It was a big night of punk music in Austin, Texas, on August 28, when Social Distortion’s “Born To Kill Tour” came to Moody Amphitheater. Joined by openers The Chats and Descendents, each band pulled their weight to deliver a loud and solid show that gave the crowd exactly what they came for… mosh pits and all.

Seeing Social Distortion headline brought everything full circle for me. I’ve been listening to them for 21 years now, ever since I first saw them live back in 2005 when I was just 10 years old. That show was my first time experiencing a mosh pit, and it completely changed everything for me. While shooting from the photo pit during this show, I couldn’t help but notice a little girl holding onto the barricade. I struck up a conversation with her and asked how old she was, and to my surprise, she told me she was nine. Looking at her felt like looking straight back into my own past. The only difference was that instead of being the kid squeezed up against the barricade, I was now in the pit photographing the band that started it all. Over two decades later, their set hasn’t lost an ounce of its power. Mike Ness and company still put on a hell of a performance, demonstrating exactly why they’ve held onto such a die-hard fan base for all these years.

Australian punk band The Chats opened the show. Even though I was new to their music, their fast, aggressive set fit right in with Descendents and Social Distortion. It didn’t take long for the crowd to react, starting up mosh pits that had people and drinks flying everywhere. They sang songs like “Billy Backwash’s Day,” “6L GTR,” “Identity Theft,” and “SMOKO.”

Descendents then took the stage and ripped right through more than 20 songs without losing a beat. Milo Aukerman, the singer, paced the stage with his studded water bottle worn cross-body the entire night. Keeping the band’s unfiltered edge intact with a quick political callout, the crowd responded with cheers. There were non-stop crowd surfers pouring over the photo pit, and Milo fed right off that energy. He stepped off the stage two different times to lean over the barricade and hand the mic to fans to sing along to the “I want to be stereotyped” anthem, “Suburban Home.” The band ended their set with “Smile.”

Then came the final act of the night: Social Distortion. They opened with “Born To Kill,” then went straight into “Ring of Fire.” Throughout the set, they played their timeless favorites alongside a lot of new songs from their newest album. The lights above the stage flashed along to the music as the screen in the background played clips of old films. Mike Ness said he wanted to give people “more bang for their buck” when choosing the acts to play on this tour.

While introducing the song “No Way Out,” Ness said, “This song is for the people who didn’t grow up in the best situations. The survival skills that you adapted at a young age, they say, no longer suit you. And those survival skills in adult life can be a deficit. This is a song about being stuck while trying to leave that stuff behind. I’m not there yet, but I’m in the right direction!”

Before starting “The Way Things Were,” Ness dedicated the song to the wonderful Dolly Parton. Toward the end of the set, he told a story about staying in the same hotel as a political conference and walking into an elevator with some old Texas conservatives. He said he hopes whatever decisions they make at the convention, they keep Austin weird. He then held up a “Talarico for Texas” sign as the crowd cheered. Social Distortion ended the night with an energetic “Don’t Drag Me Down.” If you’re a big fan of punk rock music, this is a tour you do not want to miss. The “Born To Kill Tour” runs through November 17; more information and dates can be found here.