The Descendents have been making music together for four decades, taking breaks now and then so lead singer Milo Aukerman could attend college and focus on his career as a research scientist. In 2016, Aukerman announced that he was finally leaving the world of academia for good in order to focus on making music full time. Now middle-aged, the band released “Hypercaffium Spazzinate” that year. True to form, the album was a high energy romp through the over-caffeinated minds of The Descendents, self-deprecating and wryly observant and musically, as tight as ever. Fans couldn’t help but wonder, though: Could The Descendents still pull off a kickass live performance, or was it time to add them to the list of old guys who need a healthy dose of studio magic to keep it up?
On Thursday, May 24, The Descendents took the stage at the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina, and the question was about to be answered. Asheville’s a town with more than its share of jam bands and singer-songwriters, and following every wispy-haired waif with a guitar and a put-on country accent seems to be the latest trend in the city’s music scene. It’s hardly a city well-known for its punk appreciation, but fans swarmed out of the woodwork to catch this show. The venue was packed with “lots of old punks,” according to one audience member, and the demeanor of the crowd – polite, considerate, and generally happy, even in the mosh pit – was a welcome change from what’s often observed at other local shows. This audience didn’t seem to be there to be seen or to take a thousand selfies in front of the stage; they were there to see a punk show, and what they got was one of the best.
From the time guitarist, Stephen Egerton stepped up to the mic and deadpanned, “I want to be stereotyped. I want to be classified,” before launching into the classic “Suburban Home,” the Descendents were nonstop full speed ahead through two solid sets. This is a band who knows how to laugh at themselves while taking their musicianship seriously, and it showed in their performance. Milo, looking like the quintessential nerd dad in his denim shorts, buzz cut, and signature black-rimmed spectacles, cracked jokes about his chest cold and had to hit his inhaler during set break. He still came back harder and faster than ever, and while the audience had only been asking for one more song, the Descendents played another full set. The setlist was a near-perfect mix of old and new, and the show played out almost like a musical documentary on the topic of real life. The band played “Food,” an older song about wanting to eat everything in sight, and in the next set, “No Fatburger” was up – a tongue-in-cheek lament about having to cut out all the good stuff from your diet because you’re getting up there in years.
From the sweetness of “Nothing with You” and “Silly Girl” to the ferocity of “Everything Sucks” and “’Merican,” the Descendents put on a flawless performance. Even taking into account how different the experience of a live show is from a studio recording, it’s rare to find a band as musically cohesive onstage as they are in the studio. The Descendents are one of those bands. Milo’s deadpan vocals, Egerton’s rapid-fire guitar, drummer Bill Stevenson and bassist Karl Alvarez tying it all together with impeccable precision: it’s bands like this that prove that punk rock isn’t just noise, it’s legitimate art.
“What will I be like when I get old?” is a refrain from a Descendents’ classic. If their show at the Orange Peel is any indication, the answer is clear: Fucking amazing.
