A day late and a dollar short? Not last night.

A day late and a dollar short? Not last night.

One of the good things about living next to a town that has some serious live performance venue’s is that I can hear who’s playing on the outside stage from my window.

A couple of years ago the music from the loudest band in the world was echoing through the myriad of buildings into my living room. The unmistakable voice of Lemmy singing Dr. Rock got me off my ass. We found ourselves rushing the get dressed and did a speed walk to the Boardwalk to enjoy the rest of the set free of charge. Not the best seats in the house, but who cares?

Last night I heard music and leaned my head out the window. It was Social Distortion playing on the outdoor stage. We threw some clothes on and did the 15 minute walk down to check them out. We picked up the pace when we heard “Prison Bound.” Next up was “Story of my life” and we were not quite at the venue yet. We knew that them playing these two songs, they were getting close to the end of their set. As we approached the venue we heard Mike Ness say “Good night everybody.” Ok, so we’ll catch the encore. They played on for another 20-25 minutes and ended covering Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” A beautiful night.

For a band that’s been around since the 70′s, Social D still has it. Their music is sincere, and has a storytelling quality about it. Makes me think of old filling stations in dusty Western towns. Dudes leaning on old cars, or sitting on bikes wearing jeans and cut-off t-shirts. A hot lady on one arm, a leather slung over the other and a cigarette hanging out of their mouth. The waitress in the greasy spoon serving you a burger with a heaping side of cleavage. Social Distortion is true Americana.