Bad Religion – Koko – 20/08/13

Great shirt this – always wanted a Rage Against the Machine ‘How to make a Molotov Cocktail’ shirt, but never saw one on sale. This nearly makes up for it.
Having seen Bad Religion at Reading Festival in 2005, I’d not managed to catch a show since. I’d bought a few albums and thoroughly enjoyed them, but the band hadn’t played London much in the intervening years.
The gig was only 5 years ago, but it seems like a lot more. My time at Pilat was at its worst and I was utterly miserable. So much so that I wasn’t enjoying the gigs I went to mid-week. The stress of the working day couldn’t be shaken with a couple of beers and a burger. As a result, I didn’t enjoy this gig at all. Koko is not my favourite venue; if you’re not an early arrival then the only areas to stand have no visibility and lousy sound. That’s where I found myself after leaving work late and missing the support act: under the stairs, near the bar, surrounded by people talking. I left half-way through and remember walking from Camden all the way to Waterloo – down to Euston, Tottenham Court Road, Charing Cross and then the footbridge to Southbank.
Three years later I saw the band at Hammersmith Odeon, went totally mental, almost broke my thumb in the mosh pit (it still hurts occasionally) and had a great time!
It should be noted that lead vocalist Greg Graffin released one of the best Americana albums of last year, in ‘Millport’. A punky little country record, it’s a bit Eric Church, a bit Grateful Dead, a whole Lynyrd Skynyrd and nothing like I expected. I’d book him for TwickFolk if I could.