Article by Alberto Cristoforini | Photo by Matthew Scalet
On the evening of July 3, Padua was overwhelmed by a storm of punk rock. Bad Religion took the stage at the Sherwood Festivaland not even the pouring rain could dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd. In fact, it added an epic touch to an evening that was already destined to remain indelibly in the memories of those who were there. Bad Religion opened with “Recipe for Hate,” immediately unleashing the euphoria of the audience. The power of the riffs and the vocal energy of Greg Graffin kicked off a memorable evening. With “Dearly Beloved,” the band continued to keep the adrenaline high. The crowd, already wet, did not let themselves be intimidated and responded by singing at the top of their lungs. The fast pace of “Anesthesia” further inflamed the spirits, transforming the audience into a sea of people in motion. The dark but current message of “New Dark Ages” resonated loudly, creating a moment of intense connection between the band and the audience.
With “Supersonic,” the speed and energy skyrocketed. The mosh pit got wilder, with the rain now relentless.
The concert continues with two classics, a historic one, “No Control” that made the energy explode, confirming the extraordinary charge of the band on stage, and a more recent one: “Fuck You” that was welcomed by a unanimous chorus: the anger and rebellion found their perfect expression. Subsequently, the weather decided to actively participate in the show: “Only Rain” played in the rain was simply perfect. The band then continued to hammer with “Damned to Be Free” and with “Candidate”, demonstrating once again, if there was any need, their mastery in mixing politically engaged lyrics and melody.
The concert continued with a series of great songs: “I Want to Conquer the World”, an anthem that saw the entire audience united in a single voice, “My Sanity”, “Los Angeles Is Burning”, which further lit up the evening despite the rain that continued incessantly, “The Streets of America”, a powerful and current song, which resonated forcefully among the crowd and finally “Do What You Want” which reminded everyone of the band's mantra of freedom, inciting people to live by their own rules.
As the rain showed no signs of abating, Greg Graffin and his companions continued with “Along the Way”, “Lookin' In” and “We're Only Gonna Die”: a historic piece, greeted with an ovation. Immediately after, the band continued to push on the accelerator, demonstrating their tireless energy with “Fuck Armageddon… This Is Hell”, a song from the historic first album “How Could Hell Be Any Worse?”, a milestone (one of the band's many) of the genre.
The concert ended with a touching moment, with the rain adding a dramatic effect to the performance of “Sorrow”, followed by “Generator” which further galvanized the crowd, bringing the energy to very high levels; the perfect closing of the first part of the concert was entrusted to an iconic piece such as “21st Century (Digital Boy)”.
THE Bad Religion they then leave the stage for a handful of minutes, then a drum solo introduces the first piece of the encore: “Punk Rock Song”, much more than a generational anthem, followed by “You”, with the crowd in ecstasy, and finally “American Jesus” to close the set in a triumphant manner, with a sing-along that united everyone present.
At this point Greg Graffin leaves the stage and, surprisingly, the finale, entrusted to the band that remained on stage, is an instrumental version of “The Boys Are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy, a perfect tribute to end a memorable evening. In short, Bad Religion confirmed once again their status as punk rock legends. The rain only added an epic touch to an already extraordinary performance.
BAD RELIGION – the lineup of the concert in Padua
Recipe for Hate
Dearly Beloved
anesthesia
New Dark Ages
Supersonic
No Control
Fuck You
Only Rain
Damned to Be Free
Candidates
I Want to Conquer the World
My Sanity
Los Angeles Is Burning
The Streets of America
Do What You Want
Along the Way
Looking In
We're Only Gonna Die
Fuck Armageddon… This Is Hell
Sorrow
Generator
21st Century (Digital Boy)
Encore:
Punk Rock Song
You
American Jesus
The Boys Are Back in Town (Thin Lizzy)
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
