Altsounds - Social Distortion + The Bones (live) @ London O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire

Last time I saw Social Distortion live was in LA in 2004, and I’ve been looking forward to the next opportunity ever since. The show sold out two months in advance, and while I make my way inside Shepherd’s Bush Empire, I wonder where this two-thousand-strong punk crowd (and I don’t mean only teenagers in trendy-alternative Misfits tops) hides for the rest of the week.

Having The Bones as a support act for a Social Distortion gig is a welcome bonus to an already top event. The Swedish four-piece has been on the scene for over ten years, and their live shows are rumoured to be their biggest strength. With two lead singers and plenty of attitude, The Bones flirt with the audience and conquer it all in a forty-five minutes set, showing years of experience and undiminished passion. Picking from four full length albums, they please old fans and make new ones with a traditional formula of rough and dirty punk rock’n’roll, like their first hit “Screwed, blued and tattooed”; my favourite is “Gasoline business”, catchy and explosive, somewhat obvious but still unique. The last album from The Bones, “Burnout Boulevard”, was released in 2007, and while they leave the stage I wonder if there’s any new recording in the pipeline, possibly followed by a promotional tour.

It’s finally 9.30pm, time for the headliners Social Distortion! One thing I like about Social Distortion, apart from their timeless bluesy punk rock pieces, is the fact that they don’t just come out with a new album whenever they have ten new tracks ready. Their last release, “Sex, Love and Rock’n’roll”, goes back to 2004, and it didn’t contain one single song you would ever skip; before that, we have to go back seven years to find “White light, white heat, white trash”, and again, each song was a masterpiece of its kind. When you buy a Social D album, you know it’s worth your fifteen quid and in between, you can probably find them on tour, spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a set-list, giving fans the luxury of listening to something different every time. So, what is it going to be tonight?

The lights go down, Mike Ness makes his entrance, wearing a hat and low slung guitar, sporting a beard and a few more lines on his face; on drums, Atom Willard (Rocket from the Crypt, Offspring) recently replaced Charlie Quintana after an amicable split, and he’s said to be a brilliant addition to the band. First surprise, they open with “The Creeps”. “Mommy’s little monster”, one of their earliest hits shakes the audience and it’s going all too fast from there, this is what happens with a good gig, it just never seems to last long enough. “Reach for the sky” has everyone singing along, “Bad luck” is another crowd pleaser, and then it’s time for Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire”, now Shepherd’s Bush is standing up and dancing. Old and new once again with “Don’t drag me down” followed by “Highway 101” which is a perfect soundtrack for a road trip around the West Coast. Another early success, “Ball and Chain”, then “Nickels and Dimes”, and the rhythm slows down with the beautiful “Sometimes I do”. Social Distortion temporarily say goodbye, just to come back with a thought for Hank Williams and a memorable execution of “Alone and forsaken”. After another classic, “Prison Bound”, Mike Ness announces a new single, it’s called “Still alive” and do I need to even be saying this? It’s brilliant, and I can’t wait to have the CD on my desk, be it a single or (hopefully) an album.

Then it’s really time for goodbyes. Mike Ness asks the dreamers in the audience to raise their hands: they’re the ones who are going to make it, he says, while the notes of “Story of my life” fill the Empire. I hope it won’t be another four years until I see Social Distortion live again, but even if it’s seven, I will definitely be there and as with this gig I am sure that I won’t be disappointed.