I’ll admit I’m not a huge Bad Religion fan. I knew a few songs from hanging out with the punk kids in junior high, but had no idea the depth of their catalog, or what I was in for at a live show. It was the band’s first time in Tulsa since Warped Tour in ’98 and its first time ever at Cain’s Ballroom. In short, last night ruled.
I’ve spent adult years in all three of Oklahoma’s major cities — Tulsa, Norman and OKC — for more than five years a piece, which I like to think gives me a decent grasp on their similarities and differences. With that said, Tulsa is the state’s most punk-rock city, and last night’s show brought all of ’em out. (And a few I recognized from OKC. Good to have you!).
I have been going to the Cain’s Ballroom regularly for nearly 20 years and have never heard a crowd so loud as the generation- and lifestyle-transcending group in there last night. Their roars that followed each song shook your core as much as Brooks Wackerman’s bass drum did.
It was an all-ages show, so the anti-authoritarian fans of 35 years could bring their kids out for some culture. (“Mommy, can you put me up?!”) Mosh pits, crowd surfers, mohawks and lots of black leather, buttons, patches and chains combined with eight-year-olds holding their parents’ hands and late-50s couples hanging out on the bleachers. I was more than halfway back in the crowd and still was accidentally cracked in the ribs by a very excited fan, so it’s not like the kids and calmer attendees made it a tame event, not by any stretch.
I don’t need to go on about it. The crowd was rowdy — in a good way. You get it. But you know who outlasted the crowd? The band. About three songs before the encore, you noticed a lot less moshing, surfing and general jumping around in the crowd, but Bad Religion’s stamina didn’t wane. They didn’t slow down and they didn’t skip a beat, all the way through the encore. And there was very little chitchat between songs, which I can get behind. They blasted from one song to the next with only enough time for a swig of water. They did make time to say how much they loved the crowd’s energy, though, and promised to come back through Tulsa soon. So if you missed them last night, you should catch them next time.
They played chant-along crowd favorites like 2002’s “Sorrow,” off The Process of Belief, and face-melters like “52 Seconds” from New Maps of Hell, Recipe for Hate‘s “American Jesus,” and a bunch of songs from their newest album, True North. I’m not pretending to remember every song they performed last night, but they played Liberty Hall in Lawrence the night before, and the set list online is 31 songs long with two encores — easy to do when you release 16 albums over 35 years.
My ears are still ringing, I’ve been singing, “There will beeeee … soorrrrrrrrrrrrrooowww!” all day and my ribs kind of sting. What more could you want from a night with a bunch of punk legends?
