MXPX

“To have people sing along and enjoy what we do, to share that joy together, I don’t even call you fans I call you friends…” MXPX opened their 20th anniversary tour with one of the most compelling, and to me cathartic, video intros that I have ever witnessed. They connected deeply with one of the most dedicated fan bases in punk rock music. The opening song of the show was from the band’s 2005 album Panic, “I heard that sound” with its home in the local LBC, expressing the frustration of love lost that echoes beyond the present.

Mest (Photo Cred: last.fm)

“I don’t want to, let my life fly by. Do you ever stop to wonder why…And time stands still when no one understands you, when you don’t quite understand yourself. But just know this that God is faithful, even when you don’t have faith yourself.” These lyrics surfaced in the early-to-mid years of my fanship. It was 7th grade when I found the fusion between music and faith through my brother’s love for both. Punk rock that gave the feeling of raw expression and Christianity? What’s that? It’s MXPX and its rad. “Today didn’t have to be this way, tomorrow is another day, another chance to make things right, a chance to fully live your life.”

The twenty-song set and three-track encore featured songs from nearly every single album that MXPX produced. Ironically, despite the purpose for the tour, the only record that didn’t make its mark was the 1994 original debut Pokinatcha. The eldest in the lineup, released a year later when I was ten-years-old, was the curtain closer “Punk Rawk Show” from Teenage Politics. The House of Blues in Anaheim burst with bodies the instant the headliners invited the crowd to mosh and dedicated this iconic song to the ocean of bobbing heads. All five feed of me stayed out of the pit, but peered on with nothing but elation at the scene.

I cannot be more honored to have been a simple spectator and fan at this milestone celebration for MXPX. When I first got tickets to the show, I learned that the band actually had a brand new CD, and I wondered how many songs I would actually remember from the 90’s and early 2000’s. Calling myself a fan I suppose may sound shameful, yet to me, the music was the soundtrack of my adolescence. I still laugh in self-deprecation for attempting to play my brother’s hand-me-down bass guitar that was nearly as tall as I was one summer day. The strings were thick and my fingers barely reached from around the neck. The only thing I ever knew to play was the basic yet bold notes of “Chick Magnet” for about two weeks.

When I found myself standing on the floor of the venue looking up at MXPX performing on stage, the songs and their lyrics automatically came back to me. It was kind of surreal and excitingly peaceful simultaneously. It felt like the accumulated impact of the relationships with people that mold us. We grow up, sometimes lose sight of one another as we get caught up in our day-to-day lives, and one day discover that those people have always been there even if you couldn’t see them.

Rufio (Photo Cred: skatepunkers.net)

The 20th anniversary tour really was something special to the fans that were raised on their music. The runner-up bands contributed to the nostalgia of our early years beginning with “Rufio Rufio Roo-Fee-Oooooo” and of course my moderate obsession – MEST. I was completely stoked to hear the songs that had dropped off my radar for some time from Rufio, and was massively disappointed to have to live through the filler band Set Your Goals between the two favorites.

Between sets I found myself at the bar and realized that I was standing right next to the lead singer of Rufio himself. I awkwardly peered over, wondering if the girl standing next to him thought I was preparing to hit on him or just some strange stalker. OF course neither situations was the case, it was just my nerves trying to determine if I should say something or not. When I did all I could express was the love of music and the era that the band thrived in. I told him that I was tremendously disgruntled to see them open up for such a sub-par band. He responded humbly by recognizing that this band that I couldn’t connect with just represents a new demographic of punk rockers and pulled in a fresh crowd. From a marketing standpoint I can understand that, but it didn’t make the situation any different in my eyes. Rufio was our generation’s “new band,” and the lineup should have just been the three aligning sounds.

The MXPX concert was one that I will remember for the life of my love for live music, which I know will never expire. The electricity of the experience is amplified by the curtain closing words, “We ain’t got no place to go, so let’s go to a punk rock show! Darling take me by the hand, we’re gonna see a punk rock band. There’s no use in TV shows, radio or rodeos, I wanna get into the crowd, I wanna hear it play real loud!”