A sleepy Henderson IHOP received an unexpected jolt Monday night, when dozens of hardcore kids began funneling into the parking lot and restaurant for an impromptu show.
Before long, bodies were squeezing into the modestly sized dining area at 2450 E. Pebble Road to watch the musicians, get into the fairly intense moshpit and even crowd-surf through the International House of Pancakes.
Echoes of Amara
The event—photos and video of which has since gone viral—was reminiscent of 2013’s “Denny’s Grand Slam” concert, when Houston’s hardcore-punk band Live Without played inside a Denny’s in that town. You remember, the famous “What the f*ck is up Denny’s?” video.
That clip comes back into circulation from time to time, typically when a band attempts to re-create the scene, but the Henderson happening appears not to have been one of those. According to members of a local band that ended up playing the IHOP, it was a simply an attempt to play for fans of all ages.
“It was one of those right place, right time kind of things,” Joaquin Ortiz tells the Weekly. “We expected five or 10 people to show up and thought no one was going to take it seriously. I’m glad I was wrong.”
Ortiz drums for Echoes of Amara, a brand new duo that got asked last-minute to hop onto the bill—with Vegas hardcore bands Oscopy, Blush Hour and Run Your Luck—despite having practiced just three times prior.
Inside the IHOP
The Weekly chatted with the members of Echoes of Amara about the wild scene that ensued during its first-ever live gig. An employee at the IHOP is a music fan, they explain, who agreed to let the bands stage the show inside the eatery.
“The original plan of having one side of the restaurant for eating and the other for the show was not going to work out,” laughs guitarist Sergio Lopez. “We quickly realized that no one is going to be eating during this.”
The solution? Taping a makeshift sign to the front door, reading “Closed 4 dining in.”
Predictably, the inner-IHOP fun didn’t last long. Just after the Echoes of Amara set, word spread that the fire marshal was en route to the restaurant. Headlining Oscopy quickly set up and got a couple of songs in before being told to pack it all up.
But hardcore bands and their fans are nothing if not resourceful, so they dashed to a nearby house and continued raging … until authorities were called yet again, officially ending one very memorable night.
“This was my first time playing a show in the hardcore scene, and these individuals are passionate,” says Ortiz. “I love to see that they’ll show up and support.”
