NOFX - House of Blues - 1/17/12

By Gabrielle Canon Wed., Jan. 18 2012 at 9:06 AM

Timothy Norris

NOFX House of Blues Sunset Strip
1/17/12

See also: Our NOFX slideshow

Better than ...All of the other shows NOFX played this week

After nearly four hours of opening bands, NOFX finally took the stage in front of a packed house at House of Blues Hollywood last night. Lead Singer Fat Mike enticed the crowd: "Tonight is going to be the best night of your life." Judging by the exuberant sea of fist pumping moshers in the pit, this may have been true, at least for some.

Not only was this the only night NOFX played "The Decline," their 18 minute punk rock masterpiece and rant about the problems with politics and society, they also surprised the audience by doing a special (though sloppy) live recording of "Doornails," featuring opener Old Man Markley.

Not everything was a surprise, however. NOFX bantered with the crowd, picking audience members to make fun of to pass time between songs. No one was spared, including the sound engineer, a black guy wearing a Rasta hat; Fat Mike and El Hefe referred to him throughout the show as "sound mon" (fake accent and all). Fat Mike also commented on the abundance of old guys rocking in the pit.

When he wasn't making fun of audience members, Fat Mike spent most of his vocal downtime complaining about having to play and laughingly threatening to end the show early. It only got worse when, after seeing the pot clouds hovering above the pit, Fat Mike and El Hefe demanded to be passed a joint. Things promptly got sloppy. ("I don't smoke, I coke," insisted Mike.) Still, they got through many crowd favorites including Murder the Government, Eat the Meek, and Don't Call Me White, and everyone seemed to go home happy.

Despite some of the shortcomings, this sold out show highlighted the fact that old guys can still hold their own in a mosh pit. That's enough to impress anyone reliving the glory days.

Personal bias: This reviewer almost dusted off her hi-top All Star Chucks and safety pin collection to honor the high school version of herself.

The Crowd: The perfect mix of old people, high school kids, and skater guys who mistakenly brought their girlfriends (a bit of advice ladies, don't wear high heels to a punk rock show). Oh yeah, and a handful of hardcore punks who dressed the part, held/threw their shoes in the air, and got the mosh pit going.

Random notebook dump:One of the happiest discoveries of the night was that there wasn't a single hipster in sight. But, there were a lot old white guys, including some who looked caught between their past and present. (I'm talking about you, Mr. Fancy Sport Coat over a Black Flag T-shirt, sipping cocktails in the back).

Set list below.

Location Info

Venue

Map

House of Blues Sunset Strip

8430 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

Category: Music

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Tags:

House of Blues Los Angeles, NOFX, punk rock

We Recommend

Thecampout

Writer is wrong as shit in the 2nd paragraph. NOFX played The Decline in it entirety at the San Diego House of Blues earlier that week. This writer sucks. Do your homework buddy.

LAgirl

the sport coat guy with the black flag shirt was from the opening band Wrong Beach. also, there wasnt 4 hours of opening bands. these shows were fun and everyone had a great time.

Gerry

Come on Bruin bro-

They rule in their intellectual wheelhouse, a place they seem unlikely to escape.

bruin_bro

Could we get some more info about the music they played & what was going on with their sound? But I'm with Johnny B - these commenters seem really obtuse. I'm kinda surprised they can muster the brainpower to use the internet.

Reynaga1

Shove your mouth with silicon and keep it that way!

Reynaga1

Booooo! Keep the hateness to yourself hater and listen to the music you like! We will keep listening until they quit touring, and still we will beg for an encore!! Reynaga1@yahoo.com

Liable23

Hollllllllllllllly shit this bitch is dumb!

Johnny B.

I'm not really sure what a majority of these cynics are referring to, I thought this review was spot on. It's a little hard to judge a review when the only comments you see are shallow statements like "You're a moron brother" (when clearly the writer is female.) . Obviously, if "you seem like a douche" is the only comment you can muster up, your ability to fully understand an article are clouded by your cynicism, and maybe even your lack of an ability to read. I urge you all to come out of your lame punk rock shell, man up, learn how to take some criticism, and move on with your lives.

Ron Swanson

you seem like a douche.

Johnny Blades

You give Johnny Bs a bad name. Sure, I could go review a Maroon 5 concert and talk about how it sucked shit, and how everyone there was a loser, but why would anyone want to read concert reviews written by someone who clearly never wanted to be there in the first place? People who want to bitch like this should save it for their personal blogs.

some dirty hobo

This is the stupidest thing I've ever read. And that's coming from a punk ass hobo from Climax, ( yes Climax ) Georgia.

Thehouserecordings

Your biggest mistake was thinking that you ever understood: "...almost dusted off her hi-top All Star Chucks and safety pin collection to honor the high school version of herself." Why do you to think that an aged crowd shouldn't be at a show celebrating a band that's been around 25 years? I think this review is confusing and out of touch. You can't bash something unless you've been around the block 138 or so times, and even then, it's hard to get away with.

Gary Pringle

cool story, bro

Timemovestooslow

Seriously, who reads ur shit?

Jesuschrist

what a douche nozzle

guest

lame.

Guest

Useless hippy...

Betty B

Gabrielle Canon obviously does not know the meaning of punk rock, the glory of guitar when out of tune, the off timing, the singers who can't sing, the beauty of flaw...yeah, Gabrielle, you are lame my dear.