sent the pit into even more chaos, and then wrapped their set with “Sick,” giving the crowd a chance to finally catch their breath.

Circle Jerks

Keith Morris had turned seventy the day prior, but with the way he tears across that stage, you wouldn’t know it. Their setlist spanned classics like “Deny Everything,” “I Just Want Some Skank,” “Beverly Hills,” “Red Tape,” and a handful of Black Flag covers, including “Depression,” my favorite of all time.

Typically, photographers are allotted the first three songs to shoot from the photo pit. I initially worried about having only a few minutes to work—because if you know anything about this band, it’s that the songs are wildly short. The first song alone runs a whopping total of 28 seconds. To my surprise, we were allowed the first six songs, though true to form, the Circle Jerks plowed through them in what felt like no time at all. But that’s the beauty of it—the heavy, fast-paced, chaotic nature of real punk rock.

Throughout the evening, Keith took moments to talk to the crowd, touching on everything from KROQ’s decline (“totally unlistenable now”) to how great they used to be, playing all the classics from the Adolescents, Agent Orange, TSOL, and more. At one point, he asked if anyone had ever been to Bakersfield—a question that always cracks me up, because it’s just a shitkicker farm city about 45 minutes north of me that almost nobody knows anything about. He also mentioned that Jonathan Davis, lead singer of Korn who hails from Bakersfield, had been in the crowd years ago, though he hadn’t recognized him at the time.

The vibe in the crowd was electric as you could imagine—punks of every generation skanking song after song. Endless crowd surfers tumbled over the barricade, and the energy never let up, it was completely contagious. I made my way into the pit for some crowd shots and couldn’t resist skanking a couple rounds myself, fully immersed in the chaos. From start to finish, it was nothing short of an amazing time, a sweaty, adrenaline-fueled celebration of everything that makes punk rock so immediate and alive.

Toward the end of the night, Keith’s long-time friend and drummer of Thelonious Monster came out on stage carrying a cake. He grabbed the mic from Keith mid-introduction and said, “Keith, you’ve talked a little bit too much tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, we’re here to celebrate the 70th birthday of one of the greatest human beings who’s ever fucking lived. The immensity of this man’s impact on society and on your lives is immeasurable. Here’s a fucking kid from Redondo, with nothing going on in his life. He’s skating, he’s getting high, but he can’t stand what he sees in this world, and he can’t find a way to make a change in it. So what does he do? He gets together with his pals, and they start fuckin’ screaming about it. And here we are all these years later. On three—” Keith prematurely blew out the candles, Pete almost dropped the cake—“let’s sing this fucker out! One, two, three!” The crowd responded with the most unrestrained “Happy Birthday” song I’ve ever heard. By this point, I’d unfortunately put my camera away to enjoy the rest of the show, but honestly, I’m glad I had, because I got to be a part of that roar.

It was an absolute honor to be a part of this celebration in more ways than one. I feel lucky to have lived in this man’s—and this band’s—lifetime, to witness them still play with the same vigour they’ve always had, as well as to experience the music, the chaos, and the community they’ve inspired for decades. Capturing this on camera and putting it into words has been a true privilege.

We’d like to thank the Circle Jerks for allowing us to be a part of this celebration. Happy Birthday, Keith—you made it past 34, 43, and 57! Here’s to many more!