Bad Religion, Philadelphia, Pa written by Lynn
DATE: October 17, 2007
VENUE: Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
written by Lynn
I love the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. I am very close to saying that it's perhaps
my favorite concert venue in the city, between the fact that it's big enough for you to
really feel like you're at a concert, yet small enough to feel like it's almost intimate.
I love it, too, perhaps because of all the concerts I've seen before, I've only actually
been to four at the Electric Factory, and two of those - Muse and Chris Cornell - rank
up there on the "Best Concerts I've Ever Seen" list. Now, after seeing Bad Religion at
the same venue, I've upped that list to a 3 out of 5, because October 17th's show was
simply amazing. A. May. Zing. Mind you, too, as much as I know about the band, I
have been a bad, bad fan and had not ever seen Bad Religion before, but I know now
what I have missed all this time, and it's tragic! So shame on me, and shame on
everyone else who loves punk rock and hates politics if you haven't seen who are
probably one of the most tongue-in-cheek, outspoken bands out there, let alone the
ones responsible for influencing an entire genre of punk music. Shame on all of us, but
thankfully I have redeemed myself, and can now proudly say that I have been in
attendance at the church of freedom of speech and freedom of self, and I feel uplifted
for it!

OK, enough of of the hokey religious crap, but the point I am making is that being in
the presence of Greg Graffin, witty lyricist that he is, and the rest of Bad Religion as
they played songs both new and old, it honestly was some kind of spiritual event for
me that you'd have to have been there to understand. Some rite of passage that I finally
participated in, because I get them, what they're trying to say in their music,
and it stands for so many of the beliefs that I, personally have. I realized that night,
too, that Bad Religion, they've been around for a long time, and even if they're not
always in the spotlight, they're still always there, on the set list, coming up in reference as influences of other bands, and of course
heading off the ever-popular Warped Tour. They've become punk rock legends and icons, and though I didn't realize it until seeing their
concert, I really should have done this much, much sooner. The amount of collective feeling and harmony that went through the
audience that night - an audience comprised of fans from their teens to their forties and fifties - was really encouraging, to think that
we all really could get along, and we all really could agree on one thing, even if it was that these United States really have problems, and
that our Capitalistic, greedy, deceiving government really sucks. I think, if we were to ever be pushed to the point of riot and civil war
in this country once more, it's going to be a Bad Religion song that you hear being blared through massive speakers as citizens try to
take back what is ours and do away with presidents like "Dubya", whom Graffin dedicated the song Let Them Eat War to as the band
played their show.  




























wherein fans could register, and then pick the songs they wanted to hear played during the performance, although I don't know
whether they did, indeed, play those. Interesting idea, though. The set was really diverse, I have to say, although I did miss a few
favorites, ones that I would have thought the band would have played, like A Walk, Punk Rock Song, 10 in 2010, and a few others.
The crowd seemed to be pleased with the set list, however, if the size of the mosh pit was any indicator. Oh yes. Now, what real punk
show would be complete without crowd surfing and a big-ass mosh pit? In spite of the fact that I find the sight of guys moshing to be
absolutely hilarious beyond description, it was still great to see the crowd getting so sucked into the atmosphere that night. I almost felt
like jumping in, myself.

As the show continued on, and the moshers
moshed, and the crowd surfers surfed, I watched
and sang along, still awed that here I was, finally,
witnessing this historical band up on that stage
and singing the (non) virtues of commercialism
and elitist politics, however, there was one song
that I kept hoping and hoping for, that they hadn't
played yet. I was thinking to myself, surely
these kids KNOW this song! The set ended and the
band went offstage, and as I stood there feeling
jilted because here I was, seeing Bad Religion,
and they hadn't played what is probably their best,
most popular song, ever... they came back for the
encore. I crossed my fingers, then, hoping. They
played two songs, and I can't even recall what
they were at this point... and then they closed their

set with Infected. Then the entire room erupted into screams and cheers as soon as that intro bassline started up. This was what I had
been waiting for, and I was so excited, I actually had to call up my friend, who could not be with me that night, to let him hear Infected
over my cellphone. And as we all sang along to Greg and the rest of the boys, singing You and Me...have a disease..., I thought to
myself that this had surely been one of the greatest concert moments I've experienced lately. I'm still tingly just thinking about it. I left
the Electric Factory pumped and feeling good after that show, feeling privileged to have joined all those before me who subscribe to the
message being delivered - fight conformity and be yourself, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise.
BAND: Bad
Religion
DATE: October
17, 2007
VENUE: Electric
Factory,
Philadelphia, PA
X5
Up on the stage, Graffin looks nothing like a punk rock idol, looking instead
like the 40-something college professor that he (also) is, and though I knew
about his PhD and that he was a professor when he wasn't touring, I was
really surprised at what he actually looked like, as I'm sure many people are
upon seeing the band for the first time. I was just surprised in general,
because the band - including bassist Jay Bentley, guitarists Greg Hetson,
Brian Baker and Mr. Brett, and drummer Brook Wacherman (who, by the
way, shreds on that drum kit, keeping tempo for Graffin and the rest of the
boys) - look nothing like the way they sound, with those pumping beats and
fast lyrics. At the same time, however, they're perfect doing what they do,
playing those infectious beats and catchy choruses, standing up for their
beliefs and ours. Average, working-class Americans who are tired of the
bullshit and want to sing about it, to make sure we all see what's happening
around us as well. Gotta love it. For the deeply dissatisfied and the highly
opinionated, a Bad Religion song is a breath of fresh air to make you realize
that yeah, you're really not alone, and there are others out there who
understand how you can't deal with what bad politics has done to what
used to be the most free, most wealthy nation in the world. And our parents
always said we'd never learn anything through rock and roll, huh? Shows
how much they knew.

Playing for close to an hour and a half, the band went through a lot of the
new material off their latest release New Maps of Hell, by Epitaph Records,
including The New Dark Ages, Dearly Beloved, 52 Seconds, and Murder, as
well as a whole bunch of old favorites like American Jesus, 21st Century
(Digital Boy), Social Suicide, Let Them Eat War, and Come Join Us.
Apparently the band made use of a little website called PickRset
Bad Religion is currently on tour in Australia, and will be finishing that tour through
the middle of November. There is one date in Hawaii, on November 16th, as well,
before the band returns home. As for future dates, stay connected with what's
going on by visiting the Bad Religion webpage, and the band's MySpace,
Though I don't know for sure, my guess is that there will be plenty more
opportunity to see the band in the near future, and if they come your way, this is
definitely a show that you don't want to miss, whether you've seen them before or
not. Thank you to Austin at Epitaph for making this review possible.