Bad Religion (photo: Blake Morneau)
Hopefully there are bands in your life that change your core and teach you something about yourself or the world around you. Bad Religion became one of those bands for me the moment I got my hands on Stranger than Fiction, at around 13 years old. I was lucky to find a band with a rich back catalogue full of energy and passion and overwhelming intelligence. More than any other punk band outside of The Clash, Bad Religion has enjoyed consistent rotation in my stereo and I was overjoyed to get the chance to finally see them up close and personal in Vancouver’s legendary Commodore Ballroom.
Admittedly, in that joy there was part of me that was worried I’d waited too long and would be late to the Bad Religion live train. Could they still deliver those songs the way I wanted to hear them? By the time they hit the title track to my beloved Stranger than Fiction, a few songs into their set, any fear I had was quelled. Bad Religion is as strong and badass as ever. In fact, by this point, their 35 years as a band make them elder statesmen with more gravitas than ever. Lead singer Greg Graffin’s voice, one of the first things that drew me to the band, was as soaring as ever. He was powerful, but cool as a cucumber, smiling during delivery and bantering playfully to the audience.
The capacity crowd was fervent in their adoration, seemingly more than half the place screaming along with every lyric. Newer songs like “Dearly Beloved” and “Fuck You” received as much of a reaction as old classics like “A Change of Ideas” (off No Control) and “You Are the Government” (from Suffer). Hearing songs like that last one reminded me of why I love this band, but also made me sad that I’m not seeing many of the more politically minded bands I used to love continuing to do their thing.
We need more bands like Bad Religion who are intelligent enough to keep a message in their music, but badass enough to stay accessible to a large crowd. There’s a reason they’ve lasted so long and I couldn’t be more happy that they’re still kicking ass. And that I got to see them do it.
Bad Religion (photo: Blake Morneau)
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