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Live in Anaheim
December 26, 2024 Review by Jimmy Alvarez
The year was 1987, September 18th to be exact. That was when I first took in a Social Distortion show. The event took place at the Hollywood Palladium, and the headliners were The Ramones. But the band I was just as equally pumped to see was Orange County’s Social Distortion. The event was transformative; two larger-than-life bands that were the epitome of punk rock.
In the here and now, in the 2024 holiday season, Christmas brings many things to the forefront of life; fantastic concerts are always at the top of the list.
This year, House of Blues Anaheim was the place for a momentous occasion – a homecoming of sorts. This night would welcome Mike Ness and Social Distortion back to Orange County.
It was clear that everyone wanted to see Ness, after all the past year has very challenging not just for him, but for anyone that went through what he went though. For those not in the know, in June 2023, Ness revealed that he had been diagnosed with tonsil cancer. At the time, he said, “We WILL get through this.”
Since then, he’s been on the mend. We caught him at the No Values Punk Rock Festival, and he looked good. His voice was solid, and we were all so happy to see him behind the mic holding his trademark guitar. This month, the Fates were smiling on Ness and all his supporters as the 61-year-old punk rock crooner was ready to deliver to the OC crowd.
Before we got to see Social D, the capacity crowd was pumped for The Hangmen. No stranger to the OC crowd, the L.A. rockers delivered their electro-funkiness from beginning to end.
With Bryan Small on guitar and behind the mic, Jimmy James on lead guitar, Angelique Congleton on bass (also on vocals), and Jorge Disguster on the skins (also on vocals), they opened with “Last Drive” and “Loners, Junkies & Liquor Stores,” and the crowd went nuts.
Playing a variety of songs from their vast catalogue along with new tunes from their latest release, “Stories to Tell,” they had an unreal energy that was ready to explode, proving The Hangmen was the right opener for this one.
Their collective energy on guitar and bass, was parallel to the kick-ass beats Disguster provided.
Songs from their set included “Rotten Sunday,” “Train,” “My Way,” “Man in Black’s Hand,” “Downtown,” “Midnight Riders,” “Bent,” “Railroad Man,” and “Homesick Blues.”
There was a booming response to “Coal Mine,” “Walkin in the woods,” and their closing number, “Blood Red.” And just like that, The Hangmen did their part to make this epic event live up to the hype.
After a short intermission, you could feel the electricity in the air. One thing about Ness, that dude is punctual.
The event program referenced Social D to take the stage at 9:30, and when the clock hit 9:30 on the dot, the lights dimmed and out came Social Distortion. The fans lost their minds, and many put their fists in the air as Ness welcomed them with a fist pump.
First it was drummer David Hidalgo, Jr. taking his seat behind the drums, then Brent Harding walked out to grab his bass, and Jonny “2 Bags” Wickersham picked up his guitar.
Then the lights focused on the giant Skelly hanging from the drum kit and out walked Ness.
Dressed as slick as ever, with a cool jacket, he looked so casual as if going for a stroll in the old neighborhood. Then off came the coat, on went the guitar and we were off!
The lights were completely drawn down, and then a spotlight on Ness as they led off with “Born to Kill” then segued into “So Far Away.”
I’m not sure what it was, but Ness seemed a little different. He looked great, better yet… he looked healthy! With a wink and a devilish smile, he thanked everyone for coming out, introduced the band, and then led us into mayhem with “Mommy’s Little Monster” followed by “Creeps.”
Wickersham was on fire with his delivery of “Another State of Mind” and “Machine Gun Blues.” Harding was also up to the task at hand, while Ness just seemed so relaxed. For me, it was the attitude that stood out. That in-your-face punk rock attitude he had back at the Palladium. Don’t get me wrong, Ness is always intense onstage, but this day, he looked relaxed and pumped to be alive and doing what he loves, playing his songs to fans that were ecstatic to see him do his thing.
Ness reminded us between songs of what life was like in those early days; where people didn’t take too kindly to punk rockers looking different than the establishment, what was considered normal. This was a definite “F You” moment transported from the ‘80s and turned out to still be alive and kicking on December 18th, 2024.
It was such a great moment in time to see all ages in that House of Blues crowd sing along to every word of each song we heard. The mosh pit to “Sick Boys” went orbital.
It literally reminded me of old school Social D at The Palladium. I can only imagine what the view was from behind the mic; that moment had to do wonders for the heart, something anyone who recovers from cancer can never get enough of.
For fans, it was a perfect setlist as Wickersham lead the band into “Reach for the Sky,” and then “Ball and Chain” with Ness at a higher octave, like as if his hair was on fire.
That’s how great he sounded; it was the type of delivery that saw jaws drop throughout the venue.
By now, the clock would lead us to believe the end was near, and after “Dear Lover,” the quartet from Fullerton called it a night. But it’s a Social D show and you can’t leave punk rock fans to want more and not give them more. Social D is always good to their fans, and out they came for their encore.
With fervor in his voice, Ness took to the stage, and with his classic stance behind the mic, the night became as epic as we all hoped it would be as they drove the crowd home with “Story of My Life,” then the June Cash song made very popular by her husband Johnny, and made into an anthem by Social D, “Ring of Fire.” That was followed by the song that spoke to everyone over 40, “Bad Luck.”
After all these years, Mike Ness showed everyone hat a living legend looks like. Just as important, despite the tough road he had to travel the past few months, he showed us all what walking the line looks like.
Wow, wow, and wow! The Hangmen set up the night, and Ness along with his bandmates made it a night we won’t forget anytime soon.
You can still see the magic that is Social Distortion as they will play on New Year’s Eve at Riverside Municipal Auditorium.
The RMA is another great SoCal venue to take in a show, there are a few tickets left if you want to bring in 2025 with Social Distortion, get on it!
SHOW PHOTO GALLERY
by Shane Pase Photography
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