Lagwagon – Double Whammy: February 8, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Fat Wreck Chords stalwarts Lagwagon rolled into Auckland last night on their Hoss 30th Anniversary Tour, delivering a blistering set that proved the band still burns.

What unfolded was a night of skate-punk nostalgia executed with the kind of tightness that comes from a lifetime spent playing together and an affection for both the songs and the fans.

The night opened with Waikato hard punk crew The Vile Maxim, a force of nature straight outta Te Aroha who blasted through an energetic and warmly received ten song set. Their focus and committed edge landed perfectly with the already-packed room—an ideal warm-up for what was coming. Their stage presence was strong and demonstrated a lot of band chemistry. Top songs were the originals No One is Coming to Save You, Richmond Downs, Bastards and the single Morbid Dread.

There was a wee wait, allowing everyone in the sold-out show to surge towards the front before Joey Cape walked out with the casual warmth familiar to anyone who’s seen Lagwagon before—calm, unfussed, and still clearly still in love with the job. They launched straight into Kids Don’t Like to Share, instantly lighting the fuse. The crowd needed no invitation; from the first chorus, the floor was alive with surfers, divers, circlers, shovers, moshers and the kind of communal pit energy skate punk shows generate.

The band tore through the core Hoss sequence with machine-level accuracy. Violins, Name Dropping, Bombs Away, and Move the Car reminded everyone why this album remains such an important landmark for the genre—hook-heavy, technically sharp, and emotionally honest without ever losing momentum. Cape’s vocal delivery sat right in that perfect space he’s kept for years: melodic clarity wrapped in just enough grit. The band was tight.

They finally took a breath to intro Sleep before a shift into heavier territory, with Sick, a singalong Rifle, Weak, Black Eyes, and Bro Dependent all arriving at breakneck pace but played with total control. Surfing intensified, call & response moments broke out across the pit, and yet the atmosphere largely stayed high-trust and good-natured — classic Lagwagon crowd culture (although there is always a couple of right eggs isn’t there)

Later, the band reached into deeper corners of the Hoss catalogue with Shaving Your Head, Ride the Snake, Razor Burn and Wind in Your Sails, delighting longtime fans. Banter was minimal but sharp: Cape dropped a few dry oneliners, acknowledged Auckland’s long relationship with the band, and kept everything moving with easy charm.

The band eventually stepped outside the anniversary framework to deliver a run of fan favourites including – Know It All and Island of Shame from Trashed, then Duh provided Angry Days and there was of course the live regular Every Thing Turns Grey, together with from Blaze – E Dagger and Falling Apart which closed. The encore lifted the roof off with crowd pleaser Alien 8 and Making Friends (Double Plaidinum). By the time the unmistakable opening of May 16 hit, the venue was somewhat unhinged—in the best possible way.

The night wasn’t about theatrics. It didn’t need to be. Cape’s vocals were clean, warm and never too buried. The Chris’s (Chris Flippen and Chris Rest) tandem guitars were gritty and articulate, Jo Raposso on bass was equal parts melodic and thumping and Dave Ruan’s drums were forward, crisp, and driving the whole room. Throughout Cape and Flippen maintained strong engagement with their fans.

Even while honouring a record released back in 1995, Lagwagon aren’t a nostalgia act. What they bring to the stage is passion, consistency, humility, and a deeply lived-in musicianship that still feels urgent and unforced. Thirty plus years in, they remain a standard bearer for So-Cal punk still fast, still sharp, still joyful. Twenty four songs and a full house- everyone’s leaving happy.

— John Hastings

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Zwaagdyk:

Lagwagon:

The Vile Maxim:

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