Dead Kennedys New Years Eve Unedited

Some people make dinner reservations, buy new outfits and toast with their friends and loved ones at the stroke of midnight on December 31st, while for 2010’s end and 2011’s beginning, some hardcore fans and punk rockers gathered to rock out with punk legends, The Dead Kennedys.

The State Theater wasn’t packed but it was pretty full New Years Eve. Dead Kennedys t-shirts were outfitted on almost every other body, with a few leather-clad fans, many glued mohawks, an Operation Ivy, Casualties, or other punk rock band shirt here and there as well. There was a clearly designated area for the pit to break loose and everyone was excited for the combination of the New Year and the Dead Kennedys performance.

The Pinz, a Jacksonville band, made up of three lanky guys in very tight pants, opened with a sound similar to what would happen if Operation Ivy and Alkaline Trio had a baby. They were well received; they had a strong style and definitely warmed the crowd to the punk that would overtake the State Theater for the rest of the evening.

Dead Cat Lounge hit the stage later and they were awesome. These guys were so happy to be opening for the Dead Kennedys and so into bringing their music to a great punk crowd that that energy just blasted the crowd and kept the night rolling onto the New Year. With many “F*** Yous” sung, it could only get more and more rowdy from there, but in the best way. The bass guitarist had the words “Kill Me” etched onto the frets of his guitar; the lead singer had a scowl throughout most of the songs but looked ferocious rather than ridiculous and made friends with the fans when they brought everyone up on the stage to head-bang and rock with the band.
With lyrics like “We call it the American dream, I call it shit,” you really can’t go wrong. Not to mention they rocked a song that was an ode to the tattooed roller derby girl. This was the punk rock so many fans had fallen in love with all those years ago, and it was only the second band in!

The Spears hit the stage a little before 11pm and the lead singer just instantly looked irritated and pained. He had a mean, pouty face the entire set and just wailed, screamed, thrashed and riled up the entire room. He asked questions like “How are you?” and then told the crowd, “I don’t care” he made fun of a fat guy in the crowd and really had that punk-angst about him that the crowd just ate up. With songs entitled “Nothing’s Fun Anymore,” and a fast, unmerciful guitar riffs, drum beats and bass lines the Spears were a hit!

The Spears finished their set around 11:20 and the onstage scramble to ready the State Theater for the Dead Kennedys began. The crowd grew restless. At 11:35 it seemed like they were ready and the fans were definitely ready. The audience slowly realized that the Dead Kennedys were indeed playing a New Years Eve show, therefore they would not be taking the stage until exactly midnight. The countdown began about 25 minutes later and then there they were: The New Year and the Dead Kennedys dominated the State Theater and the crowd lost it.

The mosh pit went wild, the fans were in awe and I had one moment of slight dismay as I realized that Jello Biafra had not joined them. In sheer excitement I overlooked that he had not been included in their current “member information” on the website and when he didn’t come out and scream Happy New Year, all I could do was join the masses in the New Year’s Celebration and punk extravaganza that had begun.

At the chance of discrediting myself and coming off like a bad reviewer I will confess that I don’t remember a single song that they played. Not because I partied too hard or wasn’t paying attention, but because I was so into the show! I didn’t take a single note I just rocked out and watched as it all unfolded. Later I pulled out some of my collection and did a re-cap with my husband. We argued about whether they played this or that, but as he spent most of his night in the pit and I stayed back taking it all in, we both felt like epic failures for not being able to recall any names. Accepting my defeat, I even looked to the internet for some help, no set lists have been posted and the buzz on the show was minimal which leads be to believe that the show was so amazing that the true punkers, aside from their seriously hardcore fan base, evidently had a similar reaction to and experience with the show.

The mosh pit was a shining example of the punk camaraderie from the earliest shows. No one was trampled, everyone was having fun, there were no cheap shots mean people out to mess up fans. The old school rockers, besides the legends on stage, were amped up singing along and seemed to be reminiscing all at the same time. New Years Eve is about saying goodbye to the old and bringing in the new but the Dead Kennedys seemed to work in the opposite way with amazing results.

Watching Klaus Flouride and East Bay Ray on those guitars was like something out of the punk hall of fame. I definitely had the Wayne and Garth moment of “We’re not worthy.” D.H. Peligro, their dreadlocked drummer, seriously commanded that drum set! He may not be a part of the original DK lineup but he has earned his stripes! And Skip is no Jello but he still brought out the vocal energy that made the DK legends to begin with. The fans seemed to agree.

They started the New Year off with a bang and ended their set in the same way. The Dead Kennedy’s love of the music pulsated through every note and the fans fed off that energy. The sweaty crowd was rejuvenated and the drinks were flowing. It was a divine exhaustion in everyone by the end of the night. If toasting with the Dead Kennedys isn’t a badass kick off into 2011, I don’t know what is!