Remembering a friend: Bad Religion and OFF! provide the soundtrack

OFF!'s Keith Morris and Steven McDonald. (All Cat Rose photos)

By Andy

My buddy Phil loved Bad Religion. He would have been floored by OFF!

During Tuesday's power-packed double bill with these two bands in Seattle, I thought of Phil often and wondered how he would have reacted to seeing this gig. He probably would have been bobbing his head in his goofy way, flashing an ear-to-ear grin and letting his skinny body do its thing to the part ferocious, part melodic beat. He surely would have let some "oozin' aahs" fly during Bad Religion's set.

Unfortunately, Phil wasn't with us on Tuesday. He took his own life about 13 years ago and I so wished he was present. He was definitely with us in spirit.

The last time I saw Bad Religion was with Phil in 1989 at Gilman Street in Berkeley, not long after the band released the stunning "Suffer." Phil dug that record and it revived my interest in the band, which I had last seen in the early '80s when I was a fixture on the Los Angeles punk scene.

I remember how stoked Phil was when we were driving to Gilman that night. His enthusiasm was contagious and I was soon consumed with seeing the band again after their hiatus. The "Suffer" songs sounded killer alongside the "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?" tracks that evening. We were elated during the set and still buzzing on the drive home to San Jose.

Both Bad Religion and OFF! delivered big time on Tuesday at the sold-out Showbox SODO venue. Cat had never seen BR before and she was rocking along, especially during the mini "Suffer" portion of the set. She loves that album, just like Phil did, and I enjoyed watching Cat fly the "Suffer" flag for our old friend.

So, here we've got some OFF! photos via Cat… unfortunately, she wasn't allowed to shoot Bad Religion (see Mike Ford's BR photos at the end). We'd like to thank OFF!'s Keith Morris for getting us access to his band and into the gig.

I'm sure Phil would have dug the way Morris and his bandmates tore the shit out of the Showbox, followed by Bad Religion's lengthy and uplifting set, which featured one of my old faves, "Fuck Armageddon... This is Hell."

Cheers, Phil.

Top, Dimitri Coats; bottom, Mario Rubalcaba.

Tell 'em what's up, Keith...

Bad Religion photos thanks to Mike Ford:

Lower Class Brats: 20 years strong and shredding

Bones and Conflict.

For the second time in the last three years, the Lower Class Brats topped the punk list in the Austin Music Awards' best performing bands category.

Congrats to Bones, Conflict, Volume and Punt (our cousin Eric) and keep rippin' it up.

Here's Bones' speech from last week's awards ceremony:

"2015. This year marks the 20 year anniversary of the Lower Class Brats. And in celebration of that, I can't think of a cooler thing than receiving this award right now. When the band started in 1995, we were playing local shows at local clubs like the Blue Flamingo, Liberty Lunch, the Voodoo Lounge, Bates Motel and Emo's. All of which are long gone. And very sorely missed.

But as Austin changed (for the better or for the worse), we have refused to change with it. Yes, we play all the newer clubs now. But we'll never change the type of music we play in honor of all the great bands that came before us and to hopefully influence a handful of bands that will continue to fly the punk rock flag long after we are gone."

Thanks to Allan Hayslip for providing the photos from LCB's recent gig in Dallas.

Volume.

Conflict and Punt.

Bones.

Punt.

Corrosion of Conformity: The Boys Are Back in Town/ Live Review, Eindhoven, Netherlands

Corrosion of Conformity in action. (Vincent de Klerk photos)

By Vincent de Klerk


Corrosion Of Conformity

Effenaar, Large Hall, Eindhoven - The Netherlands

15th March 2015


The Melkweg, Amsterdam 2001 was the last time COC had visited The Netherlands for a show to support their then latest release “America’s Volume Dealer.” It was the last time Woody, Mike, Reed and Pepper hit Europe. ......but that changed at the end of 2014. In an interview, Reed told that the guys were planning an UK/ European tour in March 2015 with the “Deliverance” line-up.

Six UK shows in Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham, Bristol, Colchester and a sold-out London were played before it was time to hit European mainland, starting with the Effenaar in Eindhoven - The Netherlands. Eindhoven, city of Philips and soccer club PSV, also has a strong and lively rock scene. The Effenaar itself has a long connection with the famous Dynamo Open Air festival. A lot of the festival bands also played at one of the pre- or after-parties hosted in the Effenaar. In 2005, the Effenaar moved to a new building with two halls; a small one with a 350 capacity and a large one with 1,200 capacity.        

