Descendents @ Fillmore Jan. 28th, 2012

Jenn Cohen | February 1, 2012 | 1 Comment

by Jenn Cohen

Disclaimer: If you’re looking for an unbiased review of the Descendents show, you probably won’t find it here. I’ve been waiting to see these guys live since I was (gulp) 14 years old, and that was a LONG time ago. Couple that with the fact that their music got me through some interesting times in high school, and, I LOVE this band; probably not going to be an unbiased review. Here we go . . .

My first radio dedication was on KGNU’s Saturday night radio show, “Smash It Up,” with DJ Vanzetti in 1985. The song was “Marriage” by the Descendents, and it was to a boy named Billy Blake. It blew up in my face, of course, because we were 15 years old, and, oh, he liked someone else. That was the quintessential love song of my teenage years, and I’ve been a Descendents fan ever since.

Fast-forward 27 years, and I finally got to see them live. The show at the Fillmore on January 28^th was the first show they’ve played in Colorado since 1997. After an intro by local performer, Magic Cyclops, the Descendents—Milo Aukerman (front man), Bill Stevenson (drums), Karl Alvarez (bass), and Stephen Egerton (guitar) hit the stage and proved they are still, thankfully, on their endless quest for ALL.

This quest was almost cut short when Stevenson was diagnosed with a deadly brain tumor that led to many other life-threatening illnesses. Stevenson says, “I survived . . . and am now thriving.” Adds Aukerman, “Once [Bill’s] tumor was removed, Bill was like a new man. The level of relief and happiness we all felt—that euphoria—just jumpstarted the recent [show] activity, because we all wanted to be together again.”

Opening the show were Fort Collins locals, Endless Monster, where Alvarez traded his bass for lead vocals and guitar. Hot Water Music, from Gainesville, Florida, followed, proving with their solid performance that they still have “it.”

While the Descendents are often credited with being the first pop-punk band, Aukerman asks, “What about the Buzzcocks? The Undertones? They were punk bands before us, doing melodic punk (aka pop punk).” Adds Stevenson, “Labels don’t mean a lot with respect to the Descendents, simply because our band is so all over the place; fast, melodic punk one minute, jazz-influenced the next.”

And ‘all over the place’ is exactly where the crowd went when they opened the set with, what else, “Descenedents,” followed by “Hope,” which Auckerman says is his favorite (recorded) song, “because it’s the first song I wrote for the band, and it still inspires me both lyrically and musically.”

As the Descendents voyaged through most of their discography, I looked around at the crowd, who belted out every lyric at the top of their lungs, and it reminded me of a family reunion on steroids; you see the old regulars that you haven’t seen in years, as well as the new generation, and everyone was screaming. Said Stevenson, “[the fans are] the same awesome people, [there are] just more of them.” Adds Aukerman, “They’re a lot younger than me now, but we always get people who come up to us and say, ‘We saw you in ’82,’ which blows my mind. And fans today are very interested in punk- rock history. Back then it was more of a fashion deal, so I appreciate the punk ‘students’ of today; that appeals to my academic side.”

The night’s set list included some Stevenson’s and Auckerman’s favorite songs to perform: Auckerman’s favorites are “Everything Sux,” for the aggression; “Hope” and “Silly Girl,” for the sweet-and-sourness; “Coolidge,” for the balls-to-the-wall rock; “ALL-O-Gistics,” ‘cuz my kids get to help on stage; and “Weinerschnitzel,” for the chili-cheese dog.”

On Stevenson’s list, “Van,” to watch the funny looks on people’s faces; “ALL-O-Gistics,” to humorously expose people to the concept of ALL; “Weinerschnitzel,” cause it’s 11 seconds; “My Dad Sux,” cause it reminds me of Frank (who passed away a few years back); and “Myage,” just to see if I can make it through the whole song without messing up the very difficult drum arrangement.”

While both Auckerman and Stevenson are now family men with jobs outside of the Descendents, seeing them destroy it on stage, with two encores, proved that you’re never too old to be a punk—and I mean that in the best way possible. If you were there, you know; if you weren’t, you missed out on one of the greatest punk shows in Denver in the last decade.

The Proud. The Few. The Descendents.