|
Circle Jerks with 7 Seconds and Negative Approach at First Avenue
Circle Jerks Setlist
7Seconds Setlist
Negative Approach Setlist
Read More
|
Legendary hardcore punk band Circle Jerks is celebrating their 40th Anniversary with this 2022 tour, stopping by First Avenue in Minneapolis on March 24th.
The line to get into the venue stretched a block. Once in the venue, the dance floor was very packed. If the show wasn’t sold out, it sure felt like it was close to selling out.
With these shows, it’s great to see so many older 50-60 year old punks/fans going to their first punk shows in many years. Some of them were in wheelchairs, some of them needed walkers, but they didn’t let their disabilities stopped them from seeing these bands live. Sure, there were the young kids in the mosh pit … and when I say young, I mean they’re in their 30s.
First on the bill was Detroit’s Negative Approach, famous for pioneering hardcore punk in the midwest. The band originally broke up in 1984, but later reformed in 2006 for touring on and off.
I felt they were a great starting band, getting the crowd moving and slam dancing. Singer John Brannon may be the nicest guy, but on stage, it felt like he had great anger inside him. He had little to say, but when he does, it’s “Thanks, man, for coming out early.”
They ended their set with a cover of Iggy and the Stooges’ “I Got a Right”, which made sense, as NA have based their music on The Stooges.
Next up was 7 Seconds (stylized as 7Seconds), who actually started playing “Here's Your Warning” before the curtains even came up!
I have mentioned previously that we saw Kevin Seconds at NXNE in June 2011 and admitted that his solo shows are, “Kevin’s live show was understandably a little less than hardcore punk, and I am assuming he did material from his solo work. He sure seem to have a lot of stories about being his travels and his experiences and he generally was happy to be back in Toronto (apparently his band have come through town many times).”
Now, having experienced 7Seconds (featuring brothers Kevin and Steve Youth, drummer Troy Mowat, and guitarist Bobby Adams) live, it’s definitely a night and day difference between Kevin’s solo shows vs a plugged in hardcore punk band. Everything’s louder, and Kevin is singing harder… so hard that he blew out his voice on the first week of this reunion tour. You have to forgive Kevin, you see, he said the band was actually enjoying retirement. But then the Circle Jerks asked them to go on tour, and they simply could not refused.
The First Avenue show was also a special one, as it was Kevin’s birthday. Negative Approach bought him cupcakes, while Circle Jerks bought him Cinnabons. It sounds like Kevin has a sweet tooth.
They ended their set with Nena’s “99 Red Balloons”, in their punk style. The German song is about a family who released 99 red balloons that flew over the Berlin walls and caused the Soviets to start a war. The 80s song is oddly reflective of the current Putin’s war.
Circle Jerks walked on stage after a full song of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass’ “Love Potion No. 9” was played. The song was played to illustrate just how different the “muzak”/elevator music/jazz song is to what the Circle Jerks were producing at the time. What is odd is that the Circle Jerks and Herb Alpert were on the same A&M Record Label.
What else can I say about the Circle Jerks? The group was originally founded by Black Flag’s singer Keith Morris with Redd Kross’ guitarist Greg Hetson. Their 1980 album, Group Sex, forever changed the landscape of the hardcore punk genre. The band broke up in 1990, but they reformed on and off throughout the years. It wasn’t until 2019 that the band had a full reunion and wanted to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Group Sex with a massive tour in2020. Of course,the pandemic happened… so they had to postponed the anniversary tour.
So, this new 2022 tour meant that they were not only celebrating Group Sex (42th Anniversary), but they were also celebrating Wild in the Streets, as that album turned 40 this year.
For this tour, they put together 33 songs, and some were blocks of four or five songs from each of their five albums.
Between the blocks of songs, Morris had a lot to say about how they were signed to a major label. About how their label hated them, and they always wanted to drop the band. To be fair, no one thought they belonged on a major label… but at least it did help spread their music to radio station.
At the tender age of 66, Morris was still moving and dancing and screaming out the lyrics. I can’t help but think that we were very lucky to have them back on this Anniversary tour… as it may be the last time we see them.
Remaining tour dates:
The line to get into the venue stretched a block. Once in the venue, the dance floor was very packed. If the show wasn’t sold out, it sure felt like it was close to selling out.
With these shows, it’s great to see so many older 50-60 year old punks/fans going to their first punk shows in many years. Some of them were in wheelchairs, some of them needed walkers, but they didn’t let their disabilities stopped them from seeing these bands live. Sure, there were the young kids in the mosh pit … and when I say young, I mean they’re in their 30s.
First on the bill was Detroit’s Negative Approach, famous for pioneering hardcore punk in the midwest. The band originally broke up in 1984, but later reformed in 2006 for touring on and off.
I felt they were a great starting band, getting the crowd moving and slam dancing. Singer John Brannon may be the nicest guy, but on stage, it felt like he had great anger inside him. He had little to say, but when he does, it’s “Thanks, man, for coming out early.”
They ended their set with a cover of Iggy and the Stooges’ “I Got a Right”, which made sense, as NA have based their music on The Stooges.
Next up was 7 Seconds (stylized as 7Seconds), who actually started playing “Here's Your Warning” before the curtains even came up!
I have mentioned previously that we saw Kevin Seconds at NXNE in June 2011 and admitted that his solo shows are, “Kevin’s live show was understandably a little less than hardcore punk, and I am assuming he did material from his solo work. He sure seem to have a lot of stories about being his travels and his experiences and he generally was happy to be back in Toronto (apparently his band have come through town many times).”
