Doheny Surf Festival Day 2 – Doheny State Beach – 8/12/12

As the second day of the first annual Doheny Surf Festival commenced, so did the swell, the music and the island vibes. The smell of sunscreen and coconut oil lingered in the air over the beach and tents stocked with Polynesian jewelry, surf art and board shorts of all materials began to slowly break down for the evening as headliners Common Sense, Fishbone and Everlast prepared to wrap up the weekend. It'll be less than a month before we're back on these shores again for the massive Doheny Days festival in September featuring the Flaming Lips, Jane's Addiction, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and more. But as far as last night is concerned, experience the best of what we saw on the beach after the jump.

Quietest Surfer: John Peck

While the voice of the festival announcer blared obnoxiously through the speakers and the crowd mixed and mingled on the beach throwing up the occasional “shakka brah's,” legendary surfer John Peck slid through the crowd mostly undetected. One of the first to tackle the ever-challenging break known as Pipeline on the north shore of O'ahu, Peck now strolls down to Doheny, the polar opposite of Pipe. While stand-up paddleboarders savagely tore apart the water, Peck stared off into the distance with singlefin under arm in a calm meditative gaze and the chiseled body of grey-haired Jesus as waves poured in to shore.

Oldest crowd: First Rodeo

Unless you're older and more a bit more refined or just  an American Pie/M.I.L.F. fanatic, you might feel out of place with First Rodeo's crowd. The band sounds a cross between Kansas and Free, with strong, killer vocals and guitar shredding that tempted the inner-air guitarist of just about everyone on the front row.  Although getting winks from guys old enough to be my dad sent my air-guitarist packing…really quick.

Best Reggae Vibes: Zhen

As if by some divine magic, this Carson-based island singer and his band managed to pull everyone out of the shade and/or ocean to do a little hip-shaking, two-stepping and singing about island life. Kids and adults tripping on the aloha spirit danced and smiled right along with Zhen, who beaming under his fedora through his entire set. Those were some good island vibes, right?

Best Headliner: Fishbone

Not only did these L.A. legends have the best energy from beginning to end, they delivered their brand of electrifying, ska eclecticism that never fails to incites crowds who simply can't stand still to Fishbone's music. Even as they get up in age, founding members Angelo Moore, John Norwood Fisher and “Dirty” Walter A. Kirby II used their time on stage to skank, bounce up and down and freak out the crowd…sometimes all in one song. As soon as the sun started to set and the band took the stage, they had the audience locked in to a set of funky bass lines, bright brass and shredding guitar solos. As always, their sound drew people of all ages (and blood alcohol levels) to the front of the stage, glasses of half-melted spirits swaying and singing like pirates.

Blowin' Up: Wes Miller

It's so cool to watch a grom (er, young surfer) like Wes Miller grow up and stick to his supreme ukulele jamming skills. Before he was accepted to UCLA's prestigious music academy, I wrote a story about Miller when he was 16 years-old and sounded amazing as he played a little for me. His seasoned skills have grown immensely over the years. If this youngin keeps his head on straight through all the frat party gigs and the L.A. music scene, there's no telling how far he and his ukulele will go.

Read the full article at: https://www.ocweekly.com/doheny-surf-festival-day-2-doheny-state-beach-8-12-12-6580018/