After a handful of EP releases, OFF!’s debut album (released in the summer of 2012) was the year’s best punk record. Possibly even the best punk record of the previous decade. The combined talents of ex-Black Flag/Circle Jerks frontman Keith Morris and Redd Kross man Steve McDonald was always likely to result in something fairly explosive, but OFF! really pushes their ferocity to brilliant extremes.
The gig below (shot at Gilman St, Berkley, CA – April 2011) captures a band who aren’t far short of volatile. Although Morris appears in a chatty and jovial mood, whenever the band plays, they attack their material with a frightening vigour – made even more intense by the intimacy of the venue and the very small stage. He may be in his mid fifties, he may be balding and barely hanging onto his trademark dreads, but Morris retains a threatening stare and a punk anger that many younger musicians would struggle to equal.
The first film of the show is rather glossy and shot from the back of the venue. In contrast, the second – a little rougher and filmed from the front at stage left – possibly gives a better indication of what it may have been like to actually have been there. Whether you choose to be stood near the bar or sweating it out upfront, both clips capture the sheer brilliance of OFF! Enjoy…