Jawbreaker, Descendents Took the Fillmore Back in Time

“Nostalgia; that’s why you’re here. You’re a tourist in your own youth”

– Simon “Sick Boy” Williams T2:Trainspotting.

Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium was filled with a sold out mob of 4,000 fans last Thursday night, all of ’em looking for a taste of a band that probably meant the world to them in high school. I know Jawbreaker cassette tapes were certainly staples in my walkman back when I was a teenager. 

However, after I’d been living on my own awhile, I learned the world was depressing enough without having somebody romanticize their (and my) misery. I stopped listening to Jawbreaker, and kept that habit strong for about 25 years. I think I was happier for it. 

And yet, when I saw they were coming to Denver to celebrate their iconic last album Dear You, I spent a few weeks waffling on the decision to go see how the band had grown. Or not.  I imagined a room filled with fat old miserable Morrissey-type fans, but probably with more street cred and decidedly leftist leanings – perhaps. I was (mostly) pleasantly surprised.

Samiam kicked everything off, and right away the sound was awful. The kick drum was so overpowering the band couldn’t really be heard – though the jury’s out on this being a bad thing. In any case, it wasn’t the bands fault, and nobody seemed to be very bothered by it. Instead, they took advantage of the time to drink and buy merch. 

4,000 wiggle-free necks in a cramped space, staring at a zombie band playing two over-fuzzed notes, over and over again. 

Face to Face took the stage next, as I started to follow the fans’ lead, despite telling myself I would avoid buying any merch for a band I was merely nostalgic over. I found myself in the fun park-style serpentine queue, though I still had a reasonable vantage point to see the show. As I weaved my way along, I watched a sea of motionless bodies stare at Face to Face playing that one song that sounds like all their other songs. The scene was straight out of a zombie parody. 4,000 wiggle-free necks in a cramped space, staring at a zombie band playing two over-fuzzed notes, over and over again. 

Descendants finally came on, and there were immediate signs of life – maybe even a bit of excitement. At least there was a heady anticipation of politely bumping into strangers, in an almost dance-like fashion. The granddaddies of poppy punk certainly did not disappoint. 

Like my aging comrades, I had to use the toilet every 15 seconds, and lines were getting ridiculous. So, for a few extra bucks I bought a vip pass on sight (a pretty cool option the Fillmore offers from time to time). The booze was better in the VIP section also; no bog lines, and Johnny Walker replaced the flat tap beer available in gen pop. 

And then, when Jawbreaker hit the stage, the 4,000 43 year old bobble heads completely lost their minds. The salt-and-pepper-shaded hair on all these heads filling the room was shaking furiously enough cause a citywide sneezing fit. Frontman Blake Schwarzenbach even embraced the comedy of the “senior living colony” before him pretty early on.

When Jawbreaker hit the stage, the 4,000 43 year old bobble heads completely lost their minds.

This was, of course, a show dominated by every song on Dear You, though not in album order (ironically, since this crowd was filled with possibly the last generation that even really knows what “album order” even means), interspersed with a few non-Dear You songs.  “Want” and “Boat on a Hill” were particularly satisfying treats from Unfun, and 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, respectively. 

The frequent musical breakdowns were powerfully executed, the sound was flawlessly mixed, and the unison was as tight as it gets, and Jawbreaker’s overall musicality had a deeper resonance in a live setting than on the albums. The rich guitar feedback that we expect from Schwarzenbach was loud and harmonically pleasing, bouncing off the familiarity in Adam Pfahler’s drums and the punch of Chris Bauermeister’s bass.  I was particularly happy to hear a rougher vocal timbre compared to that recorded on Dear You. It was much closer to what we hear on 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, yet more refined than those first two albums. 

I may have been a tourist in my own youth, but some sights are worth revisiting with aged eyes and ears.

The two openers sadly felt like they signed on to a failed attempt at a sentimental festival-type lineup. The Descendants set proved enough on its own to work everybody into a frenzy, and the old punker crowd was eventually amazing – when they got what they came to see. I can’t help thinking everybody would have preferred Jawbreaker using the additional Samiam and Face to Face stage time themselves, though. 

This was the perfect show for people who are now 43+ years old. The cheap beer we could get our hands on when we were young has been replaced with Black Label. Basement parties where we’d blast new albums has been replaced by the VIP section of an historic auditorium. Pink hair has been replaced with grey. Like every tourist, I caved and bought the requisite t-shirt (or three), and a signed Dear You skate deck that proudly hangs in my home office. I probably would have walked away from me 25 years ago for uttering the words “home office,” and I would have laughed at Milo’s face stretched around my Kermit the Frog gut, too.

I may have been a tourist in my own youth, but some sights are worth revisiting with aged eyes and ears. The misery we heard Jawbreaker celebrate in our youth has been replaced by an appreciation of the poetry Schwarzenbach used to portray it, and I dare say also with an appreciation for real optimism. 

Jawbreaker Setlist:

1. I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both
2. Chemistry
3. The Boat Dreams From the Hill
4. Save Your Generation
5. Oyster
6. Fireman
7. Jet Black
8. Condition Oakland
9. Sluttering (May 4th)
10. Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault
11. Million
12. Want
13. Accident Prone

Encore:

1. Unlisted Track
2. Sea Foam Green
3. Kiss the Bottle