NOFX
April 16, 2016
Belasco Theatre- Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles-based punk rockers NOFX launched their Hepatitis Bathtub tour for punk rockers in a number of US states. With twelve studio albums out and 8 million records sold worldwide, they are one of the most successful independent bands of all time. Along with the tour dates, the band was also offering signing sessions at bookstores for their new book, The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories. One of the first stops on the tour was the Belasco Theater and with the show sold out weeks ahead of time, it was bound to be a crazy night.
NOFX came out to the venue fully packed as they started the show with 60% and quickly cut into 72 Hookers. Known for their crazy crowds, it was no surprise that the crowd that had been calm all night suddenly burst into mosh pits and shoving, as fans against the barricade could be seen being squished. Wanting to give the fans more songs than they could fit into their time slot, NOFX would play half of one song then quickly jump into the next. An example would be when they played Murder the Government and the quickly started Stickin’ In My Eye. As if mosh pits weren’t enough, crowd surfers would also regularly make an appearance which kept the security busy.
For the first full song, NOFX played Franco Un-American which is one of their most popular songs and always has the crowd singing along. In between songs, frontman Fat Mike would talk to audience members and joke with them. Going back to the music, NOFX played songs such as I’m An Oxymoron, Eat the Meek, Seeing Double at the Triple Rock, and even a cover of punk rock band Rancid‘s Radio. In true punk rock style, most of NOFX‘s songs were short and lasted under three minutes and let out quick short bursts of punk energy that drove fans crazy. One of the other notable members was lead guitarist El Hefe (El Jefe,
Spanish for “the boss”) would also play the trumpet in a few of the band’s songs aside from playing guitar. The fans seemed to love getting involved with the band as they would sometimes throw their own shirts at the band for whatever reason. One went right over Fat Mike’s head which caught him off guard and he freaked out for a second and was hysterically laughing which left him unable to continue singing the song, but still kept on playing and continued to laugh after the song was over. A few of the fans on the side stage also got up center stage to dance with the band, but were either escorted out of the stage by roadies or were quick enough to stage dive. One of the funnier songs of the night was Fuck the Kids which was fun to sing along to since the only lyrics to the song is “Fuck the Kids!” repeatedly, but as to not confuse non-fans, the band adds the hilarious line of “not literally, but mentally”. NOFX came out for an encore of a few songs and the more notable ones was when they played Bottles to the Ground and then finished the show with Kill All the White Man. Fat Mike spoke to the crowd telling them thanks for coming out and (jokingly?) said they’ll be back in 3 or 4 years and also thanked them for keeping punk rock elite. NOFX is a super fun band to see live even if you’re not familiar with their music or not that much of a punk fan. If you like fast music and crazy crowds, they’re a must to see.
Review by: Misael Ruiz
