Show Review: 485

Man, I’ve literally been to hundreds of shows and I’ve seen Social D tons of times, but I still wouldn’t miss them for the world. And last night was beyond everything I could have ever hoped for. The highlight of the night was easily the chance to meet the boys after the show. Johnny cracked me up and Mike was a super chill dude, much nicer than I’d even expected. I already considered myself their biggest fan (I’m sure there are a bunch of us vying for that title), but that experience just cemented it in my mind. Back to the show, straight up it was fucking amazing. My highlight was an unexpected cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ in the encore. I’ve never heard them play it. I’ve never even heard of them playing it. They joked that they had literally only practised it a couple of times, so if we were one of the first audiences to hear it, than we truly were a lucky bunch cause they killed it! And I was surprised that the typically diverse crowd was able to belt out virtually every word. What a moment! I hope they keep this as part of their repertoire as it’s an absolute match made in heaven. Hearing ‘Still Alive’ live was another highlight. This new song is as strong as anything they have ever recorded. And I was pleased to hear Mike Ness say they’ll be heading back into the studio in December as I can’t ever recall being so excited to get my hands on a new song (let alone a whole batch of new Social D songs!). The Hank Williams ‘Alone And Foresaken’ tribute was also much appreciated by this fella. The rest of the show was a great cross section of their entire catalogue. From Sick Boys to Bad Luck to Highway 101, they sounded as good as ever. Atom is definitely a worthy successor on the skins, in fact I appreciated the shit out of the energy he brought (with all due respect to Charlie Quintana). All in all, the show absolutely rocked and meeting the boys afterwards easily made this the best experience I’ve ever had at a Social Distortion gig. 30 years strong and it seems like they’re just hitting their stride. What an unbelievable band. Thanks for one helluva night!