Social Distortion

Michael Venn, contributor

The Soundwaves crew drove to Boston the other night to see a pair of punk-rock icons play alongside one of the best bands of the next generation, a trio from Down Under.
 

The show opened with the Sunshine Coast, Queensland’s own The Chats, a band we’ve now seen twice this year, most recently opening for The Hives.
 

This self-described “shed rock” power trio is an absolute blast to see live. They’re pure garage punk: high-energy, uptempo and full of catchy songs that get the pit moving early. Once they start, they barely stop between songs. It’s just go, go, go… foot to the floor for 45 minutes. The Chats are on the gas, and they never let up.
 

If you see them playing in your area, go. You’ll be glad you did. More than anything, they’ll remind you why people start punk bands with their high-school mates in garages and sheds all over the world. Up next was the band I was probably most excited to see: Descendents, the iconic group formed in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1977.
 

Descendents helped pioneer the pop-punk sound and became a major influence on bands like Blink-182, The Offspring, Green Day and NOFX. They blended punk, surf, hardcore and teenage angst into a sound that was entirely their own. Now in their 60s, they still bring an incredible amount of energy and stage presence to every performance. They played some of my favorites, including “Everything Sux,” “Suburban Home,” “I Don’t Want to Grow Up,” “When I Get Old,” “Bikeage” and my personal favorite, “I’m the One.”
 

Seeing Milo at 63 with that much energy onstage answers all the questions raised in the lyrics of “When I Get Old.” It proves that age really is just a number. So, with that in mind: hold on to your youth, kiss your girlfriend and try to grab her ass. Stay immature and don’t ever act your age. Well, for me at least, that all still resonates.

What can I say about Social Distortion that hasn’t already been said? Yes, Mike Ness has lived quite a life since forming the band at 16 in Fullerton, California, in the late ’70s. Yes, he’s been arrested. Yes, he’s been to jail. Yes, he overcame addiction. Yes, he recently beat cancer. Yes, women still swoon over him. And yes, he still fronts one of punk rock’s great live bands, and one that leaves everything onstage night after night, just as it has for decades.
 

One surprise was hearing Ness reveal that he was from Massachusetts. He was born in Stoneham, and according to the story he told from the stage, his parents met in the area after his mother came down from Nova Scotia.

Regardless of where Mike Ness’s roots began, Social Distortion opened its set with the title track from the new album, Born to Kill, which I reviewed earlier this year. The band also played plenty of timeless classics, including “Ball and Chain,” “Mommy’s Little Monster,” its cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and, of course, “Story of My Life.” That final song brought the house down at the end of the night, probably because it’s the song most people identify with Social Distortion, and perhaps the one that resonates most with their own lives.

What I particularly enjoyed was that, along with all the classics, the band played a lot of songs from Born to Kill. That’s something I wish more established bands would do.
 

Sure, it’s great to hear the songs everyone came to hear, but Ness has publicly said that he wants to make as many records as he can over the next 10 years. That says a lot about where he is right now as a songwriter and storyteller. He clearly still has plenty more to say with a few chords and the truth. Nearly half the set consisted of new music, which shows how seriously the band believes in this album. Honestly, the new songs sounded great alongside the classics.
 

It was a dream to see Mike Ness and Social Distortion put on a killer show. After everything Ness has been through, including his battle with tonsil cancer, it was great to see him back where he belongs… onstage, Goldtop Les Paul in hand, fronting one of America’s true iconic punk rock bands.