Saturday, my sister, who had been ill the day before, was feeling better.(right,Clara...tee hee) We got out of bed at the crack of noon, had a nice lunch and watched too much Showtime 2. Got to the venue by 6:15pm, after downing a Kuma burger and a filafel, just in time to catch most of Social Distortion's set. Mike Ness was every inch a pro. You can just tell he has 20 years of stage experience behind him as he completely owned the stage, comfortably cavorted with the audience and belted out songs in excellent form. The acoustics were flawless. When you've been doing this for as long as Ness has, there is a confident swagger to your walk onstage and he definitely had that. You can just tell when someone doesn't have anything to prove. Let's call it the " I really don't give a f*ck what you think," attitude. Social Distortion just IS and ALWAYS WILL BE cool. Period. I also appreciated his casual banter between songs. The first song we heard him perform was 'Don't Drag Me Down' from the White Heat, White Light, White Trash lp. It was so good to see him still rocking because the last time I saw Social Distortion play live was in the mid 80's as a young and enthusiastic teenager and I first became a fan in 1984. He really struck a chord with me and, I must admit, I couldn't help but scream out like a deranged fan, "Hell yeah! I remember THAT!' when he introduced his next song by saying, "I wrote this back in 1983 when being a punk rocker was truly dangerous."
If you were there in the 80's when punk was a true fringe youth movement and not just a commercialized fashion style sold at Forever 21, then you know exactly what he is talking about. It was a different world back then, of course, and punk was truly the edge. It was the real deal. Great memories, is all I can say. Then he ripped into Mommy's Little Monster. I couldn't stop dancing! This was too friggin' amazing! He introduced the next song, Sick Boys, as a great "drinking sing-along." Amen to that! It was perfect. EVERYONE was dancing and cheering. Even the 60 year old guy standing next to me who admitted he had never heard of Social D. before declared, "These guys are great!". Part of my joy may have been not being squashed like a sardine in the front row. I don't know. The overall experience, however, was just second to none. These guys, after all these years, could still bring home the goods. As I recall, SxDx (a pseudonym) were one of the forerunners of American punk and the ones who invented that now familiar punk sound of wanging out really fast power chords repetitively and changing them with a heavy slide, backed by a really solid jumpy drum beat. That's Social Distortion.
To watch these guys play on a stage with the Field Museum to their left and the Museum Campus Tower building on their right, gleaming in its steel and glass magnificence, was pretty hard to beat. It was a beautiful day and here I was watching Mike Ness do a 'Pete Townshend' jump with this guitar (sweeeeet!) and then keep on rolling with Reach for the Sky. But it was about to get better.The next number was the ultimate highlight of their set at least as far as I am concerned. Only because "Ball and Chain" rules. In my opinion, its the best song Ness has ever written. It's been covered by many bands including the Replacements. There is something about that song. Without any choice in the matter, my vocal chords sang along to the song , my fist pumped at every chorus and my feet, with a will of their own, jumped up and down. It's a beautiful heartfelt song that pretty much says it all.
Next was 'Highway 101' and then 'Sometimes I Do' with the off-the-cuff intro, "You don't have to be Irish to love this song but it sure helps." The set was finished off with Still Alive and then Ring of Fire, before which Ness tipped his hat to the African American community by saying, "Let's face it people. Without good black music, there wouldn't be good white music. And that's why this man is my hero." I assume he was talking about Johnny Cash who was of course far from black unless you are referring to his attire. Cash has been called "The Man in Black" and even "The Father of Punk." As I recall, when he passed in 2003, the entire aging punk community went into mourning, myself included. My Dad introduced me to Cash when I was in elementary school by reverberating Ring Of Fire through the house at deafening decibels. He did this with Gregorian chant, too, but that's a different story.
Cash's daughter, Rosanne Cash, has stated, "The song is about the transformative power of love." What I found out from Social Distortion's performance, however, is that I never left the Ring of Fire to begin with. For me, its about the enduring power of love. I grinned, fully satisfied at the end of the set, as the newly converted senior by my side said, "I'm going out and buying some of this music." Transformative works, too.
IT AINT OVER UNTIL THE FAT LADY...err,umm...I MEAN ARCADE FIRE SINGS> STAY TUNED FOR DAY 3Lollapalooza to be posted shortly
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