Ive been sucking on my bottle of Honey Jack for quite some time now, it should be running low. yet, i can honestly say on 4/10/24 when Bad Distortion & Social Religion sold-out the Santa Barbara Bowl – capacity of 4,500 – we all still had a lot of gas in the tank.
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The venue, technically having the same capacity as the Hollywood Palladium but with a much fuller & gargantuan sound – was a far leap forward. The lighting was also a top-shelf stadium production. All of which leads me to my single point of contention: no matter how much better the presentation, I simply couldn’t get into it. I do not have a good time at venues this size.
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“one – too impersonal, two – too crowded, three – too expensive – you’re telling me, i’m still a baby”
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Ive become mentally removed from absorbing much pleasure or excitement out of these hardcore/punk extravaganzas. my reason being: is that 1st and foremost I am a photographer. I have been since i was a snot-nosed punk in the early 80’s. before I picked-up the camera, sure, I was running around like a greased pig. Sadly, Im incapable of multi-tasking, you cant expect me to listen, watch and drink at the same time.
You need to process this though, the two bands that happen to be skippin’ across the USA this year, have overcome decades of strife. Frankly it’s a miracle that ½ the, combined, band members are alive, let alone flourishing.
Ironically enough both bands started bursting out teenage angst expression & kicking-up rebellion in the early 80’s & still, ended up in the upper echelon of punk rock n roll hierarchy.
One band, a complete thorn in the side of the established society norm – both by name & lyrical content birthed Bad Religion’s front man; Greg Graffin who not only obtained a PHD (Zoology) but, also penned a critically acclaimed, life-long, punk memoir.
The other band, since formation has sprung a loud and bold middle finger to law enforcement & civil acceptance. Social Distortion got the last laugh as their hometown city of Fullerton rewarded the once troubled, Mike Ness w/ the keys to the city (!!!).
It’s been over 30 years since I’ve had the privilege to document either band. As you can imagine I wasn’t gonna pass this opportunity up. Incredibly enough, both bands sounded solid after all these years. Their harmonious (yet dissonant) trademark noise has certainly stood the test of time. Admittedly, it was also nice seeing old punx of various key Southern California bands stepping onto the glare of such a large stage.
Cheers to aging gracefully and successfully!
KRK Dominguez
2:13 pm
7/5/24
over the mountain take me across the sky
