At what is hopefully the tail end of a pandemic, one would think that the stuffy, sold out floor of Sessions Music Hall might be the last place anyone would want to be. At the same time, however, the crammed Circle Jerks concert last night was a celebration of community continued.
Two years ago, LA punk rock icons Circle Jerks were geared up to tour for the 40th anniversary of their debut album Group Sex, a pioneer release of the punk genre, when COVID-19 hit. After an anxious delay, they are on tour again, this time additionally promoting the 40th anniversary of their second album Wild in the Streets, which, thanks to a certain skateboarding video game, has spanned generations of hooligans and surely attributed to the wide age range of attendees in Eugene, OR on Friday night.
Along with the Jerks were Detroit punk outfit, Negative Approach, and fellow hardcore Californians, Adolescents. The venue air was thick, full of excited body heat and steaming sweat. This heavy atmosphere only intensified throughout the night as the bands played hits from their nearly half-century long careers. When Adolescents played “Amoeba,” another song featured in Tony Hawk, the crowd response confirmed that a new generation of punks had melded with the adepts of anarchy from before their time.
“We’re a bunch of old people now... so we’re playing songs in blocks,” said Keith Morris of Circle Jerks, shortly after their set began. The setlist was divided into sections, and between those sections, Morris would take time to address the audience with snippets from his past or opinions on the crappy state of things in the world. Despite what might have been expected to be a compliant and non-punk-rock viewpoint, Morris and other performers last night stressed the importance of wearing face masks as a way to personally make a difference. Another point made, by Adolescents front man Tony Reflex, was that our focus on the Ukraine/Russia conflict right now might be misplaced with our own country’s community crumbling under government strain.
Fans stood with Morris and his peers, as a reciprocal “Fuck The Man” energy never faltered, and only during big numbers like “Live Fast Die Young,” “World up My Ass,” and the title track “Wild in the Streets.” Seemingly everyone in the front row found the courage the storm the stage and dive back into the sea of studded leather and patched denim during the latter. After an encore request of one more song, Circle Jerks gave three: the final song epitomizing the age-old punk mindset and mission statement, “Question Authority.”
