Bad Religion defines punk.
Music veterans Bad Religion will take the stage of the Wellmont Theater on Fri., March 22 with tour mates The Bronx and Polar Bear Club. Guaranteed to bring out the inner punk rocker in everyone, the concert is not one to be missed.
Opening act Polar Bear Club may be new to the touring scene compared to their tour mates, but it does not mean they are less experienced. The band, hailing from Rochester, NY, started in 2005 as a side project to fill time on weekends. Balancing jobs, school and lives, band members didn’t start taking themselves seriously until they saw the demand and positive feedback from their music.
Polar Bear Club took to the road and started taking their careers more seriously in 2008 with the release of their first album Sometimes Things Just Disappear. The band’s grit and desperation seen in songs like “Convinced I’m Wrong” and “Pawner” from their 2011 album Clash Battle Guilt Pride prove that they have taken their music and crowd-pleasing far beyond the lofty dreams of their start.
Tour mates The Bronx opted for a more punk sound when they hit the music scene in 2002. The quintet comes from Los Angeles, CA, and is known for putting on concerts just as hot as the state they started from. Though the band has seen several label changes over the course of their career, they’ve proven it can’t stop talent.
Choosing a non-traditional approach to naming their albums, each is instead given its sequential number in roman numerals. A mystery to some, the approach seems to work for the sometimes punk, sometimes polished band. Together they have released four studio albums including their most recent IV in February, featuring such songs as “Along for the Ride” and “Pilot Light.”
Bad Religion is no stranger to stage or a spotlight, having started 30 years ago in southern California. The band’s current line up now consists of Greg Graffin on vocals, Brett Gurewitz on guitar and background vocals, Greg Hetson on guitar, Jay Bentley on bass and backgrounds vocals, Brain Baker on guitar and Brooks Wackerman on drums.
With a name appropriate for their sometimes controversial lyrics, Bad Religion has displayed over the years that you really can’t judge a book by its cover. Despite a name suggesting borderline atheism and a symbol prohibiting a cross, the band doesn’t hate on religion. Seen in their song “Sorrow” from their 2002 album The Process of Belief, the band is open to spirituality. The song sings about “when the only true Messiah rescues us,” never naming a specific one. It’s debatable that the band really isn’t as bad as they’re chalked up to be.
Bad Religion together has released 16 studio albums, their most recent in 2013 entitled True North. The album watched it’s single “F*** You” climb the charts and restore hope that the punk band still has what it takes to please the people.
The Bad Religion concert will start at 8 p.m. with doors opening to the public at 7 p.m. Parking for the show is available in the parking lot next to the Wellmont, as well as designated parking areas and street parking where permissible. For more information about the show, visit wellmonttheatre.com
Copyright © 2013, The Montclair Dispatch
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