NOFX Rips The Throats From SA Crowd

E365 -- NOFX have been the punk godfathers since before the T-Rex was invented, and it goes to show. They're currently on a tour that involves stops in Portugal, Spain and South Africa. Extreme365 got a foot in the door to catch the Cape Town leg of their journey.

Punk has gotta be the most childish of the music genres. A converted warehouse that was once a mill plant for the manufacture of biscuits served as the location for the punk macdaddys' first stop in South Africa. Bassist Fat Mike, drummer Erik Sandin, guitarist El Hefe and guitarist (and accordionist, apparently) Eric Melvin unleashed a 25-song playlist to a bezerk crowd who...well, let's just say they knew the words.

Even though the Los Angeles group has been making music together since before most of 'em were born, these were fans. It coulda been the Olympic-length stage-diving that gave it away. Or then again, maybe it was the risk-taker hanging from the overhead beams on a rickety chain above the heads of the heavily perspiring masses that summed it up.

On convieniently wireless guitars, NOFX made good use of the stage space with some spectacular launches and an ongoing rapport with the crowd. It was all just experience speaking, really.

Twenty-four years in the business will teach you a thing or two. For example, how to avoid media exploitation. The band holds the rebellious nature of the three-decade-old punk movement high in avoiding conformity, even in an age where bands are brands. Their interviews are as rare as pink pandas, and the band refuses permission for MTV and VH1 to play their music videos. In Fat Mike's words, "leave us the f*%# alone."

11/15/07 Pabellon De La Casilla Bilbao, Spain
11/16/07 Sala Razzmatazz Barcelona, Spain
11/17/07 La Riviera Madrid, Spain
11/18/07 Pavilhao Quinta Dos Lombos Lisbon, Portugal

EXTREME INSPIRATION

"Life without music would be a mistake."