A month has past in 2015 and now I will go back and talk about the shows I witnessed in January of 2015. I saw the legendary Dead Kennedy's and The Misfits, along with Reel Big Fish and Zack Wylde's Black Label Society. Let's go back and and discuss.
Dead Kennedy's and The Misfits 01/10/15 Mid American Center
When I first heard that Council Bluffs Iowa was going to bring The Dead Kennedy's, The Vandalls, and The Misfits to town I laughed it off as completely impossible. Turns out, some how Council Bluffs Iowa landed one of the best punk rock tours in a long time. It was called 6 rounds of punk, Six legendary punk bands in one night. Total Chaos, Guttermouth, Strung Out, The Vandals, The Dead Kennedy's, and The Misfits. The truth is that most of these bands are far past their glory days, and all missing original members, but it was still cool enough for me to go.
Dead Kennedy's performing California Uber Alles live.
The First band of the night was Total Chaos, all leather and spiked hair. They gave a high energy show that served as the perfect warm up band. Next up was Guttermouth a tried and old school punk band. The set was loud, fun, a little sloppy, and all punk. This band missed a few things, but reminded us that real punk shows aren't polished. Strung Out came out next, and would happen to be my favorite band of the night. Strung Out had the tightest, most concise set of. The harmonies were spot on, all the guitar solos were played above their heads, and even the banter was well structured. After that came the Vandals, who have been around for almost as long as The Dead Kennedy's or the Misfits. The Vandals were the most punk rock of the night with the guitarist jumping on stage screaming, "We had a blast here, they offered us a lot of drugs." They played all fast songs, with hilarious lyrics. The guitarist was amazing, he jumped off the guitar amps on the the crowd. For an old guy he went all out.
The Misfits Helena live.
Finally Out came The Dead Kennedy's with all the original members Klaus Flouride, East Bay Ray, and D. H. Peligro, except Jello Biafra. Who was replaced Skip Greer. The band sounded great except, Skip Greer who sounded sloppy. He got mad at the crowd for not being punk enough. This show was very disappointing. Skip spent more time talking and complaining than singing. When they were actually playing music they sounded good, especially on Holiday in Cambodia, but they just seemed old and biter overall.
Last up was The Misfits, the band was originally singer Danzig, guitarist Doyle, and Bassist Jerry Only. Now the only original band member is Jerry Only who is now the lead singer. I had heard bad things about the new line up, but I was already here and open to trying it. He wasn't messing around firing song after song with only seconds in between to get as many in as possible before the venue kicked us out. Most of the songs were actually played at a faster speed and sounded extra punk. If he was a bad vocalist before, then he must be taking voice lessons. He sounds like he's doing a Danzig impression, but a decent one. He was fun, charismatic, and even broke up a fight telling fans to fight others not themselves. They even played a new song Vampire Girl, dedicating it to his daughter. The show ended with fans selecting the last songs, ending with Helena.
Reel Big Fish 01/18/15 Wooly's
It was finally time for the annual Reel Big Fish show. This time was different because, this time I got to meet one of my favorite bands of all time. After a short line Reel Big Fish was in front of me and all my witty things to say were gone. I was stuck without words. Arron picked up a sharpie and said he would sign it with a special sharpie. It didn't work and he threw it across the room. I killed the special sharpie. This show was a co-headlining tour with Less than Jake and somehow these two over the hill ska bands did the impossible, sold out Wooly's. Is ska cool again? It might actually be, there were more young people at the front of the show then I have seen since I saw Vampire Weekend. Authority Zero a veteran punk band opened the show. They played an eight song set of new and old school songs from a 20 year career to warm up the crowd.
After a few minutes of spending way too much on merchandise, much to my surprise Reel Big Fish came out instead of Less Than Jake. I threw my sweat shirt aside and ran into the pit. They opened the show with Trendy as they often do. I was surprised to see how many high school kids were there. Reel Big Fish have lost so many members that I now only know Trumpet Player Johnny Christmas and Singer Aaron Barret. Somehow that said they seem to have found a new groove. Even the setlist is different, more fresh than it has been years. They played songs I haven't heard in a very long time like My Life From Aaron's side project The Forces of Evil, Monkey Man, and 241. They also played SR for the first time since Scotty left the band. The new stuff fits in very well, and the new bits like mixing Sublime's Garden Grove with Thanks For Not Moshing or Beer with The Offspring's Self Esteem work just perfectly. They still to this day are one of the best live bands around. If you watch Reel Big Fish play, and hear Aaron's sarcastic banter, as he lovingly insults the crowd and his band. Along with the best ska has to offer, you will hear a kick ass show. If you don't believe me click the link above and hear SR and it's many versions live.
Reel Big Fish playing SR live.
Less Than Jake Plastic Cup Politics Live.
Next up was Less Than Jake as weird as that sounds. The crowd was a little timid at first not sure how to react, after what should have been the real headliner finished. They started off with Look What Happened and tried to get the crowd amped. After a while it worked, sort of. Some of the crowd left because they were no Reel Big Fish, but those who stuck around got a high energy show full of props, bits and jokes. Actually for me who's favorite album is the Anthem and favorite songs are Plastic Cup Politics and The Brightest Bulb Has Burnt Out/ Screws Fall Out, it was a great show. They played most of Anthem and ended their main set with my favorite songs. They used toilet paper guns, light shows, emo dancing parties, and the Pac Man cereal song. They ended their show by telling the fans that they were going to write the music for the Pac Man cereal commercial. That's right, Pac Man cereal is coming back and Less Than Jake wrote the commercial song. They played it four times throughout the night. It was a good show but Reel Big Fish should have played last. Black Label Society 01/22/15 Sokol Auditorium
Leave it to me to decide two hours before a show starts in Omaha without having tickets that I wanted to go. So at six I called a friend and asked if he wanted to go to see Zack Wilde play at eight, fulling expecting a no because of the time constraints, but he said yes. So we made our way to Omaha getting there just in time for Hatebreed. They seemed like an odd choice for Black Label Society, but they did their usual hardcore show and blasted through a quick and loud set with all their hits including "Destory Everything" and "This Is Now".
Black Label Society Stillborn Live.
After a much delayed start Zack Wylde and Co. came on with a vengeance. Calling Zack a showman is a major understatement. He plays solos above his head from every side of the stage. They may have only played 14 songs, but that didn't count the nearly 20 minute guitar solo that Zack played. No I am not exaggerating, the other band members actually left with cigarettes and beers during the solos. He introduced the band members in the best ways possible one was chicken pichata because of his awesome cooking abilities. He dedicated The Blessed Hellride to Dimebag Darrell, proving he doesn't just own on the guitar, but on the piano as well. They ended the show the only way they can after an hour a half of rocking, with their song Stillborn. There wasn't an encore but there didn't need to be.
