Social Distortion 30th Anniversary
City: Saskatoon, SK
Date: Tuesday July 28, 2009
Door Time: 7:00 PM
Venue: The Odeon Events Centre
Well to say that I was excited for this show was a ridiculous understatement. I had been counting down sleeps for about forty five days. So yeah I was stoked to say the least. I am always a bit worried when I go see shows and I am that pumped. It could be a huge let down. Social D just doesn't seem like a let down kind of band. I have never been to a Social D show until this point, having missed all the passed ones. I even missed one with one of my favorite bands opening last time, Vancouver's monochrome punks The Black Halos... I cried a bit about missing that one, so missing this one was not an option.
The weeks leading up to the show were to say the least impatient ones. However, they finally passed and this week had arrived. It seemed a lot of Jessie, JJ and I's conversations were largely based on the upcoming show. Before we all knew it, it was show day... I had been Jaimo-ing all day. I could puke I was so excited. It didn't help that our friend Zandra was lucky enough to be singer Mike Ness' personal assistant. How cool is that? Basically she got paid to go on a date with Mike Ness. I got to tell you I was a little jealous... well, maybe a lot.
So the five of us Jessie, her friend Lindsay, JJ, Shane and myself get to Saskatoon and enjoy a few beverages in anticipation before the show. I am having a good time but can hardly keep from pacing as time is going so slow.
Alas it's finally time to go. We all walk over to the Odeon. The first band The STRANGERS, NOT the Stranglers as I was previously uninformed are about to start. They were a wicked wicked band!! They sound as though they are the offspring as a result of Chuck Berry fucking Rancid. I think it's safe to say that they are punk rock heavily influenced by the 50's, and hey there is no harm in that. They are a perfect band to open the night. I would go see these guys on there own anytime. My only question is how the hell are they not way bigger than they are? They are supporting the supporting band. Crazy! I bought their four song ep for five dollars, good deal!
I had done a little research on the second band Civet prior to the show. So I wasn't entirely in the dark on this one. Civet is an all girl four piece also based out of California. All four girls were gorgeous, but were really good players to boot. So to see them visually is excellent in itself, but their music was quite the treat as well. They label themselves as "Femme Fatale Punk Rock" and have stage names of Ms. Liza Graves, Suzi Homewrecker, Jacqui Valentine and Roxi Darling you can already start to picture it I am sure. Think Brody Dalle of the Distillers meets the Donna's, but more aggressive. The singer sounds like her vocal exercises include drinking gasoline and gargling razor blades. Let's just say there were no ballads
The band I came to see (Social Distortion) hasn't even begun to play yet and it has already been an amazing time.
After a quick band change, the banner is up and the crowd is raring to go. I am front row center and could pee I am so excited. I hate when the wait it excruciating. That being said it would not be the case this time. It wasn't long before Mike Ness, Brent Harding, Jonny "2Bags" Wickersham and Atom Willard hit the stage. Hit the stage is exactly what they did and they hit with full force. They start with a classic "The Creeps" and I can't help but wonder if they are going to be able to keep momentum going? They aren't exactly spring chickens anymore but they must be in good shape because keeping it going is exactly what they do. There was no waiting for songs because every song you heard was the one you were waiting for, at least for me anyway. There were ball busting new ones like "Nickels & Dimes", "Reach For The Sky" and "Highway 101" and then there was the insanity of the back catalogue with songs such as "Sick Boy", "Mommy's Little Monster" and "Ball & Chain". It was the perfect meld of the bands thirty years of material. We got to here an excellent new one "Still Alive" which is to be on the bands new records expected out later this year. I am thinking it is going to be a loud one. I got to hear my favorite Social D song "Don't Drag Me Down" while I was six feet away from Mike Ness. Life is good! Lastly the band leaves with a perfect rendition of "Story Of My Life" in which the crowd sings a long in unison.
This is a legendary band that still has plenty of get up and go.
Face-melting!!
The setlist was:
The Creeps
Another State of Mind
Mommy’s Little Monster
Sick Boy
Don’t Drag Me Down
Ring of Fire
Bad Luck
Highway 101
Reach For the Sky
Can’t Take it With You
Ball & Chain
Bakersfield
Nickles & Dimes
Sometimes I Do
Alone & Forsaken
Prison Bound
Still Alive
Maybelline
Story of My Life
Picture Courtesy of: Jessie Oberik
Rating: Rocky (Original)
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