CINCINNATI, OH- Legendary Punk rock veterans, The Circle Jerks, continue their 40th (technically 42nd) anniversary tour celebrating the anniversaries of their first two albums “Group Sex” released in 1980 and “Wild in The Streets” released in 1982, with a stop at Bogarts in Cincinnati, OH. The band reunited in 2020 with the promise of a tour. The tour plans were interrupted due to the pandemic of course but the band reconvened in 2021 and have been on a seemingly endless tour since. They have brought along many of their luminaries along for the ride. Bands like 7seconds, the Adolescents, The Bronx and the ever-present Negative Approach to name a few, as well as a co-headlining tour with the Descendants, as direct support for the Original Misfits and slots on NOFX’s final tour with the Punk in Drublic festival. This particular leg of the tour bolstered support from TSOL and Negative Approach, which proved to be the perfect combination of old school punk performed by iconic musicians to a packed all ages house.
Negative Approach opened the show and wowed show goers with performances from a catalog dating back to the early ‘80s. There was an undeniable energy in the air when they hit the stage, sauntering casually onto the stage before tearing straight into their trademark furious sound without a second of banter or polite preamble. The group delivered a blistering 40 minutes of seething hardcore that included the group’s most known songs like “Nothing” and “Dead Stop.” The Detroit quartet is certainly an intense band, to say the least. NA also tore through a violent version The Stooges’ “I Got a Right”.
The Detroit-based band comprises singer John Brannon, renowned for his signature scowl and distinct vocals; guitarist Harry Richardson, who typically plays facing away from the crowd; bassist Ron Salowski; and drummer John Lehl. Their robust sound never fails to captivate their audience. They’re set to join GWAR for the “Age Of Imbeciles” tour through October.
When it comes to TSOL, one can not only expect great music, but also witty anecdotes from one of the most prolific storytellers of our generation in Jack Grisham. I remember my first encounter with the band hearing “Code Blue” back in the 80’s. The song is both jarring and absurdly hilarious all at the same time. I personally think it has one of the best sing-alongs choruses in the history of music. Secretly, I would probably have this song played at my funeral as a reminder of my twisted sense of humor. The current line up along with Grisham is founding Guitarist Ron Emory, drummer Antonio Val Hernandez and bassist Brandon Reza, who is filling in for Mike Roche as he recovers from an injury. Brandon fits well in the fold, laying down the now infamous bass lines and vocals. Keyboardist Greg Kuehn was not along for this tour.
The band was already on stage as they set up their gear and launched into their instrumental intro as Jack entered the stage and they broke into “The Sound of Laughter.” There was massive feedback coming from the monitors as Jack sang, so much so that when they started into “Terrible People” they had to stop whilst the sound guys hashed out the problem. They returned with “Superficial Love” and the set went on without any more snags.
Both the band and the crowd were into it. Throughout their 15 song set, they were at the top of their game. It was a great mix of songs from their discography, including “In My Head”, “Give Me More”, “World War III”, and one of my personal favorites, “Fuck You Tough Guy.” They are forever cemented into my mind as a favorite band who created some of my favorite music that I still adore today. This part of the Circle Jerks tour is done and as they return to respective homes to rest before the next wave of shows hit in October and November, which includes an appearance at the “Darker Waves” festival and their annual Southern California dates in early January. You can still check out and purchase the “Ignore Heroes” movie that is just a great piece directed Jack Grisham and starring Ron, Mike and Greg as well. Uncle Jack has said many times on his Facebook live broadcasts that “it could all be coming to an end soon”, though nothing is in cement, I would suggest seeing them whenever the opportunity presents itself.
As the Circle Jerks took the stage and dawning their respective instruments, frontman and punk legends Keith Morris, addressed the crowd in a monologue. The singer made a point of mentioning that the band had originally planned this tour to coincide with the 40thanniversary of the release of its first record, “Group Sex,” but COVID was forced to scrap the original set of dates, and now the tour is actually happening on the 40th anniversary of the second album, “Wild In the Streets.” Throughout the night, the band drew heavily from those two albums.
Morris, after quickly introducing the rest of the band, bassist Zander Schloss, guitarist Greg Hetson and drummer Joey C. before he finishes his speech and then without ado re-introduces himself “We are the Circle Jerks”. He goes head first into the song, “When the Shit Hits the Fan,” an appropriate song to kick off their set and the crowd just ate it up. They jumped directly into “Wild In The Streets”. They went straight through about four songs, before taking a break. Morris explained how they would be playing songs in blocks to keep themselves from tiring out. There were huge set lists taped to the floor of the stage So they could pick and choose what to play next. During these breaks you saw Morris and Hetson quickly discussing what they would play next or Keith would tell another Anecdote about the life of a life long punker, which were just as entertaining as the music itself.
Across thirty-three songs the Jerks not only put forth an engaging and ferocious punk show but also demonstrated how the form of music is still a vehicle for having fun while making relatable commentary on social issues and events in a way accessible and inclusive. Some of the songs included in the setlist were “Wild in the Streets”, “Live Fast Die Young”, & “Letterbomb” to name a few. They finished out the show with hits like “I Wanna Destroy You”, “What’s The Problem”, & “Question Authority”.
Circle Jerks have a reputation for a rowdy, noisy, off the wall nuts show, but are also genuinely polite toward with the audience. Regardless of their ages, they still bring an invigorating hardcore punk show that has aged very well. The band is taking a break until November when they will rejoin with the Descendants for a couple of dates and then a headlining spot at the Punk in The Park Festival in Oakglen, CA, catch them when you can.
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