Show Review: Bad Religion and Alkaline Trio Conclude Spectacular Co-Headlining Tour in San Francisco
Bad Religion
Alkaline Trio
w/ Small Crush
The Masonic
San Francisco, CA
December 12th, 2021
Photos and Review by Jared Stossel
Last Sunday, an atmospheric rainstorm drenched the San Francisco Bay Area for the second time this year. This sudden change in weather is enough to keep people off the roads, but it sure as hell didn’t stop thousands of fans from packing San Francisco’s Masonic for a night of high energy punk rock. Originally scheduled for November 24th, Bad Religionand Alkaline Trio brought their highly anticipated co-headlining tour to the Bay Area, concluding an extensive run of North American tour dates. “We couldn’t finish a tour without coming to San Francisco,” remarked Bad Religion vocalist Greg Graffin to the full house on Sunday evening.
The show was opened by Small Crush, a local act on the Bay Area’s very own Asian Man Records. While the band’s softer sound was far different from anything else on the bill that evening, the Oakland four-piece sounded great throughout their half-hour set, and they did a great job of getting the crowd prepared for Alkaline Trio.
An Alkaline Trio show is rarer nowadays, as vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba is acting as one of the full-time members of San Diego pop-punk act Blink-182 (they haven’t played in the Bay Area since 2018). So, when the Chicago-based trio take the stage, it really is a special occasion. The band were in top form on Sunday evening, playing an eighteen-track set list that covered a wide array of songs from throughout their decades-long career. Skiba and bassist/vocalist Dan Andriano took turns trading off vocal lines while drummer Derek Grant pounded away behind the kit, acting as the heartbeat of the band. The last time I saw Alkaline Trio was in 2007, when they performed on the Budweiser Stage at Live 105’s BFD in Mountain View (RIP). It had obviously been quite some time, but it was clear to me that time had been very good to Alkaline Trio. I look forward to the next time I get to see them.
The evening concluded with an energetic set from Los Angeles’ Bad Religion, who truly put on one of the best sets I’ve seen them play in years. All of the members of the band seemed inspired and truly thrilled to be on the stage that evening, careening through a setlist that reached all the way back to their 1982 debut album, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?. The Los Angeles-based punk act barely took a moment to pause throughout their hour and a half set, only taking a couple moments to introduce a song here or there or thank the crowd for their patience with them as they reorganized their tour schedule. Bad Religion seemed completely revitalized, and there was a certain energy in them that I hadn’t seen from them in quite a while on that San Francisco stage.
The show finished just before 11 PM, ending Bad Religion and Alkaline Trio’s extensive co-headlining tour, and bringing an end to the welcoming reprieve from the literal storm outside the Masonic’s hallowed halls.
Bad Religion Set List
New Dark Ages
Leave Mine To Me
Anesthesia
Los Angeles Is Burning
Fuck You
Chaos From Within
All Fantastic Images
Modern Man
Damned To Be Free
A Walk
Murder
Recipe For Hate
Candidate
Do What You Want
No Control
Generator
I Want To Conquer The World
21st Century (Digital Boy)
You
Infected
Sorrow
American Jesus
Encore:
We’re Only Gonna Die
Alkaline Trio Set List
Private Eye
We’ve Had Enough
Blackbird
Every Thug Needs A Lady
I Wanna Be A Warhol
Nose Over Tail
In Vein
Cringe
Clavicle
Armageddon
Mercy Me
Emma
Is This Thing Cursed?
Continental
Warbrain
Fine
This Could Be Love
Radio
Bad Religion
www.badreligion.com
www.facebook.com/badreligion
Twitter: @badreligion
Instagram: @badreligionband
Alkaline Trio
www.alkalinetrio.com
www.facebook.com/alkalinetrio
Twitter: @alkaline_trio
Instagram: @alkaline_trio
Small Crush
smallcrush.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/smallcrushh
Twitter: @smallcrush
Instagram: @smallcrush
