Bad Religion

Live in New York City (2015)

Jason_Epstein

Bad Religion’s Battle of the Centuries tour is an excellent idea in theory, and even better in execution. On it, the band had the most onstage energy since celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2010. And they’re not just looking back either; Bad Religion is planning on making new music within “the next 12 months” according to Dr. Graffin.

But for this particular evening their set list was comprised of just the last five albums. My punk cred has probably been destroyed by specifically choosing to see this one over the previous evening’s excellent-from-what-I-hear Suffer and No Control tribute, but I’m going to go ahead and not give a shit -- The Process of Belief is one of the best punk rock records of all-time. And trust me; it’s alright to go to a BR show without hearing them play “American Jesus” and “Infected” (as great as those songs are).

A set that only covered a third of their discography coupled with the band’s ability to play 30 awesome songs and still leave out tons of great ones is a testament to how strong the band has been since being reinvigorated with Brett’s presence in 2001. That said, my only complaint would be that out of the 30 songs they played, I’d heard all 30 played live before. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen BR more than ten times, but if you have a show with a specialty set list wouldn’t it be even cooler to bust out some never-played-live-before deep(er) cuts? Ok, enough with the nitpickery…

The sound quality at the Bowery Ballroom was incredible. Maybe it was the size of the intimate room (575 capacity!) or my positioning on the balcony at stage-left, but the vocals and backups were clear, the thunder of Brooks’ toms were crisp instead of muddy and the guitar tones were all perfectly balanced.

To go over Bad Religion’s legacy and legend would be beyond trite at this point. Let’s just say that the legacy and legend is far from over.

Some additional notes:
-The new guitarist, Mike Dimkich (previously of The Cult), does a fine job, but Greg Hetson’s energy is missed.
-Greg Graffin’s jokes will be referred from here on out as "intellectual dad humor."
-Apparently Bad Religion thinks CBGB was kind of a shithole according to some sarcastic-but-not-sarcastic stage banter. Agree? Discuss.

Check out the set list:
Kyoto Now!
Supersonic
Prove It
Can’t Stop It
Fuck You
Dharma and the Bomb
Dearly Beloved
52 Seconds
Heroes & Martyrs
Broken
Social Suicide
True North
Let Them Eat War
Los Angeles is Burning
Before You Die
The Defense
Only Rain
Beyond Electric Dreams
Submissions Complete
New Dark Ages
Epiphany
Robin Hood in Reverse
Vanity
Department of False Hope
Overture/Sinister Rouge
Wrong Way Kids
Sorrow

Encore:
Past is Dead
Fields of Mars