D.O.A.
Waterloo Park, Nov. 9D.O.A. just turned 30, and Joey “Shithead” Keithley hasn’t lost a step. If anything, he’s a more capable musician. D.O.A. ripped through a satisfying selection of the expected classics, including “General Strike,” “Liar for Hire,” and, naturally, “Fuck You,” but they also turned in blistering performances of a few shockingly good new songs, such as “Devil’s Speedway” and “Police Brutality.” Throughout, Keithley outplayed and outperformed his noticeably younger bandmates. In fact, so natural and authoritative was Keithley onstage that, in the moment, it was more righteous for hardcore punk to