Story and photos by John Ambrosio

Forty years ago this week, NYC punk icons Television played their first show at the then-un-punk venue CBGBs, marking the beginning of the golden age of the NYC punk scene. To commemorate this anniversary, several events were staged around the city, including discussions with Richard Hell and Kathleen Hannah, which celebrated punk rock history.

However, the most fitting tribute to this pivotal moment in rock history came from up-and-coming NYC punks the So So Glos, who headlined a tribute show on Saturday, March 22 at Judson Memorial Church. And while 40 might seem a bit old to be celebrating an inherently youthful and energetic art form, the Glos proved that age is just a number.

The show, which benefitted the Silent Barn in Brooklyn, represented many of the things that are great about punk; it was dirt cheap (just a $5-$10 donation), held in an unusual and cool space, and attended mostly by kids (including one charismatic punk who couldn’t have been a day over 13).

After sets from local bands Arm Candy and Household, the So So Glos took the stage—which was actually a priest’s pulpit—and started preaching the gospel of punk. Although they were down a member (Mat Elkins and his collection of baseball caps were sorely missed), Titus Androncius guitarist/So So Glos producer/fellow king of Shea Stadium Adam Reich did such a good job filling in on guitar that the So So Glos barely missed a beat.

The Underdogs of Brooklyn opened with “Son of an American”, making it clear immediately that the whole standing-a-few-feet-from-the-stage-and-bobbing-your-head thing was not going to fly. Less than a minute into their set, the small crowd erupted into a sea of slam dancing, and yea the punk rock Gods said it was good.

From there, the So So Glos ran through the first couple tracks off Blowout, including “Diss Town”, “House of Glass” and “Lost Weekend” to “get the boring stuff out of the way”, as Alex Levine put it.

In keeping with the theme of the celebration, the Glos then covered Richard Hell’s “Love Comes in Spurts” and the Ramones’ “Chinese Rocks”. Also in keeping with the theme, the covers were sloppy, chaotic and a testament both to the phrase “good enough for punk” and to the tightness of the rest of the So So Glos’ set.

However, the highlight of their show were the few tracks they played off their first album, which only recently made its way out of their vault. After their covers, they played an explosive version of “Broken Mirror Baby” (sans saxophone, unfortunately), during which they taught the audience the secret meaning of “So So Glo”.

Finally, the Glos ended strong with “We Got the Days”, which devolved into a debauched celebration of all things punk. During the middle of that song, the So So Glos brought everything down to a whisper, before building back up and eventually exploding into a righteous tirade against “magazine beauty, Ritalin junkies and social butterflies”.

At the end of the night, the So So Glos had reaffirmed that punk, though quickly entering middle age, is still immature, reckless and fun—just as the good lord intended.

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