Ben Weasel, despite being into his 40s, proved with no trouble that he can still sustain the youthful, albeit less endearingly sloppy and more amphetimized, version of Joey Ramone that he copped in the late ’80s and ’90s last Wednesday night at the Gothic Theatre.
His band still proved to be the perfect back for his humor and quirky personality. The nearly sold out house thoroughly enjoyed the 20-plus song set of seminal, so-sweet-and-poppy-that-it-sticks-to-your-face bubblegum punk, and turned the already hot Gothic into a sweaty, flailing and slamming mess of laughter, flying beers, stage dives and body surfing.
The fact that the crowd, which averaged in age at somewhere between 35 and 40 (by my estimation), were so thoroughly enrapt could likely be chalked up to the fact that Screeching Weasel practically invented the slightly softer, more palatable and accessible (even to ’80s and ’90s punk rockers’ parents) genre of hardcore.
The fact that the style has been over-copied, overplayed and assimilated into popular commercial culture to the extent that it has (Disney Channel kiddie dramas lead into and out of commercials with an unsettling, annoyingly similar brand of filler music) didn’t affect anyone’s connection. It didn’t prevent a huge number of the moshing middle-aged punkers from singing all the words, either. Every song was an anthem, every line was a setup for a joke that everyone gets. It was a perfect potion for a solid two hours of pure, ageless fun.
Despite having released ten records, at least three legitimate reformations — and subsequent dissolutions — and having lived through the worst parts of the music industry (and the often requisite plethora of legal challenges that come with it) over the past two-plus decades, it turns out that Screeching Weasel had never before stopped in Denver. Judging by the constantly frenetic fun all the band members were having — guitarist Drew Fredrichsen bounced like a Little Sid Richard Vicious as he and longtime band mate Dan Vapid exchanged fast, signature leads, while bassist Justin Perkins and drummer Adam Cargin kept flawless, ultra-speedy rhythm — they were just as excited to be in Denver for the first time as the crowd was to have them.
After playing a satisfying, lightning fast and almost non-stop succession of nearly 20 songs, including “My Right,” “Dingbat,” “Leather Jacket,” crowd favorites “My Brain Hurts” and “Hey Suburbia” and more, they cleared the stage. It turned out to be a short break, though, and they came back and played more at full force, including “Cool Kids,” “I’m Gonna Strangle You” and closed with “What We Hate.”
As the show ended, a friend remarked “there’s nothing like seeing one of your all-time favorite punk bands from your adolescence come back with the fervor and life you always loved, and the only thing’s that’s changed is that they’ve begun to go bald!”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Follow Reverb on Twitter! !
Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