Two local bands: An Evening With Knives and Komatsu played their sets to warm up the almost sold-out large hall.

Then, the very fitting last song of the in-between time -- “The Boys Are Back in Town”-- turned into the instrumental "These Shrouded Temples" from the "Blind album," bringing the long-awaited, reunited 1994 line-up of Corrosion of Conformity on stage. From there on, it was a jukebox full of hits....."Senor Limpio," "King Of The Rotten," "Heaven’s Not Overflowing," "Wiseblood," "Seven Days." The band was back, alive and enjoying it; the crowd was ready and willing to get it all -- and we got it full force. After the powerstart, one guy in the crowd screamed for "Jim Beam And The Coon Ass," but Pepper sadly had to say sorry for not including it on the setlist.

Woody, Reed and Mike. (First two photos by Vincent de Klerk; last one by Armanda Wichhart.)

After apologizing for the many years of waiting for this show to happen, everyone was invited for a beer in some bar after the show and the band hammered through "Paranoid Opioid," "13 Angels" and "Albatross." This was the point that turned it all into a great night to remember. The crowd screamed the lyrics and almost toppled the PA. Woody’s solos were sharp as a razorblade, the sound from the Orange amps was raw and mean. Reed was in prime condition, laying down the well-known solid base, while Mike was showing those who are in doubt that he is still one of the greatest bass players. His technical and musical play-abilities on "My Grain" are the heavy fundament most songs are built on. "Stonebreaker" and "Goodbye Windows" ended the set.

The grand finale started with "Vote With A Bullet," followed by "Who’s Got The Fire." "Clean My Wounds" completed the show after the song’s middle part turned into a slow-tempo guitar jam before the final chorus was done.

Awesome show! Although the wait was long, it was well worth it. Maybe it’s all the beginning of new things, a new album and a much-wanted US tour.

Vincent de Klerk photos

Mudhoney will be hittin' the road soon

Mudhoney's Mark Arm in action. (Cat Rose photo)

You got it... here's a shitload of Mudhoney gigs on the horizon.

They've still got it--- so check 'em out.


4/2/15 The Moore Theater. Seattle, WA
Supporting: The Sonics


5/1/15 Roots & Roses Festival. Lessines, Belgium


5/2/15 Le 106. Rouen, France


5/3/15 Effenaar. Eindhoven, The Netherlands


5/4/15 Uebel. Hamburg, Germany


5/5/15 Loppen. Copenhagen, Denmark


5/6/15 Sticky Fingers. Gothenburg, Sweden


5/7/15 Vulkan Arena. Oslo, Norway


5/8/10 Nalen. Stockholm, Sweden


5/9/15 Radar. Aarhus, Denmark


5/10/15 Posten. Odense, Denmark


5/12/15 Berghain. Berlin, Germany


5/13/15 Lucerna Music Bar. Prague, Czech Republic


5/14/15 Arena. Vienna, Austria


5/15/15 New Age Club. Roncade, Italy


5/16/15 Bronson. Ravenna, Italy


5/17/15 Bloom. Mezzago, Italy


5/19/15 Kammgarn. Schaffhausen, Switzerland


5/20/15 L'usine. Geneva, Switzerland


5/21/15 Chollerhalle. Zug, Switzerland


5/22/15 L'Epicerie. Feyzin, France


5/23/15 Aeronef. Lille, France


5/24/15 "Ruhrpott Rodeo Festival". Bottrop, Germany


5/26/15 Concorde 2. Brighton, England


5/27/15 Institute. Birmingham, England


5/28/15 ABC. Glasgow, Scotland


5/29/15 Ritz. Manchester, England


5/30/15 Forum. London, England


5/31/15 O2 Academy. Bristol, England


6/2/15 Salon iKSV. Istanbul, Turkey


6/4/15 Dom omladine Beograd. Belgrade, Serbia


6/5/15 "Plissken Festival". Athens, Greece


7/2/15 "All Tomorrow's Parties Iceland". Ásbrú. Keflavík, Iceland


7/6/15 The Bowery Ballroom. New York City, NY


7/7/15 Black Cat. Washington, D.C.


7/8/15 Mr. Small's Theatre. Pittsburgh, PA


7/9/15 Union Transfer. Philadelphia, PA


7/10/15 Asylum. Portland, ME


7/11/15 Brighton Music Hall. Allston, MA


7/12/15 The Bell House. New York City, NY