(NEXSTAR) – This is how you Sonic?
The hardcore punk scene and the fast-casual dining scene have continued to inch closer and closer in recent years, first after two viral concerts at Denny’s restaurants in California and Texas, and now after a hardcore show at a Sonic Drive-In.
The Sonic restaurant, located in Hainesport, New Jersey, played host to the concert on Saturday night, with bands rocking out beside the intercoms and fans moshing in the drive-in stalls, according to photos and video shared to social media.
“Well that s— was crazy,” tweeted one of the bands, seemingly accurately, after the show concluded early on Sunday morning.
According to a flyer for the concert — which featured performances by hardcore bands Gel, Scowl, Exhibition, Chemical Fix and Phantom — the show was scheduled to begin immediately after the restaurant closed at 10 p.m. Even still, one of the attendees appeared to be eating a Sonic corn dog during Exhibition’s set, as seen in footage shared by live-music archivist Sunny Singh of the website hate5six.
Images taken by South Suburbia Photo also show fans dancing, lighting off fireworks and generally having a fantastic time in what would otherwise be an empty Sonic parking area off Route 38 East in New Jersey.
“It was wild, hands-down one of the best shows I’ve ever been to,” the photographer told Nexstar.
It’s unclear how the event came to be, though it was organized by the Philadelphia-based 4333 Collective, according to the flyer. A representative for the group was not immediately available to comment.
A manager at the Sonic Drive-In who knew more about the booking arrangements was said to be unavailable until later this week, an employee at the restaurant told Nexstar.
Sonic’s corporate headquarters, meanwhile, did not respond to requests for further information.
Saturday night’s concert comes nearly three years after a band called Wacko staged a similarly odd concert at a Denny’s in Santa Ana, California, where the attendees reportedly caused more than $1,000 in damages. Fortunately, Green Day — yes, Green Day — graciously offered to cover the costs, Loudwire reported at the time.
But both Wacko and the bands in the lineup at Sonic likely owe a debt of gratitude to a Texas band called Live Without, which staged a 2013 concert inside a shuttered Denny’s location in Houston. To date, a four-minute video clip of that concert — titled “The Denny’s Grand Slam” — has amassed over 3 million views on YouTube alone.