Moshing & mimosas

 Who wants to wait three hours for a brunch table on Sunday, just for some avocado toast and artisan quiches when you can head down to the Animas City Theatre for a healthy helping of punk rock music?

 That’s right, Punk Rock Breakfast is back. Oh, and there’ll be breakfast burritos, courtesy of Raider Ridge Café, and a keg from Ska Brewing. What more do you need?

 “It’s just something that’s different from what Durango usually sees,” Alex Vick, one of the organizers, said. “If you’re really hungry for punk, then you’re willing to go at 11 in the morning, even if you’re hung over from the night before.”

 Punk Rock Breakfasts are found in cities throughout the country and first popped up in Durango about 20 years ago, with the first one that anyone can remember at the now deceased Storyville. Since then, they’ve been held randomly at places like The Garage and J. Bo’s.

 Phil Powell, another organizer, said the punk rock scene has always ebbed and flowed in Durango, not so much limited by the amount of bands, but instead, available places to play. But over the years, as is customary, punk-savvy scenesters have launched DIY spaces and house shows.

 “This time around, we’re hoping to take a more professional approach,” Powell said of the push to establish venues for alternative music. “We’re hoping to stick around.”

 From 11 a.m.-3 p.m., five bands will take the Animas City Theatre stage, including Durango punk bands, Immediate Family and Your Bones, as well as Illegal Aliens (Santa Fe), Foul Tom (Aztec), and Acid Wrench, a new Durango band making its debut.

 Vicks, who plays in both Immediate Family and Your Bones, also said it seems like there’s a hunger for alternative music in Durango, especially after the lack of live shows during the pandemic.

 “It does feel like there’s a little bit of a resurgence,” he said. “And we’re also trying to dissolve ideas people put out around punk music. Alternative music doesn’t have to be violent or destructive, and it can be digested at 11 in the morning.”

 As with past Punk Rock Breakfasts, all proceeds go to local nonprofits. This time around, Compañeros and The Hive youth center will be the beneficiaries.

 “These funds are significant for us because we work with undocumented populations, which limits us when it comes to government funding and grants,” Enrique Orozco, with Compañeros, said. “We are the only immigration center in Southwest Colorado and northeast New Mexico… that helps the immigrant community navigate the tough and hard immigration system this country has to offer.”

Pre-sale tickets are $12 or $15 the day of the show. Also, the Animas City Theatre, because of the rise in COVID-19 cases locally, is requiring all guests and staff to provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test within the past 72 hours to enter.