Concert Review: Bad Religion – Powerstation, December 4, 2019

Bad Religion performed at Auckland’s Powerstation last night, delivering an incredible 27-song punk-rock setlist and transforming the packed venue into a non-stop pulsating mass of moshing bodies.

Opening for Bad Religion were Australian pop-punk and punk-rock bands, Bodyjar and Frenzal Rhomb, with both groups bringing a distinct flavour of wit to their crowd address alongside a perfect balance of diverse punk sound between the two.

Opening with the frenetic drums of Shane Wakker in You Say, Bodyjar performed with blistering precision and clean, sharp guitar through Is It A Lie and Remote Controller, with lead vocalist Cam Baines flooding energy into the rapidly filling venue and immediately developing that vital connection for what would soon turn into a raging, moshing crowd.

There’s also something unique about live punk-rock music; it’s one of the few genres of music that seems both distinct from its recordings and simultaneously elevated in its sound. Perhaps it’s the complementary visuals of a thrashing crowd and the high-energy performance of the bands, but following numbers, Note The Same, Vessel, Lights Out and One In A Million all felt infused with a vibrant energy and clarity that you could only experience live.

Following Bodyjar were Frenzal Rhomb, with the group bringing a wildly unpredictable and loose performance to the stage – the kind of set that felt improvised if it weren’t for the immense cohesion the band members held together on stage. Contrasting the melodic, veering-on-pop-punk sound of Bodyjar, Frenzal Rhomb blurred genres between the harsh, screaming vocals of Jason Whalley and the comedic injections of cover-riffs by Lindsay McDougall.

The only issue with their performance was an imbalance of volume – with vocals largely drowned out amidst thunderous drums and screeching guitar – which thankfully cleared up shortly before the end of their set. This wasn’t too distracting for the majority of their time on stage, as many of their numbers were clearly developed for aggressive head-banging and moshing, but it meant that any lyrically dense songs fell flat, consequently flattening the feel of the instruments together as a whole.

Fortunately, even with these issues littered throughout the performance, the dry-wit charm of Whalley and guitar-conversations of McDougall kept the energy and enjoyment of the crowd at a peak, and presented two Australian bands of similar-but-distinct sound as a fitting warm-up for the punk-rock royalty headliners.

Bad Religion took to the stage shortly after, as the crowd screamed their admiration into the blood-red lighting that flooded the venue against the dominating, bold ‘BAD RELIGION’ backdrop plastered across the stage. Immediately dropping into 21st Century (Digital Boy), there was zero indication that nearly 40 years of performing and an average band-member age of 50-plus was going to hinder the youthful energy of their set.

Within seconds, heavy guitar riffs saw the crowd absolutely heaving against each other on the floor, a sight which would remain for almost the entire set as vocalist, Greg Graffin, led the crowd into Fuck You and the ferociously paced Anesthesia – with drummer, Jamie Miller, shaking the foundation of Powerstation with one beautifully executed drum-roll after the other.

Graffin’s crowd-address style was a delightful blend of ad-lib conversation and transitioning song-title tease, eliciting screams of joy from the crowd with each emphasised title-mention before the group dove into the next number. Chaos From Within and Stranger Than Fiction followed shortly afterward, before The Dichotomy saw a slight switch in tempo – building from the measured, guitar-heavy riffs and the flawless bass of Jay Bentley – leading into an incredibly wild guitar solo and an immediate drop through Miller’s stunning drums.

Following on with Recipe For Hate and My Sanity, the set found the perfect balance between unrestrained crowd-moshing and fan singing – in the 27 songs performed last night, there wasn’t a single moment where much of the crowd weren’t screaming lyrics with every breath in their lungs. There’s a general recipe in Bad Religion for 2-minute thrash-hardcore punk numbers and 3-minute-plus melodic numbers, and the set-list felt perfectly curated to keep both those crowd reactions expertly balanced.

Guitar solos were respectfully shared between Brian Baker on the far right of the stage and Mike Dimkich on the far left, with both musicians tearing out jaw-dropping moments in Conquer The World and Lose Your Head, with the former seeing a flurry of drums, bass, and guitar overlapping and intertwined into a howling, high-intensity finish. Graffin took time to shake hands with eager, sweaty fans in the front row of the stage, commenting that they were ‘the best crowd south of the equator’ and they ‘they should start their tours here instead of finishing them’ – of all the gigs I’ve been to at Powerstation this year, this was arguably one of the most appreciative crowds, still managing to stay interpersonally respectful despite the body-crashing nature of the floor crowd.

Los Angeles Is Burning saw the stage filled with pulsating red-and-white lights against its rollercoaster rhythm, while Generator peaked the pure, unrestrained energy of the crowd with an immensely wild solo by Baker – even pushing into 90 minutes of non-stop punk-rock, Bad Religion were all pouring every ounce of energy into their performance from start to finish.

An encore of Infected and Fuck Armageddon saw one, final burst of physicality from the floor section, before an extended version of closing number, American Jesus, left the crowd screaming with joyous appreciation – a feeling openly and vividly shared by the band in return. The most impressive and stunning aspect of their performance was how incredibly upbeat it was throughout – while channelling everything from Black Flag to The Ramones and The Stooges, Bad Religion felt perfectly in control, both in themselves and the crowd.

This resulted in a gig that – despite unruly, turbulent energy – was purely celebratory, and brought leagues of wildly diverse fans together in unison. Looking at the collection of bodies flowing together on the floor during the closing number, I realised this wasn’t a mosh pit of individuals all fighting for their own unique space, but a collective melding of human beings sharing that same energy and love – all of them with mutual passion, respect, and appreciation for a group that represents a timeless example of everything punk-rock can bring to the world.

~Oxford Lamoureaux

Click any image to see a full gallery of each band. Photos by Todd Buchanan.

Bad Religion

Body Jar

Frenzel Rhomb

Bad Religion Setlist
21st Century (Digital Boy)
Fuck You
Anesthesia
Chaos From Within
Stranger Than Fiction
The Dichotomy
Recipe For Hate
My Sanity
Them & Us
Conquer The World
End Of History
The Handshake
New Dark Ages
Lose Your Head
Modern Man
Sinister Rouge
We’re Only Gonna Die
Skyscraper
Do What You Want
Los Angeles Is Burning
You
Do The Paranoid Style
Generator
Sorrow

Encore
Infected
Fuck Armageddon…This Is Hell
American Jesus