Show Review: 480

I was lucky enough to be at the Mouse House last night to check out the show to check out Social D. Social D took the stage at around 10:30pm and played for a little over an hour. When Social Distortion took the stage I immediately could tell that Mike Ness has dropped around 15-20 pounds. I think it has a lot to do with him being a vegetarian now. Either way, it was very noticeable. I was at the outside bar getting some beer when they started playing and I could not make out what song they were playing. It definitely was an older song though because only some of the old school heads were singing along. Up next they kept it old school and went straight into Another State of Mind and followed that up with Mommy’s Little Monster. After the first three songs you could definitely tell that the band was ready to play as they were playing with intensity! Next up they jumped into another fan favorite, Sick Boy from 1990’s self titled album. The crowd has been singing along with Mike since the show started. They then ripped through three consecutive songs from 2004’s Sex, Love and Rock n’ Roll album; Reach for the Sky, Highway 101 and Winners and Losers. Reach for the Sky and Highway 101 have become two of my favorite Social D songs and I honestly can’t remember hearing Winners and Losers performed live before, so that was very cool. Can’t Take it With You was up next and although I’ve heard this song before, I think it sounded best tonight! They then took it back to 1992’s Somewhere between Heaven and Hell album and dusted off Sometimes I Do. This was another one that I haven’t heard live before so I was pleasantly surprised. They could have easily played King of Fools or Bad Luck but Sometimes I Do was an awesome choice! Mike & the boys finished the main set with a Hank Williams cover and left the stage. At this point there were a few scattered Social D chants and some people even headed for the exits. After about a minute or two the band reemerged and once again took the stage. Mike next introduced his son who came out on stage and played Mike’s gold Les Paul guitar on Ball and Chain. I thought it was cool that his son came out and played with him and to tell you the truth he held his own on the guitar. On a funny note, his son is a few inches taller than him and after the song Mike commented that he used to be able to put his son over his knee and spank him but that yesterday he "made me tap out twice". After Ball and Chain they played a new song called I’m Still Alive. I really liked the sound of the song and sounds like over time it can join the pantheon of great Social D songs. I may not remember the lyrics exactly but the chorus went something like "I’m still alive, I will survive, I can handle what life brings, just give me time…I’m still alive, talking the same ol’ jive, I can handle anything that comes my way, just give me another day". The show came to end with a blistering rendition of Ring of Fire. Overall it was an awesome show for a good cause. Personally, I would have loved to have heard King of Fools and Far Behind but I guess I can’t be too picky considering it was a great show. Hats off to "2 Bags", Atom, and Brent for sounding amazing!