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Bad Religion / Pennywise / Anti-Flag

live in New York
2005
live show

Review by: greenerton
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Published on November 25th 2005

After waiting three hours in the blistering cold of New York City, I entered Nokia Theatre with my two friends, and prepared myself for what was to be a truly incredible evening.

Pennywise and Anti-Flag were two of the first punk bands I ever got into. I used to LOVE Anti-flag, but unfortunately my enthusiasm for them quickly died down after the release of Mobilize. I still pull out A New Kind of Army and Die for the Government every once in a while, however. Pennywise -- say what you will about their new albums released over the last few years, but their `90s releases were absolutely pivotal to my descent into punk rock. Whether you think they’re washed up or not, it’s hard to argue that Unknown Road, About Time, Full Circle, and Straight Ahead aren’t all fantastic albums. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve sped down the highway with “Fight 'Till You Die” blasting. Good times, my friends.

How many bands have stayed together for 25 years all the while consistently putting forth album after album of quality music? Bad Religion’s Atlantic releases may not have been my favorites, but they were still great albums containing loads of good songs within, not to mention their fantastic two comeback albums on Epitaph. Their early work, of course, is legendary and highly regarded as some of the best punk rock ever recorded. Bad Religion’s on a roll, basically, and I’ve been counting the days ‘till I could finally see them live for the first time.

First up however, was Murphy’s Law. I’m aware of this band and a few songs, but I don’t own any records or know anything about them except for the fact that they’ve been around since the `80s, and that Jimmy Gestapo is hilarious. Needless to say, they started the night with a bang. Forgoing a sound check for a five-minute mini-jam, I was immediately impressed by their musicianship. Jimmy walked around drinking a beer while the rest of the guys just played. They played apparent concert staples “Panty Raid,” “Beer,” “Crucial B-B-Q,” “Skinhead Girl” (ridiculously catchy!), “Ska Song,” and more. They were a lot of fun, and brought forth a great atmosphere from the crowd. Jimmy jumping into the crowd and going crazy was pretty amusing as well.

Anti-Flag soon took the stage and tore into one of the only songs I knew out of their set, “Die for the Government.” It certainly brought me back, and it was definitely a lot of fun to sing along with. They sure know how to put on a show, jumping about with wireless guitars and a lot of pointing/winking from Justin Sane. While their set made me hate faux-hawks even more (what the fuck is with Chris #2? Does he not realize how stupid he looks with blond hair and a black faux-hawk?), they were fun. They played “Underground Network” and a bunch of songs I don't remember, a new song that was surprisingly good, and easily the highlight of their set -- the first of two Minor Threat covers of the night, except this one was with Brian Baker playing bass! Chris #2 took the mic for an excellent rendition of “It Follows.” As much as I hate the hair (and the funny matching outfits), I can’t deny that they put on a great show.

After a long wait due to some problems with the drums, Pennywise finally came on. Ripping into “Fight 'Till You Die,” Pennywise played a fantastic set that never let up for a second. I was very, very happy with their choices of songs -- they’re obviously fully aware of the fact that their older stuff is much better than their newer songs. They didn’t play my two favorites, “Perfect People” or “Come Out Fighting,” but they did do two of the better songs off Land of the Free? and the one song from The Fuse that they played was pretty good. I wasn’t able to grab a real set list, but I’ll post what I remember (out of order, though). They didn’t seem to be following it anyway, as there were a lot of requests ("Every Single Day," for one) and their Minor Threat cover was pretty fun too. Jimmy Gestapo came out, sang the first verse, jumped into the crowd, and was back on stage just in time to finish the last line.

I’m pretty sure they played a few more songs, but I don’t remember exactly what they were. Their set was fucking crazy, especially for such a large venue. The best part was when they played “Bro Hymn,” and the crowd went fucking nuts. Dozens of people crowd surfing at once -- so many people ended up over the barrier at the same time, security didn’t know what to do. A bunch of guys got up on stage, dancing around and singing into the mics with the band. It was really incredible, especially for such an emotional song as “Bro Hymn.”

