Timed for the midst of election season, Bad Religion’s aptly named “Vox Populi” (or “voice of the people” if your Latin is rusty) Tour is getting the word out. Halloween eve found the band at San Francisco’s Warfield along with tour mates Against Me! and Dave Hause in front of a packed house.
Given the quality of the touring line-up, people (many in dressed up for the holiday) bee-lined it for the prime viewing spots and, by the time Dave Hause took the stage with his brother, there was already a healthy crowd in attendance. What makes a tour like this special is the potential collaborations, so when Jay Bentley (Bad Religion) and Atom Willard (Against Me!) joined in on bass and drums for “Dirty Fucker” and “We Could Be Kings,” the dynamic in the room quickly shifted from a calm appreciation of the folky tunes to a high-energy rager that served as the perfect tee up for Against Me!’s set.
If you happened by the Against Me! merch table on your way in, you would have noticed a line that far out-stretched those for the other bands’ gear. Such is the enthusiasm that Against Me! gets wherever they go. So when they rolled on stage and launched into “True Trans Soul Rebel,” the floor not surprisingly packed in a little tighter as the fans danced and sang along to a setlist that highlighted the latest material but still went for some deep cuts like “Tonight We’re Gonna Give It 35%.” The only thing that marred the 45 minute set was the distraction by a few idiots fighting in the pit during “Teenage Anarchist.”
I don’t envy a band that has to follow Against Me! No doubt Bad Religion already knew what they would have to follow and opened with a one-two-three punch of “You Are (The Government),” “I Want to Conquer the World,” and “New Dark Ages” that got the already frothy pit churning wildly.
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
With 16 albums and over thirty-five years as a band behind them, Bad Religion has plenty of material to draw from. For the Vox Populi Tour, they chose to go broad, seemingly tailoring their setlist for the occasion, drawing from 13 of their releases including “New America” which only recently made a return to their live sets after over a decade.
Unfortunately for the San Francisco crowd, Laura Jane Grace did not join the band for “Television” as she had on previous nights of the tour. But whatever disappointment was there, it quickly evaporated during the balance of the 90 minute set that ended with a promise to return to San Francisco with a new album and a get out to vote PSA from Jay Bentley.
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
AGAINST ME!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me!
DAVE HOUSE
Dave Hause
Dave Hause
Dave Hause
Dave Hause
Dave Hause
Dave Hause
Dave Hause
Bad Religion Setlist
You Are (The Government)
I Want to Conquer the World
New Dark Ages
Atomic Garden
Come Join Us
Let Them Eat War
Fuck You
The Streets of America
God Song
No Control
Against the Grain
Suffer
New America
Watch It Die
Recipe for Hate
Robin Hood in Reverse
21st Century (Digital Boy)
Generator
Man With a Mission
You
Change of Ideas
Delirium of Disorder
Do What You Want
Best for You
American Jesus
Encore
Infected
Sorrow
Fuck Armageddon… This Is Hell
Against Me! Setlist:
True Trans Soul Rebel
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Haunting, Haunted, Haunts
Unconditional Love
Tonight We’re Gonna Give It 35%
Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Walking Is Still Honest
Delicate, Petite & Other Things I’ll Never Be
FuckMyLife666
Crash
Rebecca
Pints of Guinness Make You Strong
I Was a Teenage Anarchist
Black Me Out
