Social Distortion rocks rowdy Celebrity Theatre
by CHRIS HANSEN ORF
Get Out
Nov. 22, 2004

Turning the normally placid confines of the Celebrity Theatre into a pulsating punk rock venue, Social Distortion played to a frenzied sold-out crowd that at times teetered on the brink of a rock ’n’ roll uprising.

Making the ring of security guards who outlined the half-moon stage earn their every penny trying to put the kibosh on moshing and body-surfing, the band got the festivities started with “Don't Drag Me Down” and kept the intensity up for the duration of their tight 75-minute set.

“Social Distortion is the doo-wop of punkabilly,” said Wayne Merriman, 34, of Chandler, a fan of the band since he was 10 years old. “They give their all every time out.”

Several skirmishes broke out in the crowd and moshers and crowd surfers were unceremoniously led down the ramp to never-never land, but despite the intensity of the music, the crowd was mostly well behaved.

Heavily-tattooed frontman Mike Ness, who told the crowd that Social Distortion has been coming to Arizona for 25 years because “you were one of the only places that would have us,” stalked the stage with his low-slung Les Paul kicking out the American roots-influenced punk that has separated them from the rest of punk pack in their native Orange County, Calif. since the early ’80s.

Relying on a mix of material from from their latest disc, “Sex, Love and Rock ’n’ Roll,” and songs dating back to their 1983 debut album, “Mommy's Little Monster,” Ness and company kept the pace brisk, rarely giving the crowd a chance to draw a breath before launching into another frenetic “three chords
and a cloud of dust” rockabilly/punk rave-up that is the band's trademark.

Daniel Ruiz, 39, of Phoenix brought his daughter Nicole, an aspiring punk musician, to see her first Social Distortion show.

“We have to keep this alive for the kids,” Ruiz said. “It comes from the heart.”

Many of Social Distortion's songs have become anthems over the years, and the band delivered most of them including “Bad Luck,” “Prison Bound” and the set closer “The Story Of My Life.”

“That's good stuff, I don't care who you are,” said Rob Kistler, 34, of Tempe after the show. “The only complaint I have is, how do you be Social D and not play ‘Ball and Chain?’ That's like Johnny Cash not playing ‘Folsom Prison Blues’!”

L.A. trio Tiger Army set the stage for Social Distortion with an explosive set of rockabilly and country-tinged punk that featured a slapping stand-up bass and mile-a-minute tempos that got the crowd going early.
The Explosion, a punk band from Boston, played a short, well-received set of East Coast punk that recalled the New York Dolls and MC5.

Set List:
Don't Drag Me Down
Reach For The Sky
Under My Thumb
Highway 101
Bad Luck
Mommy's Little Monster
Cold Feelings
Sick Boys
Don't Take Me For Granted
Prison Bound
When She Begins
Makin’ Believe

Encore:
Footprints On My Ceiling
Nickles And Dimes
The Story Of My Life