Concert Review: Bad Religion/Alkaline Trio/War On Women – Live in Denver

Fillmore Auditorium, Denver – 19 NOV 2021

Three bands put on a show that gives the audience a good time, whether they like it or not!

Alkaline Trio and Bad Religion seem like an odd combination for a double headlining tour at first glance, with Bad Religion being known for their blistering political hardcore and Alkaline Trio being known for catchy emo/pop-punk.  But don't forget that Bad Religion started Epitaph records to release their own records at first and then expanded into one of the biggest labels in punk, and, in 2010, Alkaline Trio was given their own sub-label under Epitaph called Heart and Skull records, although Heart and Skull has only put out three albums that weren't Alkaline Trio albums:  two records from the band Sharp/Shock and one solo album from Alkaline Trio's drummer, Derek Grant.  So the two bands are business partners of sorts, but also have enough in common musically to attract some people who are fans of both acts, and are different enough to add some variety to the concert. 

As for me, this was the first concert I had been to in a while where I was very familiar with all the bands playing, even the opening act, War on Women, so I was definitely excited when I originally made plans to go to the concert. But by the time the day of the show came I was tired and irritable and not particularly in the mood to go to a show.  Still, I had committed to going to the show for TGEFM so I was going whether I liked it or not.  And the bands managed to make it a show that was worth going to anyway. 

First of all, War on Women were absolutely incredible, one of the best opening bands I've ever seen, and they completely outdid both headlining acts.  Frontwoman Shawna Potter has me searching for a better word than electrifying because she was more energetic, more connected to the audience, more powerful, and more fun than other artists that I've described as “electric.” The band came out to the song “Nasty” by Janet Jackson, before launching into an onslaught of hardcore punk.  Potter would alternate between sultry, seductive dance moves and headbanging with her long, multi-colored hair swinging in the air.  The concert happened to be on the day of the Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty verdict, and of the three bands, War on Women was the only one to mention it, with even the political stalwarts of the scene, Bad Religion, not bringing it up to a crowd full of angsty punks ready to rock out their political and moral frustration. 

Then came Alkaline Trio.  Now, I'm a big fan of Alkaline Trio's music, but the three previous times I saw them, all of which were at festivals, I found myself listening to a set of songs that I didn't recognize, and I know their catalog pretty well.  Additionally, I always found them to be disappointingly low energy.  But I went into this concert hoping that those last three times I saw them were just flukes that were maybe the result of them performing as part of a festival.  Sadly, they were just as disappointing this time around. 

First of all, the sound was absolutely terrible.  The bass notes were lost with only the rhythm of the bass audible as it shook the auditorium. The guitar melodies were lost, leaving just the crunch of the guitar chords. Matt Skiba, who was dressed like a British golfer who was also in a ska band, seemed to be trying to play around with the lyrics as he sang them, but his voice was so blown out that you could barely understand him in the silence between songs much less hear it over the guitar.  Skiba was incredibly low energy, mostly just standing still as he played his guitar.  Dan Andriano was even quieter, leaving the stage banter to Skiba, who was often awkward and distant.  I think Alkaline Trio's die-hard fans probably had a good time because they knew the songs so well, but I doubt that anyone who came to the concert primarily for Bad Religion was converted to Alkaline Trio fandom. 

Finally came Bad Religion, who I've seen far more times than I can count.  Between my high school years and now, I've gradually watched the band grow older and grayer but they've never stopped being a great live band.  The sound was much better after Alkaline Trio's set, with all the guitars and bass coming in crisp and clear compared to how they sounded for the Trio.  The band's set list varied between old favorites like “American Jesus” and “I Want to Conquer the World” and some deeper cuts like “Better Off Dead” which they announced as a song they haven't played much over the years.  Greg Graffin was his usual energetic self, and did a great job of connecting to the audience.  Of all the many times I've seen them, this was probably the best performance I've seen of theirs since the Empire Strikes First tour. 

Overall, the concert made me happy I went, even though I was kind of dreading it at the beginning.  Despite my hopes that Alkaline Trio would redeem themselves in a proper venue as opposed to a festival setting, the other two bands were able to bring out the enthusiasm I was lacking.  Unfortunately, Bad Religion recently announced that they had a positive COVID test in the band, meaning the last few dates may just be Alkaline Trio and War on Women, which isn't a show I'd particularly want to see.  But the next time either War on Women or Bad Religion is in your town… that's a ticket worth picking up.