Shepherd's Bush Empire: 15 July 2022
Another concert from the - delayed by 2 years category - and once again, totally worth the wait!
Also, we got not one, but two, support bands, but more of them in a minute. I just want to get one slight negative out of the way first: the sound quality was not of the highest quality tonight. Now, it could be me getting old, the ear plugs we now wear to save our hearing or that maybe we were sat in just the wrong spot (level 2, left of centre) - but there was a fairly constant fuzz-buzz all the way through, especially when anyone was singing.
That aside, it was a great night.
First up was Birmingham's Lovebreakers. They didn't really look the part, too many white trainers and and colourful shirts for a proper rock show. But the music was not too bad at all. I caught some hints of the Clash and the Cars (if they were turned up to 11) in there, and they were not a bad way to get things going. The aforementioned sound possibly didn't do them full justice, but there was enough there, that I may well check them out some more later.
Next up was the more experienced Grade 2, hailing from the Isle of Wight. This was more hardcore punk, a trio that must have burned a fair few calories in their half hour set. Lots (and lots) of noise and all delivered at extreme velocity, it all seemed just a bit one-dimensional for me. The one song that they said was slowing things down a bit, was still rattled through a hundred miles an hour, but was all the better for the slightly more sedate pace. And, I have to say, we really enjoyed the drummer - watching him made me sweat, as he really pounded out some cranking great riffs.
Finally, we get to Social Distortion. This is a band that I came late to and only discovered thanks to my wife, so I will disclaim things now, because while I really like what I know, I am not overly knowledgeable on the whole catalogue.
They open with the instrumental Road Zombie and Mike Ness comes swaggering onto stage, bandana around his face and Bugsy Siegel t-shirt on. Now, lets talk about that - he has the kind of levels of swagger and attitude that Liam Gallagher could only dream of! What's more, we have a rock band that has the proper amount of black attire in place. Second guitarist, Jonny "Two Bags" Wickersham adopts all the right poses, whilst bass player, Brent Harding, adopts just the right amount of menace that a bass player should (see JJ Burnel for the epitome of this). Meanwhile, David Hidalgo Jr. doesn't so much pound the drums (as you might expect), as caress them. He makes drumming for a big time rock band look so effortless.
Road Zombie runs into Bad Luck, and we're off! [I should mention here that Ness has a bandana roadie - just to remove his face covering - that is rock]. We go through the gears - She's A Knockout and Sick Boys are classics that get everyone properly going. This is followed by another from covers you weren't expecting, when they do a more than passable version of Chris Isaak's Wicked Game.
The main set comes to a close with 99 To Life and Dear Lover and the crowd is fully fired up. I am watching down at the same four or five people crowd surfing, to the obvious annoyance of the security, who have to haul them over the barrier for them to run back around and do it all again. There are also bottles and plastic cups flying around - this is something I haven't seen at a gig for quite a while - there is one roadie on full time towel duty by this stage, to make sure no one slips on the growing volume of water hitting the stage.
There is baying for more - and we get it - no one is leaving disappointed. Don't Drag Me Down, then Born To Kill - and to ensure no rioting we go into Story Of My Life, there best known track and a true classic. And of course, what Social Distortion concert could be complete without Ring Of Fire (check out a snippet below). One of the truly great cover versions - they turn a classic country tune into a classic hard rock epic. The sound fills the Empire and I am hoarse singing along....
Truly worth the wait.