Now, having experienced 7Seconds (featuring brothers Kevin and Steve Youth, drummer Troy Mowat, and guitarist Bobby Adams) live, it’s definitely a night and day difference between Kevin’s solo shows vs a plugged in hardcore punk band. Everything’s louder, and Kevin is singing harder… so hard that he blew out his voice on the first week of this reunion tour. You have to forgive Kevin, you see, he said the band was actually enjoying retirement. But then the Circle Jerks asked them to go on tour, and they simply could not refused.
The First Avenue show was also a special one, as it was Kevin’s birthday. Negative Approach bought him cupcakes, while Circle Jerks bought him Cinnabons. It sounds like Kevin has a sweet tooth.
They ended their set with Nena’s “99 Red Balloons”, in their punk style. The German song is about a family who released 99 red balloons that flew over the Berlin walls and caused the Soviets to start a war. The 80s song is oddly reflective of the current Putin’s war.
Circle Jerks walked on stage after a full song of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass’ “Love Potion No. 9” was played. The song was played to illustrate just how different the “muzak”/elevator music/jazz song is to what the Circle Jerks were producing at the time. What is odd is that the Circle Jerks and Herb Alpert were on the same A&M Record Label.
What else can I say about the Circle Jerks? The group was originally founded by Black Flag’s singer Keith Morris with Redd Kross’ guitarist Greg Hetson. Their 1980 album, Group Sex, forever changed the landscape of the hardcore punk genre. The band broke up in 1990, but they reformed on and off throughout the years. It wasn’t until 2019 that the band had a full reunion and wanted to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Group Sex with a massive tour in2020. Of course,the pandemic happened… so they had to postponed the anniversary tour.
So, this new 2022 tour meant that they were not only celebrating Group Sex (42th Anniversary), but they were also celebrating Wild in the Streets, as that album turned 40 this year.
For this tour, they put together 33 songs, and some were blocks of four or five songs from each of their five albums.
Between the blocks of songs, Morris had a lot to say about how they were signed to a major label. About how their label hated them, and they always wanted to drop the band. To be fair, no one thought they belonged on a major label… but at least it did help spread their music to radio station.
At the tender age of 66, Morris was still moving and dancing and screaming out the lyrics. I can’t help but think that we were very lucky to have them back on this Anniversary tour… as it may be the last time we see them.
Remaining tour dates:
03/26: St. Andrews Hall - Detroit, MI !
03/28: Town Ballroom - Buffalo, NY !
03/29: Mr. Smalls - Pittsburgh, PA !
03/30: House of Blues - Cleveland, OG !
04/01: Phoenix Theatre - Toronto, ON *
04/02: Corona Theatre - Montreal, QC *
04/03: L’Imperial Bell - Quebec City, QC *
04/05: Higher Ground - Burlington, VT !
04/07: Paradise - Boston, MA !
04/08: Stone Pony - Asbury Park, NJ !
04/09: TLA - Philadelphia, PA !
04/11: Sherman Theater - Stroudsburg, PA !
04/12: Paradise - Boston, MA !
04/14: Irving Plaza - NYC, NY !
04/16: Black Cat - Washington DC !
04/19: Orange Peel - Asheville, NC !
04/21: Brooklyn Bowl - Nashville, TN !
04/22: Masquerade, Atlanta, GA !
04/23: New Orleans, LA !
04/26: Mohawk - Austin, TX !
04/29: Paper Tiger - San Antonio, TX !
04/30: White Oak - Houston, TX !
05/01: Granada Theater - Dallas, TX !
05/13: Hollywood Palladium - Los Angeles, CA !^
06/22: Sunshine Theatre - Albuquerque, NM #
06/24: Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ #
06/25: Rialto Theatre - Tucson, AZ #
07/03: Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
# w/ Adolescents & Negative Approach
! w/ 7SECONDS & Negative Approach
^ w/ The Bouncing Souls
* w/ 7Seconds
03/28: Town Ballroom - Buffalo, NY !
03/29: Mr. Smalls - Pittsburgh, PA !
03/30: House of Blues - Cleveland, OG !
04/01: Phoenix Theatre - Toronto, ON *
04/02: Corona Theatre - Montreal, QC *
04/03: L’Imperial Bell - Quebec City, QC *
04/05: Higher Ground - Burlington, VT !
04/07: Paradise - Boston, MA !
04/08: Stone Pony - Asbury Park, NJ !
04/09: TLA - Philadelphia, PA !
04/11: Sherman Theater - Stroudsburg, PA !
04/12: Paradise - Boston, MA !
04/14: Irving Plaza - NYC, NY !
04/16: Black Cat - Washington DC !
04/19: Orange Peel - Asheville, NC !
04/21: Brooklyn Bowl - Nashville, TN !
04/22: Masquerade, Atlanta, GA !
04/23: New Orleans, LA !
04/26: Mohawk - Austin, TX !
04/29: Paper Tiger - San Antonio, TX !
04/30: White Oak - Houston, TX !
05/01: Granada Theater - Dallas, TX !
05/13: Hollywood Palladium - Los Angeles, CA !^
06/22: Sunshine Theatre - Albuquerque, NM #
06/24: Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ #
06/25: Rialto Theatre - Tucson, AZ #
07/03: Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
# w/ Adolescents & Negative Approach
! w/ 7SECONDS & Negative Approach
^ w/ The Bouncing Souls
* w/ 7Seconds
Negative Approach |
Negative Approach |
Negative Approach |
7Seconds |
7Seconds |
7Seconds |
Circle Jerks |
Circle Jerks |
Circle Jerks |
Circle Jerks |
Circle Jerks at First Avenue (24 Mar 2022) |
| vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
Recent Comments