Bad Religion

 Hands down, this goes into "the best fucking night" hall of fame. In our last Bad Religion review,  (click here to view) Scott, Aimee and myself had quite an adventure at the Glasshouse. When you end up hanging out with the band members of Bad Religion, you think to yourself, what could ever top this.... Friday night did. It is my honor and privilege to review this show for you. 

     When we left for San Bernardino, we piled into my Truck wondering if we were even getting in to the show. Our names were supposed to be on a guest list, but things like that never work out. Were we surprised when, low and behold, there was the original yellow pad of paper with our names listed on it. We were handed 3 tickets and on our way in. Unfortunately, before entering, one more trip back to my truck was needed to drop off the camera's and recording equipment (no press passes). Our only chance would to somehow find Rick (the tour manager) and get some passes and an interview. Miracles never cease. We found Rick and Jay Bentley (Bass) who remembered us and referred to us as the "cool people". Hello, us the "cool people". We were able to go back to the truck, get the gear, and go where ever we wanted to. Nice. So when we got back to the back stage area Jay was more than happy to let us interview him. The interview will be posted in December in our interviews area so make sure you check it out because he had a lot to say. (click here to see a pic of the interview) 

click the pic

     Ignite, TSOL and Guttermouth were also playing that night. Being the laggers that we were, got there late and spent the rest of the time locating, interviewing, and pinching ourselves. The show was inside a hanger. You could hear fairly well. TSOL and Ignite fucking rocked as always. I like Guttermouth, so I made sure I caught the last song or two (the place was going off). They are nasty boys, I guess befitting of the name Guttermouth. 

     When Bad Religion went on, we went inside to locate the best spot. For Aimee, it was up on the stage. (The view wasn't so hot from up there, I couldn't see past the row of glittery girls in tight pants and tank tops). Scott and I preferred the action in front of the stage on the other side of the barriers. Bodies flew over head as Greg Graffin (Vocals), Jay Bentley (Bass), Bobby Schayer (Drums), Greg Hetson (Guitar) and Brian Baker (Guitar), played a 30 song set of the old mixed with the new. I was stoked to hear "No Control", "Modern Man", "Do What You Want", "Against The Grain", "Atomic Garden", "Generator","Anesthesia", "Digital Boy", "Infected" , holy crap...it was fucking amazing. (click here to see the set list) They didn't play too much off the "New America" CD, only "New America", and "Promise Land" and a few others. 

click the pic

     Towards the end of the set, we all ended up together. We were standing in front of the stage, thinking to ourselves, how did we get here? The show was fucking great and Bad Religion is amazing. Not just because of the music they play, because of the kind of people they are. They are the kind of people who don't throw their fans off stage when they make it up there. Instead, they let them have a moment, up there, under the lights, with the screaming fans, showing everyone how they feel about the music. Quite a few made it over the barriers and on to the stage. One guy jumped up and starting rockin' out with Jay. Jay put his arms around the guy so they were both playing the bass. It was so hot. Another made it up and Greg Graffin handed him the microphone and let him finish a verse. Later in the set, Greg took the time to let a guy, who's name I can't remember, know that his wallet was on the stage and he would set it aside for him. What a guy. Bad Religion is amazing. They have longevity that will last a lifetime. We asked Jay how they determine what songs they play. He said,"We have 192 songs, we do about 30, you do the math." No matter which 30 out of 192 they play, you are guaranteed a great fucking show. What more can I say.