Buzzcocks Setlist

Intro: Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”

What Do I Get?
Promises
Senses Out of Control
Sick City Sometimes
Why Can’t I Touch It?
Orgasm Addict
Destination Zero
Manchester Rain
Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)
Harmony in My Head

Two legendary punk bands, Descendents and The Buzzcocks, are on a mini tour. It’s a total of nine dates, starting with the Palace Theatre, in St Paul, on Sunday night. The Descendents did a similar team-up with The Circle Jerks earlier this month, complete with a special 7” split.

Apology to opener Grumpster for missing their set. I got to the venue on time, but due to photo credentials at the door, I couldn’t actually get in. I’ve have always said that it is important to see all the support bands, because you never know that these bands will become the stars of tomorrow.

As you may already know, I’m big fans of Manchester’s The Buzzcocks. They were never that well-known in America, due releasing mostly singles in their early days. In fact, before their first American tour in 1979, their US label, IRS Records compiled their first “album” called Singles Going Steady, which I purchased on the strength of “Orgasm Addict.”

Although everyone seems to love the Buzzcocks’ “What Do I Get?” (which started their brief set), I wasn’t that fond of it. Of course, everybody loves “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)”, which is perhaps the band’s highest charted single.

By the time I finally saw Buzzcocks in Sep 2014, I couldn’t believe how amazing Steve Diggle was on guitars: “…watching Diggle on stage is a delight. I could not take my eyes off of his well-practiced moves; the way he kicks bottled water, the way he holds his guitar, the way he shuffles to and fro… Diggle was having the time of his life on stage and it is just wonderful to watch.”

When Pete Shelley, the frontman and chief songwriter of Buzzcocks, died in Dec 2018, Steve Diggle was promoted to become the band’s new singer and frontman. Although there’s nothing wrong with that, as Diggle was part of the classic lineup, I’ve felt perhaps due to more responsibility of singing duties, that it was holding him back as a performer. Still, for being a man of 69 years old, he probably had more enthusiasm and energy than me.

Buzzcocks

Speaking of energy, American punk band Descendents closed out the night. Although the band originally formed in 1977, it wasn’t until they added then-16-year-old singer Milo Aukerman, did the band really take off. It was clear that Milo was a huge Buzzcocks fan, when he mentioned that the two bands have shared the same stage many times.

Unfortunately, due to school and life, the band often took long hiatus. However, since 2010, it seems the band have been steadily back on tour and releasing new studio albums (2016’s Hypercaffium Spazzinate and 2021’s 9th & Walnut).

There’s no doubt about it, the Descendents influenced a generation of punk bands, including Blink-182, NOFX, and, even Green Day.

The special Descendents and Buzzcocks tour continues.