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Bad Religion @ The House Of Blues, Anaheim 2/29/2008

Del Toro
Miss Derringer
Bas Religion

Text By: Audiophile
Photos By: Robert Walter

It's hard being an opening act. No one really knows who you are, and no one in the audience, besides a few loyal fans and friends, are there to see you specifically. The crowd reaction to you could really go either way - they could love you, or hate you. With that in mind I try to offer my opinion of opening acts in the nicest way possible - and also include some constructive advice. I'm a sweetheart that way I suppose.

I think the most pleasant thing I could say about Del Toro, the opening act this night, is that the singer is very animated. The rest of Del Toro, however, must have taken some Ambien before they hit the stage that night. It was as if I were watching sleepwalkers slowly teetering back and forth before the mic stands. The overall performance of this band left the audience wanting, not only for some actual energy and enthusiasm (even though the lead singer was animated it was not enough to compensate for the rest of the band), but also wanting for something more than mere mediocre rock music. Mind you, I am trying to be kind with this review. The music didn't move or engage most people in the audience that night, which possibly a little enthusiasm from the band as a whole could have changed. It's really hard to get excited over a band's music if they aren't excited to be playing for their audience. So, Del Toro, my advice to you is to drink some Red Bull before that next show and to actually have some energy on stage! You can't leave it all up to one man to carry the whole show. For future show dates and to listen to some of Del Toro's tunes they played that night (such as "Don't Want It"), look no farther than their Myspace - www.myspace.com/deltoro.

Miss Derringer was like going to see a cheap Vegas show - lots of strange costumes with no real point to the whole thing. I can understand a semi-local rock band, despite their lack of enthusiasm, being on the bill, but this gothic-indie band really made no sense in the line up. I felt rather bad for them as people in the crowd booed and jeered at them after massive amounts of feedback during their songs. The feedback wasn't their fault, but I have a feeling this crowd would have booed at them anyway just for being so different from what they expected. With songs like "Black Tears," lyrics like "Heart break and razor blades" for choruses of their songs, and with very angry backup dancers, no one really knew what to make of Miss Derringer and their spectacle. I have seriously never seen such pissed off looking dancers. Besides the Nightmare Before Christmas costumes, the dark eyeliner, and the pissy dancers, nothing made this band impressive. The music was droll and mellow, the choruses were bland and repetitive, and the singer was cute but lacked in any real vocal talent. Despite my opinions on the band, they seem to have a loyal Myspace following which you can check out at www.myspace.com/missderringer.

Finally, we get to the meat and potatoes of the night, Bad Religion. Apparently since Bad Religion is playing so many shows in California (for dates check out their Myspace atwww.myspace.com/badreligion), they decided to come up with "theme nights." The theme for this night was 80-85 believe it or not. Songs not heard on stage for over 20 years (at least) were played tonight including, "Damned to be Free," "In the Night," and "Slaves," along with signature classics such as "Recipe for Hate," "American Jesus," "Stranger than Fiction," etc. They even threw in a few things from their latest album, New Maps of Hell, such as "New Dark Ages." It was very interesting hearing their more modern songs put up against their earliest music. It really gives you insight into where the band has been and how their sound might have changed through the years, but their ideals never really differ. Some of my favorite parts of their show this night was when Greg Graffin, singer, started talking about the Catholic conventions being held this week and how he wished to speak at them, then went into the classic 80-85 song "The Voice of God is Government." I never, in all my life, thought I'd hear this performed live. After their signature false ending, the members returned with acoustic guitars and did some sing-alongs with the crowd. "Dearly Beloved" and "Skyscraper" were played before they left the stage again, only to return once again and play a few songs like "Along the Way" and "Sorrow." No fan left disappointed on this night, the sound was great, the show was great, and the song selection was a huge surprise and success. Leap day couldn't have been any better for anybody at this show.