Social Distortion teased new music to a new generation of fans at The Observatory North Park.
On Sunday December 22nd legendary Southern California rock band Social Distortion brought their unique brand of punk, laced with a heavy dose of country, blues, and classic rock and roll snarl, to The Observatory North Park in San Diego, California. Part of a five night concert run on December 20th, 21st, 22nd, 29th and 29th, the band has been rolling into the Observatory for extended engagements in late December for the last few years, offering a fantastic chance to see this huge festival band in a smaller and intimate setting. Each night at The Observatory sold out in advance with tons of San Diego fans braving the chilly December air, rocking coats and puffy hats while rocking out at this historical San Diego venue.
It was fascinating to see the all the young kids in attendance for this night’s show, many out on the town seeing their first concert. Clearly plenty of aging punk rockers are now introducing their kids, and maybe even their grandkids to their favorite band. The crowd demographics varied wildly with older folks hanging near the back of the room, a packed and rowdy upstairs balcony and bar, and plenty of young leather-clad moshers forming a circle pit on the old theater’s spacious floor. Social D’s sound was tight and bass heavy with the rhythm section really driving the music and the guitar’s and keyboard soaring with fantastic tones on top. Mike Ness’s vocals sounded clean and powerful, a testament to his strong recovery from tonsil cancer in 2023.
Social Distortion’s current lineup consists of lead singer (and founding member) Mike Ness on vocals and lead guitar, Jonny “2 Bags” Wickersham on rhythm guitar, Brent Harding on bass, and David Hidalgo Jr. on drums, the touring lineup was rounded out by keyboardist/organist David Kalish, and an unidentified acoustic guitar player who really added a ton of dimension to the band’s sound. The band’s set sounded polished and incredibly well dialed in with the group somewhat surprisingly choosing similar set lists on each of the five nights. The band did thankfully include some unreleased music along with their tried and true radio hits, songs like “Born to Kill” “The Way Things Were” and “Over You” are from an album Ness has been teasing for several years, delayed by illness and other factors, the album is now set to be released in the Fall of 2025. The songs and theme of the album heavily inspired by late 70s punk, or as Ness described it “when Rock and Roll was King.”
Ness addressed the crowd regularly throughout the band’s eighteen song set at The Observatory. He told the large crowd in attendance on this late Sunday evening to “Have a good time, don’t be restricted by life’s constraints or tomorrow, think about work talk yourself out of it.” Clearly visible from the long bar lines at the venue, many fans in attendance seemed happy to share the signer’s sentiment. Hits and highlights of the band’s set included rock radio anthems like “Story of My Life” and the band’s signature cover “Ring of Fire” with most fans staying through to the end of the show to hear their favorites. A huge sing-along moment came with everyone chanting along to “Sick Boys” from the band’s Self-Titled 1990 LP. Social D always puts on a fun and entertaining show and their long residencies and loyal fan base here in San Diego prove their staying power as a Southern California rock and roll institution.
