“We’ve got a place to go when we die and the architect resides right here,” Bad Religion singer Greg Graffin once sang at the height of the punk band’s mid-’90s popularity. Fifteen years later, one could be tempted to ask a similar question: Where do old punks go when they die, or at least hit middle age? On this night at Allentown, Pennsylvania’s quasi-tiki-themed bar Crocodile Rock Café, one would be equally tempted to answer: at a small club with a shitty sound system, 60-some odd miles outside of the big city. But, as all good children know, Graffin and company are not your typical punks, and Bad Religion is no typical punk band.
After an engaging and energetic set by Los Angelenos The Briggs, Bad Religion stormed the stage and opened with a bang, frantically running through their early ’80s classic, “Fuck Armageddon…This Is Hell,” followed by the more recent but no less furious “Supersonic,” from 2002’s The Process of Belief. Over the course of 90 minutes, the band showcased tracks from its newest album New Maps of Hell, such as prime cuts “Requiem for Dissent” and “New Dark Ages.” Yet they did not ignore their vast back catalogue, featuring songs from the early angst of “No Control,” “I Want to Conquer the World,” and the seminal “Suffer,” through more modern classics like “The Defense” and “Sorrow.”
Graffin seemed disappointed with the sound throughout, adjusting monitors with kicks during songs and at one point accusing the venue of purchasing its sound system at Radio Shack. The 1,150-strong crowd didn’t seem to mind however, since these audio gaffes were overshadowed by the band’s flawless performance. And despite the band’s gripes, they were not averse to having a little fun. When an audience member held up his nine-year-old daughter - identified as Bad Religion’s youngest fan - guitarist and sometime Circle Jerk Greg Hetson raised his hand as the band’s oldest. And in a bizarre display of house party aesthetics prior to the conclusion of the set proper, the band riffed on Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and sang a bizarrely faithful cover of Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock,” complete with cartoonish chants of “ya-ya-ya’s.”
Yet the most impressive thing was that despite their age, Bad Religion hasn’t lost their spark. While founding guitarist Brett Gurewitz has seemingly retired from touring to run Epitaph Records, fill-in Hetson still leaps across the stage like a man half his age, while Jay Bentley pounds his bass and sings with remarkable force. Guitarist Brian Baker continues to be the quiet model of precision, and drummer Brooks Wackerman more than ably anchors the ship. Graffin, while noticeably balding, continues to spit his hyper-literate commentaries with as much piss and vinegar as ever.
While most punk rockers of their day have hung up the safety-pin festooned leather jackets for good or graduated to becoming talk show hosts (eh-hem, Henry Rollins), Bad Religion are one of the only groups of over-the-hill punks still cranking it out down the beaten path, and let’s hope they continue. There’s no death in these old bones yet.
--Frank Valish
