Mass Hysteria at the Kool Haus with Social Distortion

Despite my previous railings against the establishment, tonight found me once again trudging through the parking lot of Toronto’s Kool Haus to take in another punk rock exhibition. The featured artists tonight were Frank Turner, Lucero, and the legendary Social Distortion.

The night’s lineup was simply sublime. Going in a logical and chronological order, the night’s lineup was sure to display a linear regression of punk rock, showcasing, in a way, bands and their influences. Is it a stretch to say Frank Turner was influenced by Lucero, and Lucero was influenced by Social Distortion? Perhaps, but I’m going to need empirical evidence to back up your claims. I was there, and you weren’t.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to catch Frank Turner’s set as I was caught in traffic returning from a dash across the border. Actually, I was able to catch the last 45 seconds or so of my personal favourite, (and perennial show-closer), Photosynthesis, but I don’t think that’s substantial enough of a viewing to really be able to comment. I was able to catch his first show of the weekend the night before at the Horseshoe Tavern (where he played for roughly 90 minutes, no less!), and that was an absolutely religious experience, to say the least, so I really wasn’t too distraught about missing the overwhelming majority of his set. We did have a field reporter in the crowd, one Mr. Stephen Henderson, and he felt that while the set was good, compared to the previous night’s performance, Mr. Turner’s Kool Haus set was little more than a duplication of the previous night’s effort, truncated for time by removing a few songs here and there. Apparently, even the stage banter was more or less phoned-in from roughly 18 hours earlier, which sounds a little unfortunate. In my opinion, if it was anyone else but the hardest working man in punk rock, I would be offended. However, because it is Frank Turner, some exceptions must inevitably be made.

Second on the dockett was Memphis, Tenessee’s Lucero. Now, in the interest of being completely up front, I’m not the most educated when it comes to the ways of Lucero. I know more or less that they exist, I have a general understanding of what they sound like, but I don’t know much past that. I don’t know what songs they played, I don’t know if they played hits or b-sides, I just know it was fucking brilliant. Honestly, when I saw Murder By Death, I thought I had just heard the most interesting voice in punk rock. I know think I may have been mistaken. It’s singer Ben Nichols’ gravelly, soulful voice is what takes this band to another level of excellence, though the inclusion of a pedal steel guitar and some pianos/organs certainly don’t harm their cause. Despite my unfamiliarity, my cohort Stephen was quite happy to see them again, though disappointed that their newfound horn section were not along for the ride. Thankfully, the lack of brass did little to deflate his enthusiasm, as he and about a dozen other of the Lucero faithful in attendance sang their under-represented hearts out in support of their chicken-fried rock idols.

Following Lucero’s 50-odd minute set, Social Distortion appeared to an uproarious wave of elation and enthusiasm. To say that Social D was the most anticipated band of the night would be an understatement. Obviously, being the headliner does mean that most in attendance are there to see you, but it wouldn’t be far from the truth to say that EVERYONE came for Social D and were delightfully surprised that singer and guitarist Mike Ness’ “hand-picked” openers were both fantastic in their own right.

The night itself proved to be something of a special night as Mike Ness had elected to do away with his usual mechanic-couture look, opting instead for a crisp white shirt, suspenders, a fashionable long wool coat, and his trademark slicked back hair. The rest of the band also seemed to be in their sunday best, which helped to add just a dash of class to their otherwise down-and-out-down-on-his-luck brand of punk rock. Perhaps instead of selling out they had bought in?

The setlist itself was fairly predictable, as Social Distortion sets tend to be. As is the case with many of these older, long-in-tooth punk bands, their setlists are generally a 70/30 split between fan favourites and curveballs. For Social Distortion, these curveballs came in the form of a song off of their forthcoming album entitled Bakersfield and the inclusion of (in my opinion) songs like Still Life and Through These Eyes. In fact, you’ll find the entirety of their setlist below.

Social Distortion’s Set
The Creeps
Another State of Mind
Mommy’s Little Monster
Sick Boy
Don’t Drag Me Down
I Was Wrong
Bye Bye Baby
Still Life
Ball and Chain
Through These Eyes
Bakersfield (new)
King Of Fools
When She Begins
Making Believe

–encore–
So Far Away
Prison Bound
Down Here (With The Rest Of Us) [as requested by Frank Turner]
Ring Of Fire

As you can see, notable fan favourites like 1945, Bad Luck , Let It Be Me, and the ubiquitous Story Of My Life were not deemed worthy of prime-time. They also did not include any material off of their last studio album, Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll. This is all too unfortunate, but the fact is that this was a solid 18-song set running nearly 90 minutes, leaving no fan feeling cheated or disappointed. Plus, I always say it’s better that a band doesn’t play all the songs you’d like, so you have a reason to see them again. Silver linings and open windows.

Borrowed from GLK Creative

The songs that did make the cut though, they were performed wonderfully. Mike Ness’ delivery of classics like Ball and Chain and Mommy’s Little Monster sound as good today as they did 20 years ago. Every guitar solo, every drum fill, every wail and exclamation were intact and ravenously lapped up by the all-too-eager audience. Though some songs certainly sounded a little slower than their previously-recorded counterparts, the bulk of the crowd did not seem to notice or care. Looking around the hall that night, I don’t think I’d ever seen so many audience members singing along in my life. For a few fleeting moments I wondered if this would still be the case if Social Distortion wasn’t playing so well; and then they played Don’t Drag Me Down and I instantly became another anonymous voice mimicking Ness’ drawl as best as I could.

Overall, considering this was the first time I’d been afforded the opportunity to take in either Lucero or Social Distortion, I left the Kool Haus completely satisfied. It’s hard to believe that in the span of a week I’ve taken in two punk rock bands that have been touring more or less for thirty years apiece. Are the cornerstones of the modern punk rock movement becoming afflicted with the Rolling Stones Syndrome? Are they just going to milk us music fans for every dime that we have through incessant touring and merchandise sales? It’s entirely possible, but to be honest, I don’t care much. Keep touring, I say. Any day I’m able to see Mike Ness “singing” (I use this as a relative term) Don’t Drag Me Down is one fine day.