What an almighty punk double-headliner this was – the potential for something truly magnificent was well and truly in place! Well, we didn’t quite get there.
NOFX and Bad Religion were swapping headliner spots on this tour – Sydney got Bad Religion to headline, so first up it was NOFX. And the Hordern was chockers –when they sell it out, they certainly sell it out! It was a right bloody squeeze in there.
NOFX’ unique brand of humorous/political punk rock is best served live, because you get the jokes with the show. You had to be there. They played a stack of songs in their hour set, opening with the classic punk rock of Dinosaurs Will Die and serving up classics like Fuck The Kids, Don’t Call Me White, Linoleum, and Bob. They also dropped in some newer (destined to be classic) songs like The Separation Of Church & Skate, Seeing Double At The Triple Rock, the piss-funny Creeping Out Sara, and the awesome comedy of Kill All The White Man.
NOFX are one of the most successful independent acts in the world, and they are the last act in the world that would let any of it go to their heads. Frontman Fat Mike swapped jokes with guitarists Eric Melvin and El Hefe. While drummer Erik Sandin was in supreme form, and most likely the only sober player on stage. It was a pity we only got an hour out of them, but Bad Religion were up next with their brand of political punk rock.
Bad Religion were like… when you order steak at a restaurant and it’s not quite cooked the way you wanted. You could eat it easily enough and it would be tasty, but it’s not quite done. That was Bad Religion, good – but not quite good enough (personally I think they were hungover – c’mon, they’re touring with NOFX!). They played everything the fans wanted – Los Angeles Is Burning, Punk Rock Song, 21st Century Digital Boy, Do What You Want, and anti-Bush anthem Let Them Eat War.
Bad Religion weren’t quite up for following NOFX, but they gave it a decent shot. A number of fans didn’t stick around long – it would have made more sense to keep NOFX on the headline slot, but hey, it’s punk rock – who gives a fuck?
