If you would’ve told me that The Garden was coming back to play in Fresno on April Fool’s, I wouldn’t have believed you. I recently fell for a Modern Baseball Reunion Tour prank post and was still recovering. It wasn’t until I saw their tour dates on Instagram that I found out they weren’t joking.
The experimental punk group, featuring twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, announced their return to Tioga Sequoia back in January, resulting in a flood of excitement in the comments.
When my partner, Wyatt, and I arrived, the first thing we were shocked about was how easy parking was. We easily found a spot less than a block away from the venue, which I thought was too good to be true, in comparison to last year.
Doors were already open when we got there, so when we walked in, we were met with a crowd of people along a fence right by the outdoor seating area in the beer garden. Whether it was for the merch or to stand at the barricade, the crowd was filled with anticipation.
I spoke with three attendees with matching jester makeup, patiently waiting for the barricade to come down.
“I think we’ve been here for like an hour and a half now, but I think it’ll be special because it’s April Fools,” attendee Romi shared.
The three said that they all drove from Visalia to see the concert.
“It’s actually my first concert, so it’s really interesting to see the whole stage and the layout here. I’m excited!¨ attendee Josue shared.
Once the barricade came down and attendees were free to roam, it felt like I was transported back into medieval times. There were people with jester makeup, spinning hats, and even a juggler. I was honestly a little overwhelmed with the amount of people I wanted to talk to, so I approached someone with a massive banana hat.
“My favorite song from The Garden is Banana Peel, and I’m just like ‘I want to be a banana so bad,’ attendee Pinky Toe stated. “[Their music] is just so goofy, and you can either mosh to it really hard, or work, their music is just really diverse.”
“They’re just so reminiscent and nostalgic for me… Like if I was listening to them when I was in junior high, I would’ve been like the worst version of their fan. It just takes me back to like 2004,” attendee Parker shared.
The first up to bat on stage was Sacramento-based emo rapper Ghost Mountain.
A couple of attendees even met him after the show, expressing how excited they were that the performer decided to perform in Fresno.
“I saw [Ghost Mountain’s] Instagram post and boom, I automatically bought the tickets. I didn’t even know he was opening up for The Garden, like it’s freaking crazy, dude,” attendee Ben expressed.
Another attendee from the group, Jaiden, shared how excited he was to hear that Ghost Mountain was going to perform in town.
“[Ghost Mountain and The Garden] both have a lot of fans that are in these small towns who can’t really travel to towns that they play in. So when they come closer to towns with younger kids where parents have the chance to take them, they finally think like, “Oh, I can finally see them,” It gives us more of an opportunity to see them, so I think it’s mostly about the fans,” Jaiden said.
Then, it was The Garden’s turn.
The second they hopped on stage, an energy from the crowd immediately dialed up. A massive pit began opening in the center of the audience, where they began moshing to a mix of classic and unreleased music.
The Gardens setlist jumped around from album to album, such as 2015s “Haha,” 2018s “Mirror Might Steal Your Charm,” 2022s “HORSESHIT ON ROUTE 66,” and even unreleased singles that are yet to come out soon.
I spotted the group of three from earlier, and was happy to see they found a spot up at the barricade. They even waved hi at me when they saw me take pictures.
The juggler from earlier in the day was also spotted in the middle of the crowd, juggling three different balls while the crowd moshed to hits like “Clay,” and “Call This # Now.” Anytime his balls were knocked down, he would immediately pick them up and start juggling again.
This was the third time I’ve seen the duo perform in Fresno, the first time back at Strummers in 2019 and the second time, last year at Tioga Sequoia.
But there was something different about this show that stood out from the last two. Maybe it was the fact that it was April Fools, or because there was a whole juggler in the crowd, or the fact that it didn’t rain this year and a gorgeous full moon was out.
More than anything though, I believe it was because the twins keep deciding to come back to the Central Valley. Even after COVID, after the crowd tore up Fletcher’s jacket from diving into the crowd last year; it’s the fact that after all of these factors, the two continually put faith into the Fresno crowd and the crowd returns the favor with energy and appreciation each year.
“To me it’s really important because all the other bands go to the big cities, and they… don’t really take a lot of importance to the fans that are here in the Central Valley. We can not afford to go to San Francisco or LA, so it’s very accessible and community-based that The Garden is here again,” Romi said.
