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NOFX at the Henry Fonda Theater 2/5/09
"Dude, are those earplugs?! What kind of pussy are you?" mocked Fat Mike of NOFX from atop the stage at the Henry Fonda Theater last Thursday. "Holy shit and they're orange!" an observation that probably made the unfortunate soul in the front row blush to the roots of his mohawk. This weekend was NOFX's triumphant 25 plus year reunion gigs. What was once a fringe band on the Los Angeles punk scene have emerged as legends of their time. Mostly because they've lasted for so long, a theme that was rehashed frequently over the course of the night. "Is there anyone here under 21? Because you can get the fuck out! Leave! You don't belong here! Punk rock is not for kids" Mike grinned. "I am 42 years old and I am the youngest dude on this stage. I've done the math and there is a combined 650 years of punk rock on this stage right now."
They weren't the only ones feeling old. Looking down from the gallery at the circle pit, I realized what a huge wuss I had become. There was a time when I would have been down there, probably trying to impress some guy with how tough I was, getting mashed to pieces. Now I can't imagine what I had been thinking. The circle pit that night was the biggest I've ever seen. It was like a three lane highway compared to the tiny alley sized circle pits I knew at a teenager. Seriously, there were kids in there just dancing around without being shoved. It was incredible. Do I miss the violence and the adrenaline that comes with the possibility that I could be crushed to death by an unruly mob? A little, but as I started talking to the woman next to me, I realized that I had made the right choice. "I crushed my knee in the pit," she said proudly. "Now whenever I hear Youth Brigade's Madame Boom it twinges a little." Which made me stare and my perfect knees and thank God I quit while I was ahead.
Every member of NOFX that had ever played with the band made an appearance that night. The founding members were on for the whole time Eric Melvin, Fat Mike, and Erik Sandin with a rotating lead guitarist. Steve Kidwiller, Dave Casillas, and El Jefe all made appearances and played the songs that they had recorded. Starting with their album Liberal Animation which was released in 1988, the guys played a greatest hits show that pleased all of their die hard fans, and confused the fans who had been born around that time.
The reason NOFX is so great, is not necessarily their brand of punk music. (Although it is pretty dang good.) The reason NOFX is such a great live band are the jokes that they crack between songs. Including a little ditty that they made up while Eric Melvin was fixing his guitar strap:
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Fat Mike, Fat Mike
He's fatter than most
If you let him, he'll eat all your French toast
Fat Mike, Fat Mike
He's so fat he can't see,
Over his belly to his little pee wee.
They also can belch and fart on command. And not randomly either. NOFX designate pauses in their songs to fart. What more could you want in a punk band? Before every song they woudl talk about how bad the song is and what's worse how bad they would play it. It's the perfect blend of punk rock and humor that would please anyone. (Well except for the very sensitive.) When a large man in the front row caught Mike's attention, he offered to give him a pearl necklace over his man boobs. I have never heard that offered to a guy before. These guys philosophized about politics "I hope Dick Cheney dies of a heart attack," elitism "Most people don't deserve to hear good punk music. Punk music is for the losers and the drug addicts. That's who you are!" and sexism, "Are you a lesbian? You want to lick her pussy out on stage?" After an hour and a half of playing their best and worst songs and insulting their crowd, the show finished with Everybody's a Little Bit Racist from Avenue Q. It's not often you see punk rockers doing the can can to a number from a Broadway show. But there it was. A fitting end to an irreverent evening.
If you haven't seen these guys live, you should before one of them dies from a drug overdose, which is not out of the realm of possibility. So you should see 'em soon.
Photos by Ian Dickinson/LAist
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