Words by Aleah Antonio ★ Photos by Donna Borges
August 12th, 2025
Earlier this year, I broke my foot in a mosh pit during a DIIV concert in San Francisco. When I went to the doctor’s office, I cried at the idea of never being able to mosh again, or at least for the foreseeable future. It was a pervading thought when I went to Community Service Fest in Pomona this past Saturday, thrown by Dante Pellegrino’s booking collective AboveTheBridge.
“Remember when we used to do this all the time?” I asked my friend accompanying me, who’s been my companion since middle school and with whom I went to my first concert and what would be many others. We used to get to concerts right when doors opened to get a spot at the barricade. Then, we would mosh and stage-dive for hours, going home with our adrenaline still pumping, and we’d do it every weekend.
Her and I stood at each set at Community Service Fest, beers in hand while we watched bands from the back of the crowd, letting kids – and by kids, we meant teens and those in their early 20s – circle pit, leap from stages, and dart from band to band. She was having tons of fun, to which I said, “Good! I was worried that you were bored since we aren’t moshing,” and she replied “Dude, I don’t want to do anything but stand.”
Now, I’m only 25, but this is all to say that your perspective on concerts warps a bit as you get older. You start choosing quality over quantity. You get pickier with the gigs you go to, now that you have work to go to, and you can only stand for so long before your legs start to give out. You finally have enough money to pay arenas the big bucks to see bands you never could have before. You realize you’re not going as crazy as you used to be.
The crowd at Community Service Fest was like a beacon of light in a dark tunnel that is the state of modern music, if not the world. People dressed up in jorts with racoon tail key chains; Crowds were oceans of black with handfuls of red, blue, and pink dyed hair; People in clown makeup; People wearing luchador masks; Even bands dressed in baseball uniforms. These people were free to be, and do, whatever they wanted.
The lineup featured beloved bands from a tight-knit scene in Orange County and Los Angeles, including headliner Ultra Q and bands like Love Letter, Cheridomingo, and Ridgeway. The sets were instigators for body movement except for a lush acoustic set by Slow Hollows, that deserved more attendees than it got. Whichever band had the highest energy took the cake, Makeout Reef and Chicano Mosh drawing the biggest crowds.
The festival also featured community resources and vendors, like the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) who sold “Get ICE Out of LA!” merch, and CommunityRX, who gave out free testing strips, earplugs, and other mutual aid.
The festival had an awkward setup inside of The Fox Theater, a venue that normally hosts concerts in the traditional sense. The side stage existed in the lobby of the venue, and the main stage was the actual theater stage, a space so big that it felt empty no matter how many people were inside. Merch stands took up the back of the GA area, where people had to shuffle through merch and through the lobby doors to get from set to set. It was non-traditional, compared to other DIY festivals like Viva! Pomona, which hosts outdoor stages adjacent to their host at The Glass House.
I can’t be too mad at the setup because no one seemed to mind, and what is an independent DIY show but an effort to make the best out of what you have? It was an impressive first festival from AboveTheBridge, a promoter who began booking shows just three years ago.
In an Instagram post, Pellegrino described Community Service Fest as “a labor of love… for the community.” The show lived up to the name as it served its community in a myriad of ways. It gave suburban kids plans for their Saturday night. It showcased bands with a plethora of talent and not nearly enough monthly listeners on Spotify. It gave freaks and weirdos a place where they can feel like themselves. It gave me a chance to feel like a teenager again and it gave folks at AboveTheBridge a way to give back, just like the scene had given to them.
