Local surf-punkers, The Frights, celebrated the release of their latest album, You Are Going to Hate This, at legendary venue Soma with a small festival on Feb. 13. You Are Going to Hate This Fest was an adrenaline-filled night of singing, moshing, dancing, and of course, music. Featured bands included The Aquadolls, SWMRS, The Garden, Plague Vendor, and The Frights themselves.

Walking into Soma, the vibe was immediately uplifting and energetic. Through the smoky haze that permeated throughout the venue, fans could be seen mingling, buying merchandise from the many bands, and talking with excitement about the acts they had seen, and were going to see.

The sold-out event kicked off late in the afternoon with a brief set by Animal Style, which was followed up by the angst-ridden melodies of Bad Kids. Performance times grew longer as the day progressed, giving artists such as The Soaks and Shady Francos the chance to gather larger audiences and perform more immersively .

One of the many highlights of the night was The Aquadolls, a memorable, female-fronted surf/pop band hailing from Seal Beach. Singer Melissa Brooks was quick to involve the crowd, immediately telling them to mosh and dance, and leading venue-wide singalongs of the band’s choruses. Brooks ended the set in rockstar fashion, crowd surfing and thanking the audience profusely before introducing the next act, Plague Vendor.

Between sets, many band members could be seen among the hordes of high schoolers, taking pictures and engaging in conversation. The Garden was quick to sign autographs, and The Aquadolls had a nearly endless procession of fans wanting to snap photographs with the band. Kids sat with their friends, backs up against the walls in the darkness, making it nearly impossible not to bump into a friend or trip on a total stranger.

Up next was Plague Vendor, featuring a very different sound than previous acts. Dressed all in black, the members took their craft very seriously, sounding like a blend of punk, hardcore, and emo artists such as Letlive, Refused, and My Chemical Romance. The crowd was very responsive, quick to bounce and mosh and sing along as to any of the other acts.

After Plague Vendor’s act came the experimental punk sound of The Garden. Made up of twins Fletcher and Wyatt Shears on drums and bass, respectively (No guitars here),However, the two would often abandon their instruments and rap along to electronic beats with no warning. Throughout the set, a theme of overall individuality and non-conformity was evident, based on the band’s extremely experimental style, anti-authoritarian lyrics, retro attitude, hyper stage antics (such as impromptu jumping off of and over equipment, and frequent somersaults, courtesy of drummer Fletcher Shears).

Throughout the night, the staff were surprisingly accommodating. Workers at the merch booth were both helpful and professional. In terms of security, guards in the audience were surprisingly courteous and helpful when handling the crowd. Staff members would spray water bottles on dehydrated festival-goers, even going as far as to start mosh pits during many of the performances. The staff between the stage and front row were less friendly, tasked with pulling any crowd surfers over the barrier between musicians and fans. The few crowd surfers that were pulled over were directed back to the audience soon after. Overall, however, the experience was a positive one.

Fans throughout the night were also very appreciative of the artists they had not heard. The majority of fans were not there to see the majority of the bands playing, making this a unique opportunity to find new artists to follow. “I had never listened to Shady Francos or the Aquadolls and was really impressed by both, ” said sophomore Aiko Woody. “Shady Francos had a really unique sound that I was a fan of, and Mel from the Aquadolls was just a badass all-around.”

Last were the two biggest bands on the bill, SWMRS (formerly Emily’s Army) and The Frights. SWMRS took the stage in support of their latest record, Drive North, playing songs from it that sent the audience into a frenzy. Brothers Cole and Max Becker screamed titles such as opener “Harry Dean”, cult hit “Miley” and the band’s hate-letter to Los Angeles, “Drive South.” Fans were certainly happy to see the band, with constant moshing throughout the set, spirited jumping during many songs, and a wall of death during the band’s closer.

Finally came the Frights. Striding onto the stage in their surf-punk glory, poorly spraypainted banner behind them, inflatable cactuses littering the stage, they kicked their set off with the title track from their latest LP (released the day before the festival) You Are Going to Hate This. The crowd immediately went wild. During the set, one could look anywhere near the stage and see crowd surfers, fans singing their hearts out, and moshing. Lots of it.

The Frights were true performers, making many a joke on stage, not afraid to show energy, even bringing out a horn section to close out their last song before an encore. Although most artists are known to mature with age, The Frights seemed to have done just the opposite, as this set was adolescent, fun, and immature as hell

All in all, this was not a night to be missed. It was a night of fun, shenanigans, dancing, crowd surfing, friendship, and above all, community. Every festival-goer left with a sense of belonging, a sense of individualism, and ultimately a sense that they were a part of a movement, something bigger than themselves.