Last night, I caught Mike Ness' solo show at The Fillmore (aka Irving Plaza). I thought it was weird that Mike was doing a solo tour, as I've heard that he's been working on the next Social Distortion record. But why complain: it was a great show.I guess you could complain all day that this is how country music should be: soulful, ass kicking and not pandering. I hear Mike Ness sing Hank Williams' "You Win Again," and I think "Now that's country." It's cool how, without ever really spending too much time in the mainstream (other than a few minor hit singles) that Mike has become a legend. But f*** the radio and mainstream media - Mike embodies the coolest aspects (and some of the less cool aspects) of the terms "punk" and "outlaw," and radio stations don't figure into the equation. What's cool is, Social D. hasn't released a record in a while, Mike hasn't released a solo album in almost a decade and Irving was sold out (with another show scheduled tomorrow and two for the Stone Pony this weekend) and not only that - people knew the words to all of the songs. It was a beautiful thing.
I'll allow myself this one complaint: while his band was great, I wish he had a sax player. On certain songs (definitely "Misery Loves Company" and "Crime Don't Pay") I really missed it. But whatever, it was a great show. I'm looking forward to Mike's next album, whoever it's with.
(P.S. the last Social D record, 2004's Sex, Love & Rock 'n' Roll, was awesome, especially "Reach For The Sky" and "I Wasn't Born To Follow").
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