John Lydon, once the template for everything punk but who has since unfortunately turned into quite the disappointing figure, once sang that anger is an energy. Case in point is Californian hardcore punk rock legend Bad Religion: from the unrelenting wall of noise emanating from the Élysée-Montmartre stage, it's hard to imagine that the band was formed 44 years ago and that its vocalist and only constant member Greg Raffin will be sixty in a few months.
From the opening deflagration of Recipe For Hate to a frantic finale consisting of the "hits" 21st Century Digital Boy, Punk Rock Song and American Jesus (with a coda of a surprisingly faithful rendition of Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back In Town), Bad Religion proceeded to show the packed hall the true meaning of hardcore. Hardcore, Punk and Rock in general aren't in the clothes you wear or in the drugs you take. It's not about the color of your hair or the guitars that you play. It's about how good and how real your music is.
Consequently, don't expect any political stage banter and force-fed messages: the songs are pretty self-explanatory. 24 songs in under 80 minutes, from every era of their long career. Only one song from their newest release The Age of Unreason —which stands toe-to-toe with their best work (we gave it 8/10 when it came out)— and of course a slew of tracks from their classic records How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, Recipe For Hate and No Control...
An excellent show of blistering, inspiring, no-nonsense Punk Rock in a packed concert hall in the hot Parisian summer, in the company of a legendary band... This is as good as life gets these days.
