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Dear Reader, I’ll be quick and to the point. Saturday night’s showcase at the House of Blues had all the right ingredients for a splendid evening of stage diving, moshing, and overall pure punk pandemonium from the very beginning. After finally finding the god-forsaken venue (no easy task for a southern wayfarer and an eastern rambler I assure you), we arrived two hours late just in time to catch indie ska superstars Mad Caddies take the stage. The band’s zany and sultry blend of punk, ska, reggae, and Dixieland jazz sat well with the punk rock elite this evening, and their off the wall stage presence got the crowd more than ready for the aforementioned headliners. The Caddies never fail to disappoint as anyone who has ever seen them know, and the band was particularly on point with such crowd pleasers as “Monkeys,” “Distress,” and “Road Rash.” After about a forty minute set, the Caddies made their graceful exodus from the stage. It was now time for the real f*cking deal. To be perfectly honest, there is no real way to prepare for a NOFX live show. However, there are two certainties one can count on when it comes to NOFX: (a) It will rock and (b) it will be hilarious. Ryan Bray XROXX.com Concert Rating: XXXX- (4-1/2 out of 5 possible X's) NOFX is in effect and in the house...
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Needless to say the fans attending the festivities in Chicago that evening were in for a treat. Let’s begin, shall we? At about 9:15 the one and only El Hefe made his way to the stage to a thunderous roar from the crowd. “I can’t find my band,” he said in what appeared to be his best Speedy Gonzalez impersonation, and promptly left the stage. Fast forward fifteen minutes later. Now 9:30, a large kangaroo (or a guy in a kangaroo suit) begins hopping across the stage. The looks of bewilderment amongst the crowd soon turned to laughter, as front man and bassist Fat Mike stormed across the stage and proceeded to hump our fine kangaroo friend (I think he enjoyed it more than the kangaroo). After about a five minute rant about how bad Fat Mike’s hemorrhoids hurt, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin joined the fold as the band tore into a stirring rendition of “Olympia, WA,” off of their recently released split disc with Rancid on BYO Records, followed by “Fuck the Kids” (which they dedicated to everyone in attendance who wasn’t old enough to drink) and “Dinosaurs Will Die.” The punk rock faithful rallied around such other NOFX classics as “Bob,” “The Brews,” “Don’t Call Me White,” “Stickin’ in my Eye,” “Linoleum,” and the George W. Bush inspired “Murder the Government.” The sound at the venue was great, and the band sounded as tight and rhythmic as ever, all the while not taking themselves too seriously and just having fun. In short, NOFX is what music is, and should be, all about: Going out night after night and tearing it up for the fans. Believe me, they’ve been doing it for years. Bottom line, the show kicked serious fucking ass. But don’t take my word for it, go out and see them for yourselves. You’ll thank me later.