The Kids are alright: A night at the Phoenix with Agent Orange.

Everytime I go to a show in Petaluma, my old man punk rock batteries get an immediate recharge.

It was another one of those nights when I just didn't want to leave the house. I didn't know a single person going to the show. I wanted to stay at home and watch TV with my lady on the couch.

Somewhere deep inside myself, I knew that this would be a special night. So I drank a late evening cup of coffee and poured myself into my car and headed south on the 101 from Santa Rosa to Petaluma in search of that special feeling I was craving. It didn't take me long to find it.

As I pulled into the parking garage down the street from the Phoenix, I was delighted to see many groups of young folks lining the streets, looking as though they just stepped out of the Penelope Spheeris seminal 1981 punk rock documentary The Decline of Western Civilization.

I stepped into the Hideaway for a quick beer (or two) to calm the nerves of going to the show solo and accidentally missed the opening act, The Freak Accident. The Freak Accident features members of Victims Family's Ralph Spight. They have a really cool 80's SF / Dead Kennedys sound that I really dig and look forward to catching next time.

I walked into the Phoenix just as The Drowns were setting up. I looked around and the audience seemed to either be 35+ or teenagers, with very few people in between.

There was a group of kids all wearing big baggy JNCO style pants in a circle screaming along to Fugazi's "Waiting Room" playing over the PA. I wondered out loud to no one in particular, "What year is this?"

That would be the theme of the night for me, as I watched the large amount of young kids embracing the culture of the punk rock scene I grew up within.

Seattle's The Drowns kick off their set and the whole venue explodes. The Drowns play rip roaring street punk in the vein of Street Dogs, Bombshell Rocks or One Man Army. The floor bounces up and down as the kids do what comes natural: Run around in a circle, letting the music take them.

Suddenly, I was stoked to be here. There was an electricity in the air and it was contagious. The Drowns tapped into that electricity and slowly won over myself and the rest of the audience. They hands down had my favorite set of the night.

Everywhere I looked were people with gigantic smiles.

I had intended to just simply stand in the back and observe, but like a moth to the flame, I was drawn to the front and before I knew it I was in front of the stage, close enough for The Drowns guitarist Aaron "Rev." Peters sweat on me.

The youngsters who had previously been screaming "Waiting Room" before the show started, made their way on stage and were dancing their hearts out with the band.

Peters praised the young kids along with the rest of the audience. He spoke from stage about coming from a small Washington state town and finding his punk community. He saw the same thing I was seeing, these energetic kids are discovering themselves and building their futures along with the future of punk rock.

"Holy shit those kids were going so fast!" exclaimed a sweaty concertgoer leaving the Phoenix after the Drowns set. "I'm used to going to shows where everyone's in their '40s in the pit moves so much slower!"

Before Agent Orange would take the stage, the man, the myth, the legend, The Phoenix's founder & director Tom Gaffey took the stage to welcome the crowd and relay the bad news that Petaluma local and friend of the Phoenix, John A. Volpi of Volpi's Ristorante & Bar had passed away earlier that day at 90 years old.

It was a somber way to introduce Agent Orange, but as they kicked into their first song the Phoenix once again exploded with energy and the circle pits once again started again.

This was my first time watching the legendary SoCal Surf-Punks. When I was living in Denver, I had more than enough chances to see them perform, but for whatever reason had not yet watched the band.

For their set, I managed to find myself a safe spot away from the growing circle pit of dancers of all ages. I watched as young kids, older adults and women of all ages danced along.

One of the highlights was watching as the woman next to me hit a short orc of a man over the head with his own flip flop shoe, after he aggressively shoved her.

There were so many women in attendance, and they weren't here with their boyfriends. They were on their own and ready to kick some ass! Not to mention set great examples for you younger women in attendance.

I was also surprised to see how many parents had brought their kids. When I was coming up in the scenes of Northwest Louisiana and later in Colorado, I rarely saw punk rock parents. But here were folks my age with kids of their own, showing them the ways of their youth.

I watched as the audience exploded song after song. The younger kids never let up, they just kept going and going and going song after song and that energy seeped into all of us in attendance.

"No wonder this used to scare the old folks back in the day," I thought to myself, as I watched the explosions of the audience and thought about how it must look lawless and anarchic to any outsiders who were not familiar with this punk rock culture.

"You guys rule. Thanks for keeping the scene alive in Petaluma!" exclaimed Agent Orange's guitarist Mike Palm before blasting into their "hit" song, "Bloodstains."

God damn do I love punk rock. I'm so glad I found the energy and inspiration to leave the house. I left the venue full of energy and ready to take on the world. The energy of the space, the audience and the music had me pumped. Everywhere I looked I saw THE FUTURE.

Punk's not dead, it's just been saving its energy for now. The kids are back and their back in full force. It's because of places like The Phoenix and because of people like Tom Gaffey that it is so alive and well in small town Petaluma. And it will continue to grow. The energy is too infectious not too.

The scene is still very much alive and it's growing and I'm excited to watch it happen.