Celebrating the 25th anniversary of their self titled release, Social Distortion made their way to The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD and with them a dose of much-needed punk rock in a manner and style that only Social Distortion can deliver.
Performing to a sold out crowd, Mike Ness and his band nailed a spot on, rock solid performance of the most beloved and celebrated album in their catalog. The album marked the band’s third full length studio release and represents a pivotal moment in their career—commercial success and eventually gold status.
Playing the album in order (mostly) from front to back, the performance felt more like a ride down memory lane than it did a mere Social Distortion show. With his characteristic voice, heavy snarls, and his perfect guitar tone, Mike Ness breezed through his set flawlessly hitting all the right vocal accents and performing every lead guitar part with style and precision.
Stage volume almost hit ear-bleeding levels as Ness still seems to be a living example of the sentiment, “the louder it is, the better it sounds,” however watching Ness, Wickersham, and the boys play this album live was indeed a pleasure.
Closing the night with a few surprises, the band managed to slightly stray from the release, injecting a few cover songs into the final moments of the show. Ness sang an amazing rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses,” and even played Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues,” before ending the night with the Cash / Ness fan favorite, “Ring of Fire.”
The surprise of the night for me was singer, Nikki Lane from Nashville, TN. Mixing an old school country roots feel with elements of the contemporary, Lane’s sound is simple and impressive. The band’s slide guitar fills and harmonies are both precise and poignant, while the songs themselves are a perfect cocktail of classic and new. Her songwriting is profoundly on-point and her vocals were some of the best I’ve heard in some time. I cannot wait to see this band perform again.
Drag the River from Fort Collins, CO had the honor of being the night’s opener.
SOCIAL DISTORTION
NIKKI LANE
DRAG THE RIVER
