Whoever said “punk is dead” in the Bay Area wasn’t at Mabuhay Gardens Saturday.

Hundreds of fans celebrated 50 years of San Francisco punk at the legendary venue where it all started. 

Some came with canes. Others came in plaid miniskirts. But all came with a love for the music and its rich history.

Mabuhay Gardens, or the “Fab Mab,” hosted icons like the Ramones, Sid Vicious, Blondie and Devo in the ’70s and ’80s, but perhaps more important, it was a place for punks to gather and evolve in San Francisco, launching local legends like The Avengers, Dead Kennedys, The Nuns, Crime and Flipper (the evening’s headlining band). Members from The Avengers and Dead Kennedys also took the stage.

The building located on Broadway between Montgomery and Kearny, houses The Mab, Mabuhay Garden’s original stage downstairs at 443 Broadway, as well as a larger ballroom stage On Broadway just above at 445 Broadway.

The historic punk venue recently reopened after closing nearly 40 years ago. For many, Saturday was a reunion, a day to reconnect with old friends and reminisce about earlier shows.

Aileen Sullivan recalled growing up in the Bay Area punk scene. Her first show was Black Flag and Flipper.

“No matter where we go, I guess we all just sort of find each other and gather,” she said. 

Others were visiting Mabuhay Gardens for the first time.

“We’re here for the history,” said Matthew Brown, who came with his 11-year-old son Collin for the first time. “We love Flipper and Fang. I drag him to all kinds of shows.”

Rabiah Harrison said she never thought she’d have the opportunity to experience the venue. She’s from the Midwest and always wanted to move to San Francisco and be a part of the scene.

“I really hope Mabuhay stays, especially with Bottom of the Hill and Thee Parkside closing,” she said.

Pam Satterthwaite was confident of punk’s endurance. “We’re like water,” she said. “We find a way.” 

Chuck “The Freek,” who was working the door on Saturday night, agreed. 

“The punk scene here is very vibrant. People that say there isn’t a scene just don’t leave their house.”

Radio Valencia, an independent online radio station based in the Mission District, presented the event as part of SF Music Week.

The event focused on punk’s history with a daytime panel discussion, culminating in a performance by The Mutants downstairs and an evening act upstairs, headlined by Flipper and Friends. While the event focused on San Francisco’s rich punk legacy, it also introduced a “New Guard” of bands with acts like Bitchfit, which has yet to record an album, and False Flag, which has made waves with their unconventional show locations on BART or in the middle of downtown.

Lauson Kai, whose father, John Hell of Radio Valencia, helped produce the event, said she was proud of her generation for keeping punk going.

“I think it’s evolved with the times while seeing the influence in past bands,” she said.

She would like to see less misogyny and more confident young women in the scene, but feels like punk is moving in that direction.

Newcomers have strong models in Patti Smith and Penelope Houston of the Avengers, who both once graced the stage at the original Mabuhay Gardens.

Nowadays, there are more women on the scene, including the sisters and frontwomen from False Flag, Pretty and Strong Sims. They wailed on their guitars, belted lyrics and kicked their legs in the air. 

Bitchfit, whose members are all minors, took the stage in brightly dyed hair and commanded the crowd, shredding on their knees at the crowd’s eye level. The crowd mimicked the confidence on stage as more young women took to the pit. 

San Francisco’s punk scene remains diverse, and Saturday night’s mosh pit told that story: It included a child on top of a father’s shoulders, an old man with a cane in hand and studs on his vest, and a young woman whipping her hair.