Punk’s Not Dead, Yet at 191 Toole

Lenny Mental Birthday Bash 2025

Tucson - y’all already KNOW what time it is. The desert starts buzzing a little louder in December: the nights get sharper and colder, the holidays are rolling in, and the whole city is itching for the NYE celebrations to come. And us here at 191 Toole are always in for a chaotic, sweaty, ridiculous, and absolutely unhinged show. But THIS one folks!? This one is hitting different for real for real  That’s ‘cause on Saturday, December 13th, we’re tearing the roof off for Punk’s Not Dead, Yet: The Lenny Mental Birthday Bash. Yep folks - the old legend is turning 65! Officially retirement age if you’re in the UPS ecosystem, but he’s here to let us know Punk is not done, yet - and neither is he. So when we get to the party on Saturday - it’s game over for anyone who thought Tucson punk was slowing down. If you’ve ever wanted to scream your lungs out, lose a shoe in the pit, or feel the kind of community that only thrives where the music is loud enough to rattle your ribs, THIS is your night. This is the Super Bowl for every desert punk, dive-bar regular, and tattooed troublemaker living within 200 miles of Tucson. Time to party babes. 

But before we talk chaos, we gotta talk Lenny Mental — the man of the hour, the myth, the Tucson punk torchbearer. Lenny’s rise wasn’t some polished industry fairy tale — it was pure grit, pure desert heat, pure “do it yourself or it won’t get done at all.” Coming up through the raw dusty corners of the Tucson scene, Lenny became the heartbeat of the local punk scene - he was ALWAYS outside, and a voice that sounded like it had been forged in cigarette smoke and late-night backyard shows. From breaking into the underground with The Besmirchers, to becoming a loud, unfiltered icon who mentored younger bands, booked shows when no one else would, and kept the energy alive when the scene dipped — Lenny has shaped this city’s punk identity for decades. He’s the guy people point to and say, “Yeah, Tucson’s different. We do it our way.” And lucky for us, his birthday is just like a family reunion for every misfit who’s ever moshed, screamed, or bled on a venue floor. Expect to see all the punks out and about, the old heads - and you too! Duh!

Lace up your boots, grab your crew, and get ready to celebrate the man who kept the scene alive. December 13th. 191 Toole. Punk’s Not Dead, Yet. See you in the pit smellys.