NOFX Closes Out Legendary Career with Last Club Gig In Detroit
NOFX played their last club gig at Fillmore Detroit on Wednesday, August 21, 2o24, before heading to their last few festival gigs. They were accompanied by Crazy & The Brains, and Fat Wreck Cords resident, Codefendants.
CRAZY & THE BRAINS
Crazy & The Brains are considered “Xylo Punks” according to their website, and started their career as Chrisoph Jesus’ solo project at The Sidewalk Cafe in New York, New York in 2013. The rest of the band, according to their Wikipedia page, includes guitarist Ernest Young, bassist Rob Mellinger, drummer Zac Pless, and Ali on keys, as well as a saxophone player. They tend to throw ska-type punk vibes, and this is driven home by the energy they have on stage, skanking and all.
We personally really enjoyed this set because it kicked off the energy that we were going to receive for the rest of the night, and Chrisoph Jesus’ punk fashion sense was an added plus to add to ultra-cool photographs. Check out their full discography here:
CODEFENDANTS
Sam King, the vocalist of Get Dead, according to the Fat Wreck Cords site, had his graffiti crew giving tattoos and making flash art to raise money to help out rapper Ceshi Ramos when he was incarcerated. After he was released, they bonded and realized they had a lot of crossover love. In that moment, as legend states, they started the band Codefendants, and branded their genre as “Crime Wave.”
Their performance was so unique with all of its genre-bending, and the band thrilled the audience with their intensity, and connection to the crowd. At one point, Ramos jumped the barricade and sat on the floor in the crowd with a few audience members while performing one of their tracks, and many times both Ramos and King hit the barricades to get in the faces of the fans. With that type of performance, it’s hard not to look into them after the fact, and with Fat Mike’s blessing and behind-the-scenes work with the band, you can’t go wrong.
NOFX
With a career like NOFX has had, it really is hard to put it all into words. Starting in Los Angeles in 1983, they’ve really perfected the genre and have been the leaders when you utter the word “Punk Rock.”
According to their Wikipedia page, “Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every release by the band, although Sandin departed briefly in 1985, only to rejoin the following year. El Hefe joined the band in 1991 to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the best-known iteration of the lineup.” This is the lineup that we all know and love, and the lineup that closed out this chapter on stage at Fillmore Detroit.
One of their most iconic factoids is that the band has never been signed to a major label, driving home their legacy as tried and true Punk. Over the years, they’ve released 15 albums, with their last release in 2022, ‘Double Album,’ and have branched out with their own branded festival, as well as Fat Mike founding The Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas, NV.
The band performed, both musically, and like stand-up comedians. Coming to the stage to “The Time Warp” from the 1975 film ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ the band was jovial and ready to rock for the last time in Detroit Rock City. We will say, however, that Fat Mike said he took a ride around Detroit on his bike and noted that Detroit isn’t as rocking as it used to be, taking a jab and saying it was “Detroit Jazz City.” Clearly, Mike rode by Campus Martius during Quicken’s lunch hour.
After playing 22 songs, the band took a quick break, before playing 4 more songs including “The Decline,” which mentions Michigan and Detroit, because there’s no better way to end this legacy of club dates. Their FINAL PERFORMANCES EVER will take place in San Pedro, Los Angeles CA on October 4th, 5th and 6th 2024, after their 3-day headline slot at Riot Fest in Chicago, IL.
SEE THE FULL SETLIST FROM NOFX HERE: