Bad Religion released a new album a couple months ago called The Empire Strikes First. Hmmm…I wonder what they could be referring to? It couldn’t be our preemptive strike on Iraq, could it? The band hasn’t released an album in years, they’ve been around longer than I have, so I feel like their current tour that stopped at Avalon last Friday was not only to celebrate their new album but also to remind us all that yes, they are still alive and kicking harder then ever. The band hasn’t released in a couple years because Graffin has been working on his Ph.D. in biology and evolution, the doctoral thesis for which is to be published and sold – you can get it off the web site. My one disappointment in the show, other then the fact I lost my wallet in the pit, was that you could barely hear Graffin and his almost choir-like voice over it all. Bad Religion is an extremely intelligent band and their lyrics are both philosophical and political. It just sucks when you can’t hear the words from the man himself at his show, but that’s okay, the audience knew them too. I love his voice juxtaposed with the punk rock beats and guitars. His voice kind of just floats, it’s soothing in a way. One prime example of that is the song “Sorrow” that was played at the show-I could consider it a hymn. Bad Religion’s music always felt very wholesome to me. Listening to an interview with Graffin, he actually said that his connection with his audience at his shows was like a professor teaching a lecture. I got Brett Gurewitz’s guitar pick at the end of the show and it actually has “Kerry Edwards 2004” printed on the back. Graffin also made a couple comments about voting, Bush, and the Red Sox. I don’t feel like sports should be more important than this nation’s politics either. But Graffin does say that he feels Bad Religion’s message is more philosophical than political. Another point of interest is that Bad Religion and many other philosophical and political bands are under Epitaph, which is run by none other then Gurewitz, and I followed the link for charities on the web site and they apparently donated mad money to groups trying to get people to vote. Many people feel that it is our current political climate that has inspired the immense vitality in their new album. Graffin’s personality on stage was no surprise. It was sarcastic and harsh, just like his lyrics. At first I was a little confused just because most people are just a little too polite-it was refreshing to hear an asshole spouting politics, but unlike most individuals who aren’t ashamed to come off like that, Graffin really has a brain. I really wonder what it would be like to get into that guy’s head. Some of the highlights of the show, for me at least, were “Infected” (I always laugh at that song because it’s odd that he uses the word “baby” in it), “Epiphany,” “I want to conquer the world,” “21st Century Digital Boy,” and “Los Angeles Is Burning” (awww, singing about their home town). It was also great to see a couple stray sneakers left in the mess after the show. I don’t know what inspires people to throw shoes at shows. At the end of the show lead singer Greg Graffin came back out for an encore and said he would play three more songs and told us his only requirement was for everyone to sing along to all of them. It was really a great show.

As testament to how much I love this band, even though I didn’t get the “Suffer” boy tattooed on my arm, like my boy Casey did, I will leave you with my favorite Bad Religion quote that I actually worked into a mural I painted down in Brazil.

“Now, I believe in unityAnd I am willing to compromiseBut I’m not gonna lie or sell my soul.”