Descendents and Buzzcocks brought classic punk rock back to Liberty Hall Tuesday night

September 25, 2024

Nick Spacek,

Descendents // Photo by Nick Spacek

Descendents w/ Buzzcocks and Grumpster
Liberty Hall
Tuesday, Sept. 24

Over the past 25+ years, California pop punk legends Descendents have played Liberty Hall so often that frontman Milo Aukerman joked that they’re basically “the house band” as the long-running group took the stage on Tuesday night. Despite the fact that the band comes through every couple of years, it hasn’t hurt their draw one bit. The audience was a mix of older folks who have been fans of the bands since they first appeared, along with a large contingent of their kids, raised on this music since they were little.

Liberty Hall was packed to the gills as the band ran through a massive set of well-known and beloved hits. Granted, when most of your songs are less than three minutes long, it’s pretty easy to pack a 33-song setlist into less than an hour and a half, but songs like “Hope,” “When I Get Old,” and “Sour Grapes,” among many, many others are stone-cold classics no matter how long they are.

Descendents’ “comeback album,” Everything Sucks, released 28 years ago to the day of Tuesday night’s show, and was well-represented in the set, including the excellent title track and the manic 30-second blast that is “Coffee Mug.” When that album came out in the mid-’90s, the band were already considered classic punk rock, with 1982’s Milo Goes to College an absolute pinnacle of the ’80s California scene, and now the band are unquestionably the elder statesmen of the punk scene.

Buzzcocks. // Photo by Nick Spacek

That said, England’s Buzzcocks were part of the original UK scene, whose Singles Going Steady ranks among the best collections of songwriting of the last 50 years, regardless of genre. While the sole original member currently playing is guitarist and now lead vocalist Steve Diggle (having taken over singing duties after the departure of frontman Pete Shelley), songs such as “What Do I Get?” and “Why Can’t I Touch It?” sound just as plaintive and angst-ridden as when originally performed. Diggle also looked like he was having the time of his life up there playing these songs and hearing the crowd sing along with full voices.

Grumpster // Photo by Nick Spacek

California’s Grumpster opened. Given that Surfbort had originally been slated as support on this bill, they took the audience by surprise, but, within 30 seconds of their first song, the crowd was fully with this energetic four-piece. Their take on California punk rock wouldn’t be out of place on an old Lookout Records compilation, sounding like a hard-edged power pop band as much as Green Day. The band’s self-titled album released earlier this year on Pure Noise, and I think I might have to take the time out of my day to give it a listen.

All photos by Nick Spacek:

Descendents

Descendents Setlist:
Feel This
Hope
Silly Girl
I Wanna Be a Bear
Clean Sheets
Everything Sux
Nightage
Victim of Me
Nothing With You
I Like Food
Rotting Out
Myage
My Dad Sucks
Van
‘Merican
I’m Not a Punk
On Paper
Weinerschnitzel
No, All!
When I Get Old
Coolidge
Without Love
Coffee Mug
I Don’t Want to Grow Up
I’m the One
Bikeage
Thank You
Suburban Home
Smile
Encore–
Sour Grapes
Lucky
Grudge
Good Good Things

Buzzcocks

Buzzcocks Setlist
What Do I Get?
Promises
Senses Out of Control
Why Can’t I Touch It?
Destination Zero
Orgasm Addict
Manchester Rain
Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)
Harmony in My Head

Grumpster