New York, NY – 08 May 2024
Fuck Armageddon, This Is Heaven
I've never been to a more diverse show. Young kids with their parents stand side by side with grizzled punks who remember a touring festivals before Journeys was the constant sponsor. Auto-shop tough guys wrapping arms around university rabble-rousers singing along to the Johnny Cash classic “Ring Of Fire” (written by Merle Kilgore and June Carter Cash). Tattooed gearheads in leather jackets and rolled sleeves, battle vest adorned young punks sharing the pit with fitted dress-shirt wearing corporatists remembering the idealism of their youth they traded in for a healthy 401k. But on a rooftop overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, these people with nothing in common found common ground the way we always have.. in the music.
A Bad Religion and Social Distortion tour doesn't really have much need for openers, those two icons alone are going to guarantee a killer show, but they brought along Lovecrimes, and full disclosure here, those kids stole the fucking show. Fronted by Julien Ness (yes, that Ness), Lovecrimes was a shot of youth and cunning on a stage of experience. The lads took every moment of green room advice, fatherly wisdom and humble swagger that rubbed off from a life on the road and put the entire crowd on notice.
The Social D influence was obvious, the cow punk godfathers have clearly taught these kids well and God dammit did they carve themselves a nice little chapter in the Story Of My Life. They were not the band people came to see, but it's safe to say they were who we were all talking about when we left. The blending of punk, rockabilly and blues with the panoramic views and the Brooklyn Bridge's iconic American Flag flying from its center pillar set the scene for a night guaranteed to invoke all the best and worst this country has to offer, and Lovecrimes created the perfect opening credits scene.
Next to the stage tonight were punk pioneers, Social Distortion. I don't think I'm alone in saying it was a lovely surprise to see Mike Ness and company again after Ness' cancer diagnosis last year. I know I'm not alone in saying that not only did Ness beat cancer, he seems to have dodged all of its punches along the way. The gravel in his voice, unaffected, echoed off the buildings along the East River.
The Orange County legends filled the air with nostalgia and riffs and those of us lucky enough to share the rooftop space were more than happy to exuberant sing along to the band's deep catalogue including hits like “Bad Luck,” “Mommy's Little Monster” and “1945.” Sharing anecdotes of his capricious youth and counting the blessings to still take the stage, Ness and Social D connected with the crowd like a cool uncle home for a cookout. We were lucky to be there and we knew it.
Closing out the evening tonight were the gold standard of well-informed political punks Bad Religon. 40 years into their career amd somehow these codgers are still pitch perfect, never missing a note, maintaining their boyish charm behind the youthfulness of frontman Greg Gaffin's voice.
The setlist encapsulated their career and recapture the youth of a crowd that first heard thebband at 14 and now tried to avoid pulled muscles in the pit at 40. By the time the band kicked into “Fuck You” the first wave of slam dancers needed a brief intermission to get some water, catch their breath amd reapply IcyHot but BR refused to slow down. As they have refused to do for decades now.
The veterans of punk closed out their set with the same energy they brought the first time I saw them in 96, the same energy they also brought, even if I could no longer match the energy (could I ever?). With the encore pairing of “Los Angeles Is Burning” and “American Jesus” the majority of the band left the NYC skyline echoing with passion, youth and the kind of leftist ideologies the world needs more of as Jay Bentley lingered to say thank you for 40 years
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed's musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he's self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
