Social Distortion mesmerizes Long Island crowd in brilliant performance at The Paramount in Huntington

It’s always nice to see a band mature over the years without losing their edge and intensity. Social Distortion packed The Paramount in Huntington on Saturday, August 5th, playing a nice mix of songs from their 38 years and counting history.

Jade Jackson opened the show. Her sultry vocals about life, heartbreak, and redemption were in the country vain. She is out supporting a debut album titled Glided. Mike Ness produced the album and you can definitely feel his influence present

Opening with the never say die anthem “Still Alive,” Social D just kept laying it on. Wasting no time the band went right into “99 To Life,” the penitentiary love tale of a man having a lonely weekend after killing his lady. The always charismatic Ness questioned the State of New York’s funding for roads. He mentioned the ride from Philly was like it was on cobblestone. I certainly know what he means.

The band was super tight with some great standout solos from Ness and lead guitarist Jonny “Two Bags” Wickersham. David Hildago Jr’s drumming was spot on and he really makes it look effortless. He keeps it moving for the nearly 2-hour set with Brent Harding’s flawless backbone bass playing. Asking for some crowd participation on “When She Begins,” the crowd did the “ooohs” and “ahhhs” while Ness held the crowd in the palm of his hand.

I almost blew a head gasket when the band segued into “Angel’s Wings” from the album Sex, Love, and Rock n’ Roll. The song has always been a personal anthem of mine and has words that really hit home.

Closing out the night with the popular staples “Story of My Life” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Social Distortion always leaves you wanting more. I’ll always respect the no frills stage setup. Taking a page out of the Ramones book, Social Distortion always lets the music do the talking. Nothing wrong with that at all. Catch them all summer long touring the US. -NzaSixx