After my friends and I got kicked in the head a dozen or so times, we decided to exit the pit. I’ve been through worse at a show, but it was probably a good decision. I was kinda sad that I wasn’t against the barrier for my first Bad Religion experience, but I still enjoyed their set. Maybe it was just ‘cause I loved it so much, but their set felt really short compared to many of the bootlegs I have of them. They played a decent range of material, but I was kinda disappointed. I might have just been forgetting a bunch of the songs, but I’m pretty sure they only played what I have posted below. Even with the short set, they were spot on, and Greg made his usual dumb jokes that made their set all the more enjoyable. I could talk about all the songs I wish they’d played, but I won’t. They were amazing, and I can’t wait to see them again. Well, I will say I was massively disappointed that they didn’t play “Fuck Armageddon…This Is War,” but you can’t always get what you want, eh? I think the problem with Bad Religion is the sheer volume of fantastic songs they have…to cater to every fan, they’d have to play 50-song setlists. Oh well, they were still awesome.

Awesome show, see this tour if you can while it’s still going. I was considering going to the two New Jersey shows too, but didn’t due to that whole “money” thing. Oh well. Here’s hoping for another Bad Religion tour, and soon.

What I remember of Pennywise’s set list (out of order):

Fight 'Till You Die
Can’t Believe It
Society
Broken
The World
My Own Country
Every Single Day
Pennywise
My God
Minor Threat
Bro Hymn

What I remember of Bad Religion’s set list (again, mostly out of order):

Sinister Rouge (opener)
21st Century Digital Boy
Supersonic (I was hoping for the "Prove It"-"Can’t Stop It" medley, but to no avail)
All There Is
Sorrow
Come Join Us
Suffer
Epiphany
God’s Love
Los Angeles Is Burning
You
The Gray Race
Man With a Mission
Let Them Eat War
American Jesus (closer)
Generator (first encore)
Infected (second encore)

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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 12, 2006 at 3:08 PM (EST)

the NYC show was absolutely sick! I've seen countless PW shows, but in 10 years of seeing PW shows, being able to rush the stage and sing arm and arm with Jim is one the best experiences i've ever had. does anyone know a site that has any pics from the show?

Posted by randomhero323 on 2006-02-15 13:11:36
My Score:

this show was sick, every band played well and the crowd was great.

im not a big fan of murphys law but i have to admit they are pretty good live.

anti flag was good, the new song was sick.

pennywise was very fun and energetic

and bad religon is bad religon so thats it. sick

Posted by deathbyguitar on 2006-01-27 09:48:09

i was at the pittsburgh but i saw the same lineup. let me throw my hat into the ring and proclaim that muphys law made every member of the pit angry at one point or another with his ignorant lil' comments. the pit was pit-iful and almost everyone was screaming obscenities and getting pissed. you don't preach about drinking beer and eating meat to a bunch of straight-edge vegans... it's just not done. aside from murphys law it was an incredible show

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 16, 2005 at 11:59 AM (EST)
My Score:

10 stars, Anti-Flag, Bad religion, and Pennywise exellent

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 at 11:50 AM (EST)

I'm gonna have to agree with you about the set of Anti-Flag, they certainly knew how to put on an intense fucking show, especially when they sang "Die For The Government" and "Fuck Police Brutality", Fuckin' insane. I don't really listen to Pennywise, but i agree, they certainly drew an intense crowd, it was alot of fun, I couldn't believe how Bad Religion went on so long, their set went on for an extra hour and fifteen minutes than the previous show, that had to be the best label tour I have ever seen so far, fucking amazing!

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at 10:03 PM (EST)

I was at the Long Island show too.
Anti Flag were pretty damn good live but I know what you mean. The singer kind of just had a grin on his face and looked like he was just doing his job. But whatever, they played well.

Yeah, infected is not that great of a choice. Oh well, still an awesome show.

Posted by greenerton on 2005-12-01 16:38:02

Man, I have no idea why I typed "war". That's pretty weird, considering that's one of my all-time favorite Bad Religion songs.

