ALBANY – Now some four decades into their remarkable career, you’d almost expect L.A. punk legends Bad Religion to be the kind of band to only tour every so often when time and health allow, break out the classics, and then head back home again to semi-retirement. Like I said, almost.
Instead, the band—singer Greg Graffin, bassist Jay Bentley, guitarists Brian Baker and Mike Dimkich, and drummer Jamie Miller—show few signs of slowing down. (Guitarist and co-founder Brett Gurewitz, head of Epitaph Records, also continues to contribute, but as a non-touring member.) Seeming energized and still enjoying the stage, BR utilized their latest Albany area appearance (the last was at Northern Lights on 10/16/10) to not only hit us with all the favorites, but also explore deeper cuts, spanning the band’s lengthy catalog. And according to Graffin’s own words, they’ll be back again soon.
From the start, the show was pure electricity. Bad Religion—which formed in 1980—may look like punk rock grand-dads here in 2023, but the band’s aggressive, politically charged music is just as relevant and powerful as ever in the world today, as evidenced by the sold-out crowd of fans both young and old who packed Empire Live here for the set. Those of us lucky enough to attend knew we were standing in the presence of kings.
Further closing the generational gap was opener Speed of Light, a fellow LA punk band, but in this case a trio of teen siblings, who brought the perfect counterbalance of youthful energy to the bill. Singer/bassist Riley Christensen captivated the audience throughout, combining a kinetic stage presence with dynamic vocals ranging from soft whispers to fierce screams. Meanwhile brothers Cameron and Tyler Christensen, who play guitar and drums, respectively, laid down a thick foundation of sludgy neo-grunge riffs that delightfully jarred and battered the ears.
The significance was clear: Bad Religion was giving this incredible opportunity to SOL as an elder “passing of the torch” to a new generation, and the young band clearly deserves that honor. To end the set, singer Riley even pulled a classic punk move and jumped into the crowd to sing the end of “Seance/That Girl” from within the pit, before nearly barreling over onlookers—this reporter included—on her way back to the stage side. It was an impressive move, and she’s only 16.
So, by the time Bad Religion hit the stage, the crowd had already been whipped into a proper frenzy, and that only intensified the moment the lights went black and the band opened with the thundering strains of “The Defense,” off 2002’s Process of Belief. Shifting then with little pause into the riotous “Against the Grain,” the title track of the eponymous 1990 classic, the band was off and running and the audience was responding as one hyper-synchronous mass. As each new song unfolded, the 13 years since 518 fans last experienced a Bad Religion show seemed more and more like merely the blink of an eye. Graffin’s vocals are just as biting and eloquent, the band’s three-part harmonies are just as soaring, and Baker and Dimkich’s wall of guitar is just as towering today.
With a tremendous back catalog that includes 17 studio full lengths, it must be challenging to put together a Bad Religion set list, but this particular one did a fine job of touching upon multiple eras, as well as key releases. Of course, “Fuck You” from 2013’s True North made the list, but also “Past is Dead” off that same record. “Wrong Way Kids,” a gem from 2010’s Dissent of Man, was a welcome inclusion, as was the heavy groove of “To Another Abyss” and the turbulent, yet melodic “Beyond Electric Dreams” from 2004’s The Empire Strikes First. BR even broke out “Drunk Sincerity” from 1996’s The Gray Race, a track Graffin professed the band almost never played live until recently.
Significant attention was also paid to the key albums that have defined the band’s sound and legacy. Against the Grain got its proper nod, not just with the aforementioned title track and the requisite “21st Century (Digital Boy),” but also with “Anesthesia.” Another opus, Suffer (1988), offered not just the circle pit inducing “Do What You Want,” but also the explosive “Delirium of Disorder.” First encore “Generator,” title track of the 1992 eponymous release, was also joined in the set by “Tomorrow,” a deeper cut off that same record. And Recipe for Hate, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, served up its own title track too, as well as the show’s epic closer, “American Jesus.”
Even with a set that stretched well beyond just the “greatest hits,” the tempo of the show remained brisk throughout, with the band masterfully keeping the crowd’s energy sustained through 26 songs. When Bad Religion broke into timeless anthems like “Infected” from Stranger Than Fiction (1994), “We’re Only Gonna Die” and “Fuck Armageddon…This Is Hell,” off their 1982 debut How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, and “You,” “I Want To Conquer The World” and the title track of 1989’s No Control, the energy in the room would peak off the charts.
The love in the air didn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated by the band, either, with Graffin commenting at one point that Bad Religion will certainly need to return again to the Albany area soon. As the group ended with a few bars of Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town,” it was obvious to all in attendance that these “boys” had never really left.
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Bad Religion – 10/25/23 – Empire Live, Albany, NY (Photos by Kylie Spinelli)
Speed of Light – 10/25/23 – Empire Live, Albany, NY (Photos by Kylie Spinelli)
