Let's Go to the Punk Rock Show!
a NOFX Experience
Bobby Rice
Issue date: 11/5/08 Section: Features
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NOFX, arguably the best punk rock band ever, have two live recordings, their first, 1995's I Heard They Suck Live!!! and last year's, They've Actually Gotten Worse Live!, which gave me my first real expectations before I saw them live for my first time last Wednesday night at Irving Plaza. NOFX, notorious for continuously appearing on-stage too far gone from intoxication from many known substances, most notably alcohol, are extremely self aware of their reputation for messing up during live performances, slurring the words of their own songs and sometimes not being able to finish a show. "60%" a song from their 2006 album, Wolves in Wolves' Clothing, was a song which they proclaimed as their mission statement, a song which illustrated, somewhat sarcastically and somewhat seriously, their outlook on their live performances, "I'm not here to amuse you / I'm here to abuse my body…This is not my job, my hobby, my habit / It's sad but this is my life…Would you rather be fed some [nonsense] from some 20-something makeup wearing popstar?... Your taking it easy before the show / So you wont lose your voice / And disappoint your fans routine…It's not that we don't pull it / Its just that we only give it about 60 or so percent".
Jesus, how did someone get into college listening to rhetoric like this?
Perhaps living the punk rock lifestyle for the past 25 years gives you a free pass to still act like an 18-year-old left alone by your parents, or perhaps its what sells records, and is merely a part of the gig. Well, whatever, it didn't matter; they sold out Irving Plaza two nights in a row, and after paying nearly double the listed retail price for the tickets, courtesy of stubhub.com. Our primary detours en-route to Irving, a stop at the 236 Wine and Liquor store and a brief pit-stop at the Courtyard Marriott which involved a stealthy and suave use of the lobby restrooms during a meeting with an employee of Stub-hub to pick up our tickets. Hey, as a famous poet once said, "Buy the ticket, take the ride", right ?
Unfortunately, these minor, yet necessary digressions from the show kept us from missing the opening act, The Flatliners and a large portion of Dillinger Four's set who was the prelude to NOFX. Dillinger Four, a veteran punk-pop band got the crowd's attention with their Saves' The Day like fast pounding guitar riffs and Hot Water Music vocals. By the end of their set the crowd was moving, beginning to sweat and ready for NOFX.