A scenester named Kevin Johnson (in the white glasses) dancing in the crowd at The Island in Houston, Texas 1982
 
Houston-based photographer Ben DeSoto has been snapping photos in and around his native Texas for four decades. Back in the early 80s, DeSoto ended up interning as a photographer for the Houston Post. One of his favorite assignments was getting to take photos at a new club called The Island in Houston. Or, according to his editor, the place where they play that “new fangled” punk rock music. A place that already become a home away from home for the young DeSoto. The photos he took went on to become part of a documentary series called, Punk Under Reagan.
 

Female hardcore fans in front of the stage at a Circle Jerks show in Houston, early 1980s
 

Fans waiting for the Alien Sex Fiend show at The Axiom in Houston, Texas, late 80s
 

The Axiom in Houston
 
DeSoto has said that the experience of taking photos for the Post made him feel “uncomfortable in a comfortable way,” and I’m sure a large number of you reading this remember exactly what that felt like. Luckily for us, DeSoto soldiered on and came away with candid images that allow the viewer to step inside long-gone clubs like The Island, The Axiom and Raul’s in Austin, along with other spots whose walls attempted to contain performances by national acts like Fugazi, Black Flag and Nirvana, and the collective beer-soaked enthusiasm of Houston’s hooligan youth.
 

“The Next” onstage at Raul’s in Austin, 1980
 

Punks getting down at The Island in Houston, Texas 1982
 

DEVO fans hanging out in Houston
 

Raul’s in Austin, Texas
 

Fans outside of the Suicidal Tendencies show at Fitzgerald’s in Houston, 1987
 

New Wave fans at a club called “Spit” in Houston
 

Cutting loose at The Island
 

Young punks hanging out at Studio One in Houston
 

 

New Wave dancer at The Island, Houston
 

The Axiom

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Young, loud, snotty: Famous punks just hanging out