Live review: Descendants, Circle Jerks live at The Rave

Milwaukee WI – 17 Jun 2023

Wisconsin gets a little taste of southern California compliments of Descendents, Circle Jerks and Adolescents.

Sometimes a show just feels bigger than the sum of its parts. I remember thinking the same thing about last year’s Circle Jerks/7 Seconds/Negative Approach tour, and even the Black Flag/ Dickies/TSOL/Total Chaos debacle. (Later this year Circle Jerks/TSOL/Negative Approach are headed out together, but I think I’m going to miss it.) Seeing three west coast legends like Descendents, Circle Jerks and Adolescents together might be a regular occurance in southern California, but it’s still a rare treat in the midwest. 

The most convenient show for us was five hours away in Milwaukee. We made it a weekend and saw Pansy Division the night before at the relatively intimate X-Ray Arcade (see my review of that here). By comparison, The Rave/Eagles Club is a massive complex. There are six separate venues under the roof of the nearly 100 year old monolith. The biggest room is the cavernous ballroom with a capacity of over 4000. Descendents and friends played in The Rave, which holds 1800. The audience skewed older, but there was a surprising amount of young people in the house.

If the show didn’t sell out, it was very close. The room was already packed and hot as hell when Adolescents went on promptly at 8:00. The Fullerton, CA quintet wasted little time, and made the most of their 30 or so minutes. Opener “No Way” had the crowd ignoring the NO MOSHING cards handed to each entrant. The band is still led by original singer Tony Reflex, whose long gray hair set him apart from the other more traditionally punk looking dudes.

The next most familiar face in the band is probably new bassist and former leftover Crack guitarist Brad Logan. He replaced the beloved but deceased Steve Soto, and looked like he was having the time of his life. They played songs from throughout their long career, but not surprisingly the biggest response was for the stuff from their self-titled 1981 LP. “Rip It Up”, “Word Attack“, “Amoeba” and closer “Kids of the Black Hole” all drew a rabid response. Of the three bands, Adolescents are the ones that play the midwest the least, and the crowd was clearly happy to see them. 

By the time Circle Jerks hit the stage, the venue had opened up some doors and it had cooled down a bit. It was still extremely crowded, and the complete lack of personal space made me a little nostalgic for the chaotic shows of my youth. We also had a chance to grab a couple of $11 beers, which made me less nostalgic. CJ’s set started with a bit of rambling from 67 year old frontman Keith Morris. I have mixed feelings about this. It’s sort of charming, but it can also quickly devolve into Grandpa Simpson territory. They would play a few songs in rapid succession before taking a minute for a breather. 

This was my third time seeing them in the last three years, and I thought they were better than last spring in Chicago. Guitarist Greg Hetson and bassist Zander Schloss were both rock solid, but newer drummer Joey Castillo is the one who continues to blow me away. He really seems to be working his ass off behind that kit. “I Just Want Some Skank”, “Wasted”, “World Up My Ass”, “Wild in the Streets” and “When the Shit Hits the Fan” were my favorites. Overall, Circle Jerks were great.

Between bands I spent a little time scoping out the merch. There were some tour exclusives, and the line was probably the longest I’ve ever seen at a punk show. They were actually handing out merch menus, and I saved one for posterity. I slipped it into a record jacket to be discovered by future generations. I also saved the NO MOSHING card they were handing out at the door. (You don’t have to spend a lot to get a keepsake!) More about the merch later.

What more can be said about Descendents? I never saw them in the ‘80s, but I’ve seen them many times since they reformed in ‘96 and they’ve always been great. It took me a couple minutes to figure out that the studded strap over singer Milo Aukerman’s shoulder was his water bottle. Like I said, It was hot and you’ve got to stay hydrated. Bill Stevenson is a legendary punk drummer, and makes it look effortless. Guitarist Stephen Egerton and bassist Karl Alvarez are so talented that we should thank our lucky stars they didn’t choose to play jazz.

Descendents are the rare ‘80s punk band that can seamlessly blend in new material. Songs like “On Paper”, “Victim of Me” and “Nightage” easily stood side by side with classics like “Hope”, “Silly Girl” and “Coolidge”. (Mid period stuff like “Everything Sux” and “‘Merican” was great too.) Call me a basic boy, but my personal favorites were probably “Bikeage” and “Suburban Home”. When they finished their three song encore, the masses were satisfied as they streamed back out into the beautiful summer night.

Confessions of a merch whore: The fairly chintzy looking Descendents/Circle Jerks T-shirts were $40. I passed. (Individual band T’s were $30.) The Circle Jerks Trust Records exclusive reissue color variants of the first two records were very reasonably priced at $30. I didn’t buy them, but that’s about what I paid for black at a brick and mortar store. Descendents records were also reasonably priced at $20-$25, so I grabbed vinyl copies of Hypercaffium Spazzinate (2016) and 9th & Walnut (2021) to replace my shameful five inch plastic versions. I also got a Circle Jerks logo patch and a Descendents “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” patch that my wife will never sew on my vest.