San Diego welcomed RVIVR, Western Settings, and DFMK to the Til-Two club on January 8.

The first band to appear on stage was DFMK, a punk group native to Tijuana. The band’s style ranges from classic punk to the riffs and craziness of the hardcore scene. DFMK had no trouble warming up the crowd, thanks to their stimulating sound. The energy of vocalist Jorge A. Zepeda is central to DFMK’s sound, and he surely surprised the audience with his manic and charismatic stage presence.

Next came San Diego’s own Western Settings, who proved to be a perfect segue between DFMK and headlining act RVIVR. Western Settings is purely mainstream rock, a combination of rebellious and traditional sounds, designed to appeal to a wider public.

But the night was specially staged for RVIVR. This quartet from Olympia Washington has a unique energy, an intellectual fan base, and a message: equality in gender rights. The group has already made their mark on the punk scene as one of the best American punk rock bands of our time, with their song lyrics and recognizable insignia. At the show, Erica Freas and Mattie Canino sang together about the routines of daily life and our generation’s permanent fear of growing up.

RVIVR put on a great show, and fans danced and sang along throughout the night. Freas and Canino are honest about their burdens — but they maintain the hope that the sun always comes up, eventually. Or, as they say in one of their songs: “Let it shine/let it shine/make a sign in the night/let it shine.”

RVIVR, Western Settings, and DFMK at the Til-Two club