Circle Jerks – March 19th – Ogden Theater

Back in 2020 in celebration of the band’s 40th anniversary and the commemorative reissue of their celebrated landmark record Group Sex, the Circle Jerks planned to return to the stage for the first time in over a decade. Then a little thing called COVID forced the tour to be canceled as theaters went dark. Not deterred they rescheduled the tour in 2021 only to be canceled again. Finally last Saturday the tour stop at The Ogden Theatre happened and we got to celebrate the 40th anniversary of not only their first album but the second album as well.

After more than a two year wait the Ogden which holds 1,600 was bursting at the seams with concert goers as they honored the tickets from both the rescheduled 6/26/2020 and 6/4/2021 shows. As classic hardcore acts Negative Approach and 7Seconds warmed up the crowd, people kept coming and the venue floor became so packed there was barely enough space for a pit. Finally at a little after 10:00 the Circle Jerks took the stage. Nobody expected the Circle Jerks or any other punk band to be around 40 years later. Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s punk rock was almost entirely an underground DIY operation, ignored by the mainstream and considered the latest generational threat to society. Punk was supposed to fade away into obscurity like so many musical trends before it. Luckily for all in attendance the old adage that says if you used to be punk, you never were, is true. The band on stage is as punk as you get. Punk rock wasn’t a style choice that could be purchased at Hot Topic for the Circle Jerks but a lifestyle and personal philosophy. The guys in the band, although older and not bouncing all over the stage like they once did, still played a more than 30 song set in just over an hour. The music was as tight and relentless as ever. The lyrics were provocative, personally charged, raw and unfiltered. Some of my favorites from the night were “Coup d’etat,” “Wild in the Streets,” and “When the Shit Hits the Fan.”

Hopefully the ethos around Punk and the community that supports the genre never dies. Do your part get out and see the bands that were there in the beginning while you still can and support the young and up in coming bands in the scene. Until the next time, see you in the pit.