NOFX
Tuesday, March 4
The Beaumont
By ANDREW MILLER
During NOFX’s sound check, a squinting Fat Mike addressed the lighting technician. “Can you do one thing for me?” he asked. “Could you put some of these lights on the audience so they can be as annoyed as I am?” Even when no crowd is present to witness his witticisms, Fat Mike keeps the quips coming. And hours later, right before the group’s first song, the spotlight shone in fans’ faces, just as requested.
Fat Mike generously shares the metaphorical spotlight with the audience as well. Not only does he engage in good-natured back-and-forth heckling, but also he takes time to make informed observations about his tour stops. After taking a few “Bible belt” jabs at the Midwest, he declared Kansas City “a punk-rock town,” explaining. “I walked around earlier, and I saw rainbow flags in coffeehouse windows. You celebrate diversity here.” It was refreshing to hear a valid rationale for the “you guys rule” back-patting. (As opposed to opener No Use for a Name, whose singer Tony Sly blurted “I fucking like Kansas City a lot” based solely on the fact that fans moved a little during the first song.)
Mike also named his “favorite Kansas Citian,” bestowing the title on Brad Logan, and even though that crust-punk hero no longer resides here, it was a knowing gesture. (Guitarist El Hefe cast his vote for Tech N9ne.) Name-checking local celebrities to make each city feel more nationally recognized is a simple, yet seldom performed, courtesy.
It’s fortunate that NOFX’s banter is so worthwhile, because it seemed to devour a third of the 90-minute show. Still, plenty of room remained, given that the group’s songs last two minutes or less.
(Click More for more.)
Photo of Fat Mike from the NOFXofficialwebsite.com.
Unlike contemporaries Green Day and Offspring, who took the MTV-exposure route to platinum sales, the willfully underground-submerged NOFX isn’t obliged to play hits. The band did play its best-known songs (unveiling “Linoleum” early and saving “Bob” for the encore), but the other selections felt thrillingly random, spanning several albums and genres (including ska, reggae and lounge.)
While playing a tight set, NOFX made a few minor errors, missing a chord here or a rhythmic cue there. Most fans wouldn’t even notice these blips, especially given the speed at which they occurred, but Fat Mike noted every flaw, even requesting a do-over when one song started errantly. This didn’t seem like a perfectionist’s obsession so much as an anti-rock-star’s public declaration of imperfection. NOFX’s members view themselves as fuck-ups lucky enough to play punk until becoming “old, old men,” and they want their fans to see them the same way.
No Use for a Name, celebrating the 20th anniversary of its debut release, boasts almost as many tree rings as the headliners. Back in 1996, the group played the VFW Hall at 3027 Walnut. Maybe a couple dozen people attended, and after the band shredded through its set, one fan requested an unusual encore: “Could you just play some ska for a while so we can dance?” Another attempted to stick up for the area’s measly-looking scene, dealing an unintended insult in the process: “I don’t know why there isn’t anyone here. Usually this place is packed!”
Sly finally witnessed this mythical full house on Tuesday, thanks to NOFX’s undiminished drawing power. When touring alone, the band struggles to transcend the commercially moribund pop-punk genre, cast as Candlebox to NOFX’s Pearl Jam. It’s difficult for NUFAN to attract new fans: Many of then-teenagers who embraced 1995’s stellar Leche Con Carne don’t care to hear anything more recent – a fact Sly acknowledged by announcing “we’re playing mostly old songs” even though No Use releases a new album on April 1 – and today’s kids largely prefer emo and metalcore.
Nakedly hostile toward its usurpers, No Use for a Name took several shots at emo, eventually resorting to homophobic rants about sensitive dudes “sucking each other off.” “When a guy first called a guy in another band a sweetheart, that’s the day punk died,” Sly said, oblivious to the fact that grizzled Sid Vicious doppelgangers pronounced the genre dead more than a decade ago largely because unapologetically melodic groups such as No Use for a Name were becoming punk’s decidedly unthreatening public face.
The evening’s first act, the Toronto-based Flatliners, recalled the dawn of the Warped Tour era, when NOFX clones thrived. Like most of those forgotten outfits, the Flatliners deliver competent quick-paced melodicore, but lack the indelible hooks to make their material memorable or the wit to make their copious banter bearable.
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NOFX is always a great entertaining band too see. The only band more fun to see IMO is Guttermouth who normaly spend about 1/2 the show chatting with fans and belittling the uber punks in the crowd.
Now that the band is headlining with the warped tour 2009 there is actually a reason to go this year. Other then Bad Religion the line up is a little hokey and uninspiring.
One thing I will add to is that when all the NOVX clones were coming out I was really annoyed with music in general, but that was much better then the emo/hardcore bipolar garbage that is big in popularity these days.
I had a great time, got to the front and even got made fun off by Fat Mike as i was the "bald old guy" lol
It's great to live in a city that still draws killer So-Cal punk rockers like NOFX. Hopefully other acts will come thru this summer.
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