NOFX - The Last Club Show
Eric Melvin of NOFX - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
This was an early show, and it was a long drive (including picking up friends on the way) so we were rushing to ensure we didn’t miss a single minute of The Codefendants. Unfortunately, we missed Crazy and the Brains, but everything else worked out perfectly. The tickets to this show were in my LiveNation app, and even though this was one of the most important shows of the year for me, I somehow did not have my password with me. Madison at The Fillmore Detroit was on top of it, giving us paper tickets when we showed up along with the photo pass and additional advice on how to navigate the venue.
Ceschi Ramos of The Codefendants - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
The Codefendants are the best-dressed band in punk, as they came out in suits and ties and looked great. Fat Mike of NOFX was a founding member of the band, so this match-up made perfect sense. Ceschi Ramos is known for his hip-hop background, and singer Sam King also plays with Get Dead, so they have a sound that is markedly different from NOFX (self-described as “crime wave”). They played a relatively short 9-song set, that included two of my favorites, “Abscessed” and “Suicide by Pigs." For the final song, both Ceschi and Sam joined the crowd, sitting down to sing alongside the fans. As they made their exit, they tossed stacks of stickers into the audience, leaving everyone wanting more. They are also one of the hardest-working bands in punk rock, as I’ll be catching them again in a few weeks (also with NOFX) at Riot Fest, so more to come.
Erik Sandin of NOFX - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
According to NOFX, this was to be their final club show, with only 14 total shows to go until they call it quits altogether (the rest, I assume, are festivals or bigger venues). And of course, this was also the last show that they will ever play in Michigan. They started off the show in typical fashion by hanging their minimalist banner and a pride flag on the keyboards. They took the stage to “Time Warp” and danced a few steps along with it. Eventually, they broke into some AC/DC that transitioned to “Dinosaurs Will Die”. I’ve seen that whole thing several times now, but it never gets old.
Mike always gets in some banter, either antagonizing the crowd or general rude comments about the venue or city. Surprisingly, this time he had good things to say about Detroit. He mentioned taking a bike ride along the river walk and how much the city has changed for the better. It sounded like, for once, he was truly enjoying his stay in our city (and as he said, there isn’t anything better to do on a Wednesday night anyway). He also told a really great story about one of my old haunts, Blondies, which use to be on 7 mile road in Detroit. Blondies was THE place for punk rock bands to play back in 1980’s Detroit and hosted many of my first punk rock shows. Apparently, Blondies was the first place that NOFX ever played in Michigan and under 10 people showed up. According to Mike, they all left after a few songs but NOFX kept playing. The staff told them that they didn’t need to keep playing, but maybe they should (because they needed the practice). The tickets to that first show at Blondies were only $1.00, compared to the $93.00 tonight (and also Blondies had a capacity of around 200, whereas The Fillmore can hold 2,888). I can’t help thinking how awesome that show would have been, though, if only I had known. NOFX did play “Six Pack Girls” (a song from 1985) at this show, and it sounded pretty OK.
El Hefe of NOFX - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
During the set, Mike brought a few Arab Americans from the crowd up onto the stage for “72 Hookers." They show up at every show and he recognized them. Karina from Dance Hall Crashers was on the keyboards and came out to sing on “All Outta Angst.” Hefe had had his trumpet on hand for a few songs, and because it was in Detroit, they played a bit of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” leading into “Quart in Session.” Their typical banter also continued, with Mike taking some time for a political plea about how we should vote and the crowd did not seem to disagree.
They only played one newer song, “I Love You More Than I Hate Me," from “Single Album” (2021). My only complaint about this show is that these were mostly the same songs that they have been playing over the last two years (this is the 4th show I have attended on the “Final Tour”). Their newer songs are really good, I would have loved to hear “The Last Drag” played live. I guess I was also a bit disappointed that the custom Detroit T-shirts were sold out in XXL, but I settled for another shirt and a really decent NOFX hat.
Ceschi Ramos of The Codefendants performing with NOFX "The Decline" - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
NOFX had a huge 30+ song playlist taped to the speakers, and a sneak peek showed that the final songs would be “Soul Doubt," "Linoleum," “Champs Elysees," “Franco Un-American,” and “Kill All The White Man.” That would have been more than enough, but in true NOFX fashion, they continued with the full 18 minutes of The Decline. And to top it all off, Ceschi Ramos from The Codefendants came out and played an extra guitar at the very end. What a night!
