Last Thursday night The Fillmore Silver Spring played host to the DMV stop of “The Vox Populi 2016 Tour.” From the Latin “Voice of the People,” the tour features one of punk rock’s most iconic names, Bad Religion. In tow, one of the genre’s most critically acclaimed acts in recent years, Against Me!.
LA based Bad Religion have been touring and pounding out quintessential material since their inception in 1980, and Thursday frontman Greg Graffin, bassist Jay Bentley, guitarist Mike Dimkich, drummer Jamie Miller, and DC’s own Brian Baker on guitar treated the District’s audience’s to their unique and distinctive brand of punk.
I’ve always enjoyed seeing Bad Religion play live, their super charged guitar chords speeding just above the tight and steady bass and drum section, while Baker’s harmonizing guitar work seems to command the direction and flow of the music as a whole. Graffin’s lyrics, though melodic and poetic, have always been the driving force addressing serious social, theological, and political issues.
The band’s last official release, 2013’s True North was their sixteenth studio album and they have been steadily touring through Europe and the US. The current “Vox Populi” tour kicked off after this year’s stop at Riot Fest and will run through November 3rd, reaching most major US markets.
Bad Religion’s setlist highlights material that spans their career including classics like the title track from “No Control,” Against the Grain’s “Modern Man” and newer material like True North’s “Fuck You.” The set also included “New Dark Ages,” “Atomic Garden,” “Television” (featuring Laura Jane Grace), “Them and Us,” “Recipe for Hate,” “I Want to Conquer the World,” “21st Century Digital Boy,” “Generator,” “Change of Ideas,” “You,” “American Jesus,” “Sorrow,” and more.
The Gainesville, FL based outfit Against Me! performed a well received set priming the crowd for what was to come next. Promoting their September 2016 release Shape Shift with Me, Against Me!’s set included “I Was a Teenage Anarchist,” “Rebecca,” “333,” “Walking is Still Honest,” and “Black Me Out.”
AGAINST ME!
