Shepherd’s Bush Empire
9th July 2009
It’s standard practice at gigs for bands to end their set with their best songs. That’s what stops people from going home early. How many times have you sat through an entire set, bored, but wanting to hear that one song that you really like which is, of course, played right at the end of the set – or worse still, as an encore.
This is not a problem that raises its head tonight. For a start, Social Distortion’s back catalogue is pretty consistent throughout their long history so there’s not too much danger of the set sagging and secondly you know you are at cool show when UK Subs legend Charlie Harper is in the front row! However, it’s doubtful anyone in this packed out hot and sweaty venue expected the band to hit the stage running and slam into a three song barrage of their early eighties punk rock classics ‘The Creeps’, ‘Another State Of Mind‘ and ‘Mummy’s Little Monster‘. It’s a start that instantly gets the whole venue moving and an explosive beginning to the set.
Thankfully, frontman Mike Ness and the band manage to successfully keep the pace and energy levels up for the whole duration of the gig. Not bad at all for a band in their advanced years. But these guys have lived the hard life and have a story to tell and this harsh fact bleeds out of every road worn track played tonight – from ‘Prison Bound‘ to ‘Ball N Chain‘, Social Distortion prove their worth as one of the original and legendary American rock n’roll bands who still have the passion and adrenalin in droves.
A new album is due later this year. By tonight’s standards it’s going to be a belter. Watch this space.
James Sherry
Photo by Jerome Loughran