Gig Review: Going (to) OFF! - In which the American hardcore supergroup proves its no nostalgia act and weaves punk, jazz, experimental and classic rock into one

Gig reviews used to appear nearly everywhere. Now they’re gone. I’m hoping to bring them back.

OFF!

Meow, Wellington

Saturday, January 6

American hardcore supergroup, OFF!, formed in 2009/10, featuring Circle Jerks/Black Flag singer and frontman Keith Morris and Burning Brides guitarist/vocalist Dimitri Coats. Red Kross bassist Steven Shane McDonald was in the original lineup, with Rocket From The Crypt drummer Mario Rubalcaba. There have been lineup changes, and a hiatus, but the group returned last year with Free LSD, a vital new record. Since that recording, replacement drummer Justin Brown is back out, with Rubalcaba rejoining the band. And McDonald’s replacement, Autry Fulbright II (…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead/Midnight Masses) is now a hugely important presence in the band.

So, it was no mere nostalgia act taking the stage. Yes, Morris in particular is a hardcore legend. He could do a set of Circle Jerks songs and the troops gathered would have been very happy. But it was far better to hear him and this incredible band tear through a lot of the latest album. It felt even newer, given a different drummer was on board to show you how he might have played the songs in an earlier incarnation, and the effective, if seemingly incongruous saxophone sounds are not replicated live, rather producer/guitarist Coats offers some occasional electronics and manipulations of the sound, but for the most part it’s his sinewy guitar tone - a cross between the straightforward punk ethos of Steve Jones and the avant-garde sound-seeking of Thurston Moore - that provides the main, erm, sonic.