Social Distortion and Bad Religion at the Masonic

The Masonic is total chaos during general admissions shows. Having ushers more strategically placed to keep people from blocking the aisles in the first place would go a long way toward preventing the nearly impenetrable mass of bodies that accumulated in every passageway. The lines outside were extremely long, and instead of wrapping them around the same block, they chose to have them split across streets, causing confusion and adding risk. This may have been due to there being two simultaneous shows that night, but it still could have been done better.

The sound team actually turned up the volume for the one piano solo in the Social Distortion set, but otherwise maintained their aversion to keyed instruments (evidenced by the total absence of piano in the mix during the Nick Cave show we saw there a few years ago, and the recent English Beat performance which featured TWO keyboard players, NEITHER of whom was at all audible, among other examples). Hint: If you're a touring act and can afford it, bring your own sound techs. 

Nevertheless, though the long lines cost us the ability to watch Mike Ness' son's band and some of Social Distortion's set, both headliners gave solid performances that made it worth our troubles. This was our second time seeing Social Distortion, and we have no regrets. Mike Ness has preserved his voice well. They're no slouches, and they respect their audience. Their brand of gritty, roots rock just never goes out of style. They're just the sort of band whose sound is so classic that you don't even have to be in the mood for it. It just sounds good. They don't fuss with fancy lighting, and they don't waste time. Even if you're only a casual fan, or just like rock and have a chance to see them, go. 

Bad Religion did a mix of new and old songs, among them 21st Century Digital Boy, with its lyrics, "I don't know how to read but I got a lot of toys," now more relevant than ever. If you've found your way to our obscure blog, you've probably spent enough time online to read about the declining US literacy rate, and we don't have to point out the coinciding rise in internet use and digital gaming to make the point. It's plainly observable, and was sufficiently predictable that singer Greg Graffin was able to paint this picture well before the 21st century arrived. After so much time, the possible interpretations to Bad Religion's lyrics have only proliferated, and the power of their live performance really drove home a lot of later-life reflections. Unrelatedly, Jay Bentley has mastered the effect of moving like he's riding a small, invisible bull, which probably accounts for the cowboy hat. Mike Dimkich also dressed the part, presumably because it's his bull, and he just lets Jay ride it. In the encore, they also surprised us with their spot-on finale, Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back in Town, which caught us off guard and hit us right in the funny bone so hard that we lost it. Our composure didn't find us again until somewhere in the merch line.