Posted by mustard on 2005-12-01 11:07:12
My Score:

I saw the long island show where pennywise didnt play but anti-flag sucked ass. They seemed very boring and not happy to be there. I thought Chris Head was the only person that actually put some energy into the performance. Bad Religion was sooooooo amazing though except for one thing....INFECTED!!! They played such a great set and there are so many better choices for a last song that they didnt play such as I Want To Conquer The World or Fuck Armageddon This Is Hell (or War hahaha) or even Fertile Crescent which i think is their most underrated song.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 at 11:06 PM (EST)

Haha, Bad Religion's montreal set was probably three times as long as the New York show's set.

Posted by clamum on 2005-11-30 16:00:08

Pennywise jocks? You dumbass.

Posted by greenerton on 2005-11-28 14:14:21

Why thank you, Anonymous.

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 27, 2005 at 4:59 PM (EST)

nice hurry-up defense, greenerton

Posted by greenerton on 2005-11-27 15:19:07

Silly? I suppose. Completely true? Yep.

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 27, 2005 at 1:36 PM (EST)

Silliest line from the review:

"absolutely pivotal to my descent into punk rock"

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 27, 2005 at 11:03 AM (EST)

Let's face the facts here folks.........
All of these bands are getting TIRED as well as punk music in general as we know it today.
Bad Religion-call it a day already for christ sakes
Pennywise-boring old jocks
Murphy's Law-No comment
Anti-Flag-next please!
Punks are worse than hippies.
Sorry but that's just my opinion.
:)
ps-my little brother went to this show and said it was lame as well.
PUNK IS DEAD!!!

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 10:34 PM (EST)

when are pennywise going to start playing "stand by me"?

they played some of it while someone was tuning this past september, if that counts for anything

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 10:27 PM (EST)

when are pennywise going to start playing "stand by me"?

Posted by clamum on 2005-11-26 21:06:04

Damn that sounds like a fucking sweet show. Nice review.

Posted by sallyjesse on 2005-11-26 18:27:52

i'm sorry, but that BR set list looks like crap. throw in "new america" and you've got pretty much a singles collection. maybe not that extreme, but they have a ton of songs i'd rather hear than American Jesus and Infected.

murphy's law kills it.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 4:40 PM (EST)

last time they played god song was Grey Race tour as far as I know.

Posted by off_the_fucken_map on 2005-11-26 14:49:37

yes, where is the propagandhi reviews? come on people!!

BR doesnt play "god song" too often live do they? god that song fucking rocks.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 2:38 PM (EST)

a 2 hour set would mean they played what, 30-35 songs? i also call bullshit. i've seen them 4 times and they usually stick to a 90 minute set and they still cram in a good amount of material in there.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 1:35 PM (EST)

I saw this tour at the Quest Club in Minneapolis. Murphy's Law's van broke down so I didn't get to see them. Anti-Flag looked pretty dorky. The bass player kept doing these corny ass jumps at the wrong time. The drummer looks like he is about to ejaculate during the whole set. Fucking Hilarious. Pennywise was my fav of the night. They played Something To Change, one of my all time favorite songs, and it's off their worst album. Bad Religion was good I've seen them so many times it's just not that exciting any more.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 1:01 PM (EST)
My Score:

I'm calling bullshit on seeing Bad Religion play for 2-3 hours in one set. I've seen them numerous times and they always play around 90 minutes. I just saw them on this tour in Calgary and they played 90 minutes as per norm. I seriously don't think anyone can take a 3 hr set of punk rock from the same band and I doubt that band would stay interested enough to keep playing that long. These aren't fucking Phish songs where they start meandering off into some riff laden jam session for 25 minutes before coming back to the finish off the song.

I could see this show being shorter due to 4 bands and 3 right huge bands playing a little longer sets than normal.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 3:55 AM (EST)

Where's the Propagandhi reviews?!

Someone better get a fucking video up too.

I don't care if Chris doesn't "do anything special" when he plays. You try and fucking tear it up on guitar AND sing a lot of words and jump at the same time.

oh yeah, fuck anti flag.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 1:24 AM (EST)

Great review. God, I love this music.

Posted by AlmostPunkEnough on 2005-11-26 01:04:58

MOTHERFUCKER!!!!

did they really play Turn On The Light????? FUCKING LAME!!!! son of a goddamn bitch. that's one of my favorite BR songs. you have no idea how pissed i am now.

like a roman fucking candle.

Posted by greenerton on 2005-11-26 00:31:13

Erm, yeah, I forgot to sign in, that was me, greenerton.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 12:30 AM (EST)

1. Yes, I meant "this is hell". My bad.
2. Anti-flag played a lot of new stuff, I'm only familiar with their first three albums.
3. I COMPLETELY forgot about "Turn On The Light". Awesome song, I was so happy to hear it live. Good call, man.

It was disappointing how short the set was though, but it's all good. Great show either way.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 12:24 AM (EST)

they played turn on the light!

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 12:20 AM (EST)
My Score:

this show was fucking amazing
pennywise rocks my clothes

Posted by AlmostPunkEnough on 2005-11-26 00:13:54

yea godfather, you can call me APE, i'm suprised no one else has done it. though i was starting to like AlmostPunk as a somehow shortened version.

anyway, i missed it cause i was violently ill from last thursday til about monday, i wanted to go to the one in Jersey anyway, just cause Hunkabunka is so much cheaper to get liquored up at. Not to mention is despise all things involving Times Square.

i went to the Souls on Wednesday anyway, so not all was lost... and why is it so easy to park by Irving Plaza? still really pissed i missed out though, i haven't seen BR since last years Warped.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 11:09 PM (EST)
My Score:

I caught this show on Long Island. If you remember, I was the kid asking about using the fake ID. They didn't even check mine.

Anyway it was the show of my life, and I went to the Kid Dynamite reunion. That might make me sound retarded but Bad Religion are my favorite band and I wasn't that much of a Kid Dynamite fan. I figured I wouldn't get many chances to see KD so I might as well go, I love them now.

Bad Religion played 24 songs (including overture over the speakers) and it was a great choice of songs. Better than these but very similar. But we got No Control and Do What You Want.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 11:08 PM (EST)

I went to the show on Long Island a day or two after this one. It was good, but it seems Bad Religion is getting tired. The first two times I (2000? and 2004) in New York City, they played for ATLEAST 2 hours. The first time it was just under 3 hours. ....But from everyone I know that went to see them this tour, they say they're barley playing over an hour

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 10:49 PM (EST)

god i'm so pissed i missed this.

Me too. I was working that day too at the office. Boring.

But I won't miss Bear Vs. Shark tomorrow at the Knit. With The Esoteric...sounds like a nice show.

Ramo

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 9:48 PM (EST)

Only seventeen songs, that's bullshit. BR has to play at least thirty for it to be a good show.

Posted by Godfather on 2005-11-25 21:31:51

god i'm so pissed i missed this.

no kidding ape, how could you miss this??

it is okay if i call you ape, right?

Posted by Godfather on 2005-11-25 21:25:15
My Score:

score is for that entire tour

Posted by AlmostPunkEnough on 2005-11-25 20:51:01

seriously punknews, you guys don't have to post EVERY review submitted

i still haven't seen my Delegates review. and since there's only 9 reviews up, what better time than now???

and who cares if this was his first time seeing BR. better that then his 12th time seeing Hawthorne Heights.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 8:47 PM (EST)

your first time seeing bad religion? weak.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 8:37 PM (EST)

so...anti flag helped you get into punk, but you weren't familiar with alot of their set?

and what exactly is Fuck Armageddon…This Is War?

seriously punknews, you guys don't have to post EVERY review submitted

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 8:32 PM (EST)

Dude, Bad Religion needs to come back to Virginia. That was seriously the best show I've ever been too. They played 35 fucking songs!

P.S I believe you meant "Fuck Armeggedon..... This Is Hell". I'm sure you knew that, but someone had to say it.

yayforapathy

Posted by AlmostPunkEnough on 2005-11-25 20:22:17

god i'm so pissed i missed this.