Social Distortion

What? Did you say something? I can't hear very well right now.

My son really wanted to be up front last night, which can be dangerous for a show with three punk bands. There were a few tense moments, in my opinion, as I spent time making sure that my son and wife didn't get killed by an energetic (and mostly drunk) crowd.

At one point, some young punk (literally) tried to force his way in front of my wife during a Social D song. I didn't want to let him past, as my wife was already being trampled by the drunk guy dancing beside her. For a second or two, the guy and I stared each other down as I tried to stop him from stepping in front of my wife. I was smiling inside, knowing that he was drunk and I'm a lot stronger than he could have possibly realized. I'm not a fighter in any way, but it occurred to me that I could drop the dude with one shot. And then, I realized that was stupid, I smiled and let him pass. He gave me some more attitude later, but I let him "win". I'm sure he's feeling really good this morning after all he had to drink last night.

Later in the show, a guy suddenly showed up beside my wife and started hitting on her. My wife lifts and runs and looks great for someone almost as old as I am (note that I'm not calling her old; I'm calling myself old), and she was wearing a short, low-cut dress. I found it kind of funny, but she was annoyed, pointed to me, and the guy (clearly intoxicated) left to find someone else to harass.

Social D was great, probably better than when I last saw them. I don't know the entire history of Mike Ness's heroin use, but I believe he was still using the stuff when I last saw him. Last night, he looked healthier than 11 years ago and clearly more in control of the stage and the band. They played all of their classics and ended with a great version of Story of My Life. Earlier, they had played great versions of Ball and Chain and Ring of Fire and Sick Boy, some of my favorite older tunes. They played a number of songs that will be on their next album as well. The only song I could think of that they didn't play that I really wanted to hear was Knockout and my son said he would have liked to hear So Far Away.

All in all, I was impressed, but I am too old to stand in the front two or three rows at a punk show. I'd love to see any of the three bands again, but I think I'll stand in the back next time.

The two opening bands were better than expected. The first band was called the Strangers and they hail from Orange County, where Mike Ness grew up. They had moments where they sounded like the Clash (especially on guitar), Green Day, and the Ramones. The second opening band was an all-female band called Civet. At first, I wasn't crazy about them, but I warmed up to them as they kept playing. They could certainly play, and my wife and son thought their drummer was better that Social D's drummer. I will certainly be looking for some music by them, and I bought a Strangers CD last night.

Civet is from LA and they stayed around selling merchandise and autographing items after the show. My son wanted a T-shirt, but they only had size small. He still bought one, had it signed by the band, and he plans to hang it on his bedroom wall. I think he was a bit taken by the appearance of the four ladies in the band. My wife said she's going to have to think about her aversion to female punk music, such as early stuff from Hole, which she has always dismissed.

Before the show, I did a 5 mile run along Lake Champlain. To be honest, it was one of the least fun runs I've done in a long time. My hamstring was unhappy, I felt beat up and low on energy, and it was just no fun at all. In two days, I'll see the sports doc and hopefully we'll find a way to turn a corner on this injury.

Tonight, I'll do some upper body lifting.

For the moment, I have no tickets to any concerts, so it might be time to focus more on work and training. But, I've had a good summer of loud music so far.