Irish old—school punk kings Stiff Little Fingers served as an opening act on select dates of the Summer Nationals tour this year, but their absence from the Philadelphia stop of the tour was made worthwhile with the announcement of their own headlining tour throughout the US and Europe. Underground Arts was the ideal venue for the veterans to perform— the dim, spacious basement club worked as a great intimate setting to hear Stiff Little Fingers' badass, passionate brand of punk rock'n'roll.

Brooklyn's the So So Glos were the only opening band of the night, but they did an awesome job warming up the crowd as they filtered into the venue. Their Thermals—esque style of noisy, mischievous punk may not have made the audience dance as much as the band called them to, but nonetheless the So So Glos supplied memorable beer—drinking music before Stiff Little Fingers' arrival to the stage.

The crowd on this Thursday night, September 18, was an appropriate mix of older and newer fans— it was enjoyable to notice the gray—haired men, serious—faced and head—bumping in their leather jackets that were probably older than some of the kids dancing in the pit some yards in front of them. But as for Stiff Little Fingers— despite their lengthy career as a band, they hadn't lost their youthful energy one bit— all four members performed as a unit, as they occupied the smallish stage with an almost militant presence. The band rattled out some of their biggest hits, like "Nobody's Hero," "Tin Soldiers," and "At the Edge" with a energized sound that rivaled their studio recordings almost forty years ago.

Stiff Little Fingers' role as the headlining band allowed them to play some tracks off their new album released this year, No Going Back— but of course they ended their loaded set with "Suspect Device," the song that kickstarted their debut album Inflammable Material back in 1979. The band played each and every song with powerful intensity, with leader Jake Burns as the capstone— he delivered vocals with a direct sincerity to the audience, reciprocated with never—ending dancing from the pit and clamorous shouts and cheers that filled the sweaty nightclub with uncut punk rock fervor.

The show was simply a real, good time— made effortless by a seminal band like Stiff Little Fingers. They truly were an exceptional band to see live— while they reinforced in their peers why punk rock is always important, they encouraged the young bloods to sustain their same determined, undying spirit— for life.