Bad Brains @ House Of Blues

It can be hard to see a band who, 30 years ago, were at the peak of a scene also at its peak, but Bad Brains is one of those bands who you need to see in case they are still awesome.

Stories abound of the wild Bad Brains shows in the early 80's when hardcore punk was at its newest, and best, had me intrigued to see whether they still live up to the reputation. Unfortunately, that live energy does not exude itself any longer. While Dr Know and Daryl still have amazing musicianship, HR reminds me of the Captain from the Simpsons. He is a man who has found peace in life, but this does not translate to the majority of the music being made (definitely good for the reggae songs).

Even with these contradictions, the crowd found the energy to charge up a huge pit on the main floor of the House Of Blues. Again, I know I'm getting old - I keep away from that stuff - but a pit seems a lot more violent from when I used to have a blast. The last contradiction of the show was the fact that I heard about 20 songs for the night, but they were only on stage for just under an hour.

I am not a huge Bad Brains fan (a couple of albums are on my Ipod) but I'm glad I went to see them. But can't help think I was 30 years to late to see a great Bad Brains show.

The Crap Facts

This is my 314th concert.
This is my 36th concert at House Of Blues.
This is my 110th concert in Las Vegas.

This is my 110th concert in Nevada.

This is my 122nd concert in the USA.
Bad Brains are the 382nd band I've seen.
Bad Brains are the 50th time I've seen a band at House Of Blues.

Rise Against & Bad Religion @ The New Joint

Apparently 38 years old means - Too old for Rise Against. Too young for Bad Religion.

I've tried to like these bands. My 3rd Bad Religion show and 2nd Rise Against, but I just cannot get into either of them.

I'm sure I am seeing Bad Religion in too bigger venues. Maybe in a small place they'd have a better impact, but nothing they did tonight made an impression. I didn't even get to hear one of my 2 faves - 21st Century Digital Boy, though I did get American Jesus.

Now while I don't like Rise Against, I certainly was in the minority at the Joint on this night. The crowd was ablaze and knew every word to every song (but they were also MUCH younger than me). There were some good moments (State Of The Union), but all the cross stage skipping got a bit samey for me.

While I probably won't go back to see either band, I will give props to Rise Against for the respect they give other bands. These guys are huge Bad Religion fans, as well as Rancid fans - who opened for them last time - and were completely humbled that both bands would open for them. Good on them for having a great support act that some people may want to see as much as, if not more than, them.

 

The Crap Facts:

This is my 313th concert.
This is my 10th concert at The New Joint.
This is my 109th concert in Las Vegas.

This is my 109th concert in Nevada.

This is my 121st concert in the USA.
This is my 3rd Bad Religion concert.
This is my 2nd Rise Against concert.