M'Lou Elkins 
Circle Jerks – Granada Theater – Dallas, TX – 9/1/22
When Circle Jerks announced its 2021-2022 tour dates in July of last year, it came with the news that legendary drummer Joey Castillo (Wasted Youth, Danzig) would be the group’s latest addition.
For the past ten years or so since departing Queens of the Stone Age, Castillo has been session drumming on numerous albums. Castillo memorably joined QOTSA in 2012, literally moments before embarking on its Songs for the Deaf tour. That album’s drumming had been helmed by Dave Grohl, who had another band to tend to. Josh Homme had been seeking a permanent percussionist and wasn’t entirely satisfied with the warm body he’d recruited to launch such a critical tour. After what Castillo felt sure was a shaky audition with ‘Avon’, Josh Homme flipped the script – unceremoniously booting its new drummer and offering Castillo the gig on the spot. The rest is history.
The zeitgeist of the tour was perhaps rivaled only by its well-timed unshackling from two long years of lockdowns, shutdowns, and letdowns. The already-graying temples of its fan base had received no favors from a plague of multiple reschedulings since the tour was first announced to launch in June 2020. During that unprecedented year, the band was celebrating the 40th anniversary of its debut, Group Sex. Two years on, the band is saluting the release of Wild in the Streets four decades ago.
After recalling the band’s milestones, and the challenges that had so far delayed the current tour, the fabled foursome tracked its first three albums chronologically right from the top, with “Deny Everything,” “Letterbomb”, and “In Your Eyes.” Featuring an epic 29-song setlist, the show was far more than a salute to either Group Sex or Wild in the Streets – it was obeisance paid to California hardcore punk by its most iconic royal. The encore featured three additional songs: “What’s Your Problem,” “Question Authority,” and a Soft Boys cover of “I Wanna Destroy You.”
Throughout, every level of the historic Granada Theater had mosh pits in full effect. The show drew its energy from both young and old – disciples of the group that championed LA’s flavor of hardcore punk in the late 1970s. Its most daring disciples were precariously launching themselves from a first-level ledge, and directly into the stagefront pit. Meanwhile, body surfers waded into the organized chaos by jumping the stage, dancing, and diving back into the crush of fans.
Prior to Circle Jerks raising the energy level to 11, both Negative Approach and 7 Seconds had primed the crowd with scowls and circling mosh pits.
Negative Approach came out of Detroit in the early 1980s – picking up where Keith and Greg had broken ground in California and delivering it to a burgeoning midwest punk scene. Led by John Bannon, the band was short-lived, though it spun off careers for each of the bandmates. That was until 2006, when its scattered members began to see renewed appetite in fits and starts – minor headlining invitations, a deep-cut study of the early 80s hardcore scene, and (perhaps most consequentially) the discovery of a trove of unreleased tracks from its heyday. Though arguably happy as shit to be touring with such celebrated contemporaries, Bannon nonetheless delivered much of the set wearing a permanent scowl. Rivaling the 30+ song Circle Jerks setlist, Negative Approach offered 23 tracks, which spanned the groups career and included two covers: “Borstal Breakout” (Sham 69) and “I Got a Right” (Iggy and the Stooges)
Even after several postponements due to COVID, the tour was not untouched by the lingering pandemic. Adolescents were slated to join the latter half of the North America tour. However, risks related to “serious health concerns and issues within the group” grounded them, while further deleting its own headlining European tour with Meanbirds. Instead, 7 Seconds stepped in with a solid set, circling the mosh pits and effectively warming up an otherwise anxious crowd. The group capped its set with a rousing cover of Nena’s iconic “99 Red Balloons.”
The Granada show benefitted from an excellent line-up, a fireball of hardcore hits, and a satisfying homecoming to the music that gripped us and continues to change our lives.
Check out the full photo gallery for Circle Jerks…
Check out the full photo gallery for 7 Seconds….
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