Social Distortion at Coca-Cola Roxy

CRITIC'S PICK:
Tues., Sept. 1
Social Distortion, The Descendents, The Chats, Coca-Cola Roxy - Although the Mike Ness fronted Social Distortion has been cranking out grungy, snarling garage/punk since 1983, the band has only just released their eighth album. Titled Born to Kill, it arrives 15 years after their previous set but sounds exactly like others in the band's catalog. Ness took time off to beat cancer; this is his first tour in many years. Since the melodically gruff, Johnny Cash-influenced rocking is timeless, the new album is another impressive addition to the outfit's career. Opening punkers The Descendents, birthed from the same So-Cal scene, should warm things up sufficiently. - Hal Horowitz