The first time I ever laid eyes on the band Social Distortion was in the documentary video Another State of Mind. My good friend Pat brought the VHS tape to my house and said we had to watch it. The video featured footage from two punk bands on tour in 1982, Youth Brigade and the now-iconic Social Distortion. I remember footage of Social D’s front man Mike Ness talking to the camera looking through a mirror as he got ready to play a show, smearing black mascara down his face from his eyes and spiking his hair.
From that day forward, for one reason or another, it seems that Social Distortion has had an ever-present part in my own music collection. Social D is one of those bands that you can always go back to, and they seemingly never change.
When they’re in town, it’s well-known that they always put on a good live show, and they always have an overwhelming stage presence. You can bring your best girl and sing along to classic songs like “Ball and Chain,” and if you’re really lucky, you can lay your ears on more classic tunes from the bands arsenal, like “Mommy’s Little Monster” or “Prison Bound.” Whichever era of the band’s catalog that you fancy, Social Distortion always delivers a little bit of everything.
Seeing Social Distortion play live a handful of times through the years, the one thing that stands out is the overall tone and sound of the band, especially Ness’s guitar. His unique take on a classic tone setup is as good live as it is on the albums, and that’s saying a lot. Ness still sports his ’70s Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Deluxe with a P-90 pickup installed on the bridge spot. This setup allows for that perfect sustainable half-clean-half-gritty tone that rings true on almost every Social Distortion album. The full-bodied guitar sounds are matched only by Ness’ slightly raspy vocals, which are both commanding and slightly vulnerable at the same time. To me, Ness’s vocals have the same toughness now that they did all those years ago. It’s no mystery why this band still packs the fans in at every venue they play; they are simply a good show. Long live Social Distortion.
The set list at their recent show at Ram’s Head Live included a pretty good mix, which spanned across titles from every album: “So Far Away,” “Bad Luck,” “Through These Eyes,” “Story of My Life,” “Hour of Darkness,” “Machine Gun Blues,” “Ring of Fire,” “It’s No Bed of Roses,” “Ball and Chain,” and “Misery loves Company.”
