Punk icons Bad Religion prove it's never to late to play Music City

There's not much Bad Religion hasn't seen or done in the course of their 33 year career. Since forming in Southern California in 1980 they've been on countless tours and had numerous opportunities to challenge their fanbase to think for themselves. But there is one thing that's been missing from their agenda: a trip to play in one of music's most esteemed cities: Nashville, Tennessee.

It was a fact that frontman Greg Graffin didn't downplay, alluding to it several times during his interplay with the crowd. The band was top notch in every phase of the game, but Graffin especially shined with his ability to relate to his audience. He was wistful at times, reminiscing back to the slam dancers in San Fernando Valley in the 80s and reflecting on the fact that Bad Religion is perhaps the last surviving band from that scene.

Bad Religion frontman Greg Graffin gives Nashville a lesson in Punk 101.

He made some moves to get the crowd into it without being too obvious, like when he invited them into a sing along while they played fan favorite "Generator." And he wasn't shy about dropping hints that this might not be their lone Nashville performance  Whether that's merely stage rhetoric remains to be seen, but if it is they at least left a hell of an impression on Music City.

Concise, catchy punk anthems backed by energetic driving rhythms were the order of the night, and they had the crowd moshing, rollicking  and singing their hearts out. Waiting for a specific song in the setlist? Don't blink or you'll miss them. With many song lengths well under the three minute mark, the best parts of their set translated into short but sweet adrenaline bursts. Fortunately, there were plenty of highlights to go around.

They hit most of the high points from their latest full length, True North, without going overboard. The band emerged onto the stage in darkness to the opening strains of "Past is Dead," a blistering rocker taking the public to task for their failure to learn from the nation's mistakes. Graffin blasted the Supreme Court on "Robin Hood In Reverse," while examining the plight of the working class man on set closer "Dept. of False Hope." But with a 30 song setlist, there was plenty of time to showcase the band's extensive body of work.

Obvious concert staples like "American Jesus" and "21st Century Digital Boy" take a look at America's role in the world and middle class society respectively, and are always good for getting a crowd amped. But the set was spiced up with the inclusion of slightly more obscure numbers like "Do What You Want," a deep album cut from their 1988 breakthrough Suffer, which sarcastically blasts mankind's oafishness and cynicism in a clever and revealing manner that can only be pulled off by a band with the insight and political acumen of Bad Religion.

And of course there were a couple of tunes dating back to the band's infancy, spawned during the hardcore punk era of the early 80s. They don't sound as raw or jagged as they once did then; in fact they fit in pretty well alongside the more melodic material of the band's later years, but their primal urgency and power ring through as clearly today as it must have done back then. Face it, what could be more gratifying than shouting "Fuck Armageddon this is hell!" at the top of your lungs alongside a legion of other rabid Bad Religion fans?
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See also: Bad Religion - True North review

Bad Religion still serving as model of consistency with True North

Over the last 30 years, Southern California punk rockers Bad Religion have become an institution. They have established themselves as one of the hardest working bands, never taking more than a few years off between records. Although they hit a period of decline starting in the mid 90s, most of their work since 2002's The Process of Belief has been as sure as a smoking solo sizzling off the strings of Brett Gurewitz's guitar. True North marks their 16th full length album, and once again they've opened a tantalizing bag of tricks for their fans.

True North avoids the pitfalls that some of their weaker albums have fallen into. When Bad Religion albums go awry, it's either because they're trying to churn out an overproduced  syrupy mess for the Warped Tour crowd, or else there isn't enough melody and it gets boring. The production on their latest album is more sugary than its predecessor, 2010's Dissent of Man, though True North holds the advantage of being more consistent.

Dissent of Man was a good record in its own right but it had a different tone from most of their recent works; it felt more like a melodic rock and roll record that just happened to politically conscious. True North gets back to the business of punk rock. The closest comparison within their discography would be Against the Grain. Pushing 50, Greg Graffin and crew don't possess the same level of anger they once did, but the sonic aggression and sense of urgency on True North bear strong parallels to the band's landmark 1990 release, Against the Grain.

As usual, Bad Religion exercise their penchant for well thought out, in your face political lyrics. "Robin Hood in Reverse" sees Graffin blasting the Supreme Court for their 2008 decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which asserted that corporations are people and gave them wide latitude to make campaign contributions to political candidates.

"Past is Dead," meanwhile, takes the general public to task for their slovenly approach to education.  It discusses how people don't pay attention to history, and therefore don't have the advantage of historical precedent upon which to base their decisions. Graffin unloads: "Who can say what constitutes the most important sector of society?/ The dominant portion seek an instant gratification/ And are proud of intellectual poverty."

Yet in the same breath, Bad Religion are a band also capable of taking a much more subtle approach by speaking in thought provoking metaphor. The album's title track talks about trying to find a location on a map and using it as a metaphor for finding your own moral code. The catchy, driving and forceful delivery fully drives the point home.

Also of note is lead single "Fuck You," which basically says you don't always need a well thought out argument; sometimes you just need to say fuck you! The tempo varies throughout the song, tossing in a tasty guitar solo following a slow paced bridge.

"Hello Cruel World" is the album's sole slow tempo song, and by far the album's longest cut at just under four minutes. The slower pace allows the band to focus on their harmony section, an often overlooked component of Bad Religion's sound. It leads into a flowing guitar solo before the song's final refrain, with powerful clashes coming from drummer Brooks Wackerman near the end.

"Head Full of Ghosts," "In Their Hearts is Right," and "Popular Consensus" sound the most like old school Against the Grain or No Control era Bad Religion with their punishing and frenetic fury. "Popular Consensus" in particular is very intriguing, as Graffin seems to be modifying an old position that once seemed ironclad for him. He approaches matters from the government's position, asserting that just because the public demands something doesn't mean they are necessarily right. His claim that "popular consensus doesn't mean much to me" is evidence of dramatic development of thought for a man who once argued so forcefully for the role of citizen in government on 1987's "You Are the Government."

The biggest musical departure comes on "Dharma and the Bomb," a sun soaked retro tune which sees Gurewitz taking lead vocal, referencing I Dream of Genie and the Bhagavad Gita in his ominous lower register.

True North succeeds in all of the key areas a Bad Religion album needs to deliver, and should satisfy fans hungry for more. It presents a decided contrast to Dissent of Man, which was a much more thoughtful and mellowed out album. It would have been intriguing to see what the band could have accomplished had they pushed that sound further, though True North captures a well done take on the sound they've spent the better part of three decades championing.

Score: 82/100