Circle Jerks, TSOL & Negative Approach @ Underground

Twice I've seen the Circle Jerks, but only as a support act for Pennywise, so I wanted to see what one of their own shows would be like.

I walked in as Negative Approach were blasting through Sham 69's Borstal Breakout.  A great song I've only ever heard Bored! cover.  I wish I'd gotten here sooner to catch the whole set.  Also didn't know John Bannon was their singer.  I'd seen him twice with Easy Action, but he seemed more at home with his original band.  Tied Down and Lead song were also blistering songs.

I wanted to see TSOL - I feel like I've missed them at other shows before, and their status as early punk pioneers means you'd think I'd have seen them at some point.  I didn't know any songs, but the crowd around me did.  I was expecting something faster, but these songs sounded like great rock songs instead of the blistering punk I was expecting.

In contradiction, Circle Jerks were super fast.  Songs flying by at pace the audience remembers - and loves.  From the first notes of When The Shit Hits The Fan until the last song ninety minutes and 31 songs later, Keith Morris lead the band in a frenetic set.  Wild In The Streets early on was awesome.  And it sounds cheesy, but the 25-second Deny Everything made every cent of the concert ticket worth it.  Between songs Morris explained the history of So-Cal Punk and why bands set up their sets in blocks of songs (tuning, drinks, vaping etc).  The Circle Jerks, were appreciative of the turn out and performed accordingly.  Moral Majority and Coup D'état were great. and as a bonus for me, they played World Up My Ass (I didn't know that was one of their songs).  Circle Jerks version of Wasted was a hit al round (is it a cover if Morris co-wrote it?).  And Red Tape finished off the main set.  I don't think it was 3 minutes before they were back for a frenetic encore.  The Soft Boys I Wanna Destroy You, quickly followed by What's Your Problem and Question Authority finished off a great performance all round.  Glad I dragged myself out on a Monday night.

Circle Jerks Setlist

The Crap Facts:

This is my 494th concert.
This is my 9th concert at The Underground.

This is my 101st concert in Charlotte.
This is my 121st concert in North Carolina.
This is my 295th concert in the USA.
Negative Approach are the 571st band I've seen.

TSOL are the 572nd band I've seen.

This is my 3rd Circle Jerks concert.