Goddamn. Seeing NOFX for the first time ended up being more sweet and sour than any Chinese meal I’ve ever had. The events leading up to the show were pretty crappy, but in the end it all worked out.
When I got to the venue around 6:00 there was a nice long queue and I found myself waiting at the end of the longest line (lolz - Ed.). Everyone was speaking about how they were stoked to finally see NOFX. The line was getting a bit frustrating and I went to go look in the line for people I know and grab a chocolate. Luckily I found my friend Bob and he pulled me in front of him. When I got to the front of the line I said my name was Evan and they checked the guest list. I wasn’t there. I asked them to check again and my name did not magically appear. I was thinking how fucking screwed I was and would not see NOFX. I said I would gladly wait for one of the organizers and speak with them. So they told me to wait, and so I did for over half an hour.
I realized no one was coming anytime soon, and I told them I’d give them my $450 camera as a deposit so I could go find an organizer. They let me in and off I went, feeling like I was in The Amazing Race. I found some dude I recognized at the front of the backstage entrance and explained my situation. He told me has never heard of me before or the person at Fat Wreck Chords who put me on the list. Fucking great. He went off to find some other higher up and I got the great idea to email Fat Wreck Chords off my phone. Seems like they contacted NOFX and told them to get me in. For future reference, I now know to contact organizers before a show!
Over an hour later the dude returned and told me he was sorry I had to wait but there was a procedure. Finally, about 2 hours later I was in the venue. I watched the majority of the opening band, Hog Hoggidy Hog, but could hardly hear anything as I was so worried because I might not see NOFX.
While the second band by the name of Fuzigish setup, I told my friends my story and bragged about my lovely blue wristband which allowed me to go backstage. Some time passed and Fuzigish finally took the stage playing all the favourites, crossing the majority of their releases. I’ve seen this band a ridiculous amount of times and don’t feel like explaining what their set is like. A summary: Ska slash punk with a bald frontman, a guy who rocks the trombone as if he was in a death metal band (which he is), and letting the crowd funnel down some beers.
I decided to go backstage and see what things were like. Not much was happening except for the crazy amount of free Red Bulls. There were technicians here and there on stage sound-checking and as they did so, the crowd chanted for NOFX. Moments later, NOFX took the stage to a crowd of 2000-odd people and Fat Mike announced who they were: “I’m fucking out of my fucking mind right now and ugh, Eric Melvin…” Eric Melvin carried on the sentence with a “… hi!” Fat Mike once again spoke into the microphone and said, “I’d like to introduce the first Mexican to ever go to South Africa!” The crowd went absolutely crazy and Fat Mike carried on, “Well, we’re going to start off with a song you’ve never heard before. It’s called 'Intro.'” I started taking pictures of the band and felt rather odd. When I pulled the camera away from my face I found myself surrounded in two dozen people doing the same thing. They went into the set playing all the usual including "Dinosaurs Will Die," "Franco Un-American," "Perfect Government" and "Seeing Double at the Triple Rock."
Throughout the set they engaged with the crowd, just like NOFX usually do. At one point there was this weird white stuff floating in the air and Fat Mike said, “What the hell is this? Are you trying to kill us or something?” El Hefe replied, “No, it’s period!” Fat Mike questioned El Hefe, “How the hell do you know what period tastes like?” El Hefe answered, “It tastes like mayonnaise and sweat!” Thank you El Hefe for putting that image in my head.
They cracked up more jokes directed at South Africa. They mentioned there was probably not a single black person at the show and said because it’s probably too expensive. They also asked what is up with the engines falling out of planes (somehow, an engine fell from a plane in South Africa a few days earlier). Oh, and if you’re wondering, there was also a low-blow AIDS joke too.
As they carried on the set, it was obvious the front row was getting pushed against the barrier and some were hurt. Security told everyone in the front (of the stage) they had to leave so they could pull anyone over who was in trouble. After we got told to leave I crept up on to the stage and sat alongside Eric Melvin. It wasn’t great to take pictures but hell, I got to sit next to Melvin.
Halfway through the set El Hefe was having some guitar problems. Fat Mike told the crowd they would play a song with the original NOFX called "Six Pack Girls." Following "Six Pack Girls" they played a song entitled "South Africa Is the Greatest Place"; Fat Mike explained we were lucky, because it took about half an hour to write, which is quite long.
Near the end of the set Fat Mike said, “OK, this is where we go off stage and you scream and we come back on.” Encore time. Well, not really, as they didn’t actually leave. The so-called encore songs were "Whoops I OD’d," "Kill All the White Man" and "Theme from a NOFX Album" followed by a long accordion outro.
NOFX finally left, but hung around backstage for anyone who wanted to speak with them. I got to speak to Fat Mike, Eric Melvin and El Hefe coupled with a signed set list which I stole, and two pictures with the band. After that I decided to leave and buy some merchandise as they were being questioned by a ton of groupies.
Set list:
- Intro
- Dinosaurs Will Die
- Franco Un-American
- Perfect Government
- Seeing Double at the Triple Rock
- Leave It Alone
- Eat the Meek
- Louise
- Leaving Jesusland
- New Herb
- Murder the Government / The Brews
- Drop the World
- Radio
- What's the Matter with Parents Today / You're Wrong
- Six Pack Girls
- South Africa Is the Greatest Place
- Bob
- Straight-Edge
- She's Nubs
- The Cause
- Linoleum
- Bottles to the Ground
- Whoops I Od'd
- Kill All the White Man
- Theme from a NOFX Album
- Melvin playing according outro
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