Jay Mazeffect's Review of Bad Religion @ Starland Ballroom 10/22/10



Confidence, Conviction, & Bad Religion.

October 22nd, I found myself at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ, waiting for Bad Religion to hit the stage on what currently is their 30th Anniversary Tour. Thirty years, you say? Yes. Thirty. That would put these gents square in their fifties. Now you’re probably expecting some sort of review the likes of “they suck ass ‘cause they’re old, and “punk rock” is for the young”, or maybe a pat on the back monologue about how “these elder statesmen still have it after all this time”… but you are not going to get that. Bad Religion, in their 30th year both taught me something important about music, a message, and life.

The music was a nice mix of the past and the present, and what I hope will be the future. You see, nestled in between the songs you expect and/or want to hear, like “Fuck Armageddon… This Is Hell”, “American Jesus”, “Generator”, “Suffer”, and “21st Century Digital Boy”, were new songs from “The Dissent Of Man”. Sure, you’re probably like “Oh great, some crap new ones. Make with the rest of the hits already!”. Well, that’s my point. The highlight of this show for me was “The Devil In Stitches”. A new song. Yes, you can read that again. The highlight of the show for me WAS A NEW SONG. “The Devil In Stitches” is not the standard high speed Bad Religion number, but a mid-paced song with a melodic punch that cut through the swath of rapid-fire tunes like having a swarm of Africanized Killer Bees attacking you only to be followed by a Sherman tank methodically, and quite tunefully, stomping a mud hole into your already stung ass. Too many bands suffer (no pun intended) from a lack of mixing up the tempo, therefore leaving you without anything other than the initial impact, easily bored and by proxy rendering the band easily forgettable. Bad Religion knew how to balance the set well, with a few fast ones, then hit you hard with what for them amounts to a more deliberate punch. “The Devil” being the tuneful apex amongst the already classic set list, I hope that as the future reveals itself, that this number will remain a part of their stage show for good.

The message is something I’ve always had a different view on then most “punks”. I don’t want to be beaten over the head with anyone’s political baton, or slapped with the glove of animal/vegetable/robot rights by someone in a Crass t-shirt that bought their falafel with Daddy’s gold card. If you’ve got a message, by all means, sing it. I’ll be happy to listen. Don’t sermonize about it in between songs. That’s what always turned me off about Anti-Flag, in the live format. I don’t remember Bob Dylan telling me to put down my sausage sandwich before he played “The Times They Are A-Changing”. So if Bob can leave it in the songs, so can you. That’s what Bad Religion did. They’ve always been political, educated and informed, and have always attempted to impart those thoughts and ideas into a diet of angry, fast, yet tuneful music, without having to dumb it down into silly, low brow, football hooligan chanting. They have enough faith in their audience to get the message, and take this information and synthesis it into their lives through music, and music alone. That’s not to say Greg or Jay were bereft of stage banter. When joking about the Jersey Shore, or what have you, they came across with humor and charm. Alienating none, informing all. That’s how you do it. Dylan knows it, and so does Bad Religion. Anti-Flag, take note.

That brings us to life. Bad Religion had no gimmick, or pose about them. Greg was wearing a black collared polo shirt. Brian looked like Dan Murphy from Soul Asylum’s older brother, clad in flannel. Hetson was in shorts. Jay looked like the cool dad I’m sure he is. Brooks did not have any needless flash, instead being the hypersonic rock upon which the band made it’s stand upon. Gone were the piss and vinegar of a band that has something to say born of anger and frustration, and in it’s place was something so much greater. A band filled with confidence, conviction, and a fire that heralds the fact that these musical truths are self-evident, and they need not posturing and sermonizing, nor fashion or gimmicks, to inform and entertain the masses. Lesson learned. Thanks, guys.

-Jay Mazeffect

























www.badreligion.com