Social Distortion Plays the Palladium

By TROY J. AUGUSTO

Social Distortion (Palladium; 3,835 capacity; $ 15.50) Promoted by Goldenvoice Reviewed Nov. 14, 1996.
 
Band: Mike Ness, Dennis Danell, John Maurer, Chuck Biscuits.
 

Mike Ness's dynamic new outlook as well as the addition of manic drummer Chuck Biscuits made Social Distortion's 70-minute show, the first of two sold-out affairs, one of the group's most satisfying live appearances in recent memory. After years of singing almost exclusively about rotten luck and childhood alienation, Ness, the tattooed frontman of the veteran Orange County punk band, upped the personal ante on the band's sixth album, "White Light White Heat White Trash" (550 Music/Sony), probing the human condition in ways almost unheard of in the punk world. Opening with an explosive take on the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb," Social D overcame the venue's horrendous sound system, performing with a renewed sense of purpose and drive that was apparent all the way to the back of the stuffed, mosh-pit-filled auditorium. Such songs as "When the Angels Sing," a poignant number written following the death of Ness's grandmother, and the uncharacteristic "Pleasure Seeker," which reveals a songwriter finally willing to live for the moment, were a brilliant contrast to such early, self-loathing tunes as "Mommy's Little Monster" and 1983's "Another Sleepless Night." The show ended with a sped-up take on Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," a liberating testament to the group's roots and to its encompassing sense of triumph. Troy J. Augusto