NOFX

NOFX, as many bands playing the main stage at the Reading Festival do, once performed in front of a banner stating their name. No surprises there, except theirs was about the size of a tea towel, visible to only the front few rows (who found the whole thing hilarious, of course). As an act, it pretty much summed up what makes them continually endearing – their refusal to pander to the rock and roll game, and a bratty sense of humour that still dictates the legendary punk rock band’s every decision even as they enter middle age. They might never have had a hit, but the devotion of their fans is palpable, with everyone from those in their early teens to hardened, Mohawk sporting gentlemen who can remember a time before colour television belting back ever puerile lyric that emanates from singer Fat Mike’s mouth. Circle pits and rampant moshing are commonplace, but the atmosphere is one of joyous release rather than aggression. One word of advice though; if you’re in the front row and Fat Mike offers you a drink, perhaps politely decline – it’s probably not meant for human consumption, unless you’re in to some particularly racy stuff in your private life.

Fat Mike, El Hefe, Eric Melvin and Erik Sandin are the foursome that make up NOFX, a punk rock band of American origin. Although the band enjoyed their hay day (if, indeed, they even got to celebrate such a thing) in the 80s, boasting a pretty low score of hits, they nonetheless garnered a great deal of underground attention and built quite the fan following. NOFX are far from gimmicky, if anything the band is surprisingly low key and understated for their genre. But each member is truly talented and the band represents real, rockin’ American punk. They have mastered their musical capabilities to exceptional heights over the decades and slowly cemented their tongue-in-cheek bitterness only to combine the two in what was a brilliant, nostalgic and tongue in cheek performance. The crowd went crazy for classics such as 'Bottles To The Ground', 'We Called It America' and 'Murder The Government': they belted the lyrics along in full force, to the surprise and delight of the band. Fat Mike commented his delight that someone knew the lyrics because the band had long forgot them. All in all a great night.

NOFX, the Californian punk rockers have been working as a group for thirty years now and over this time they have learned both how to play their music to an exceptional level and how to entertain the masses with their tongue in cheek performance style.

Something of a cult phenomena in the UK, the band never matched the commerciality they achieved in the States yet fans from far and wide have packed into London's Shepherd's Bush Empire to see the classic material played alongside the new stuff. Starting with a piercing '60%', the band begins with an unimaginable high amount of energy that never really seems to falter.

As the crowd claps, cheers and sings along through favourites including 'Bottles To The Ground' 'We Called It America' and 'Murder The Government'. There is a sense of bitterness in nearly all of Fat Mike's vocals and the audience enjoy mimicking this during their singalong. The band thanks the crowd sincerely and explains they are the reason they continue to visit British shores and give them a modern day taste of Americana punk.

Useless ID was amazing, they had awesome stage presence and their music was tight. Pears was explosive and super fast, I was so excited when they played some of my favorite songs (Snowflake in particular). Then NOFX took the stage, oh boy, Fat mike was pissed that Trump won the election. Given the recent political mayhem in the US, they played songs like "Murder The Government" "The IDIOT has Taken Over" and "Leaving Jesusland". Now let me say, If your not a fan of NOFX you wouldn't like this show. NOFX is famously lazy in their playing and stage presence, but that just added to the experience for me. The entire crowd was a pit when they played "Separation of Church and Skate" and I got elbowed in the side of the head a couple of times. 10/10 would go deaf again.

The concert was the day of trumps election, and the previous show mike sprained his ankle. Suffice to say Fat Mike was not having a good night, and it showed. The band was totally not into playing and you could tell they just wanted to get off stage. CLASSIC NOFX, awesome show 10/10 would get called a poser again.

Amazing as always.

Now I'm just writing something else to comply with the rule that a review must be at least 30 words long. Kind of an utterly moronic rule, since I don't really need more words to describe a performance such as this one.

It was awesome! They were entertaining, energetic and just great! Good music, great laughs! It was just so cool how they interact with the crowd! Looking forward to seeing them again!

Show was amazing. No complaints. Keep up the good work. Drink stands were food. Service was good. Security was good. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the good experience.

I loved the show, but I could do without all of the starter bands. NOFX only played for about an hour and a half compared to the 6 hours of starter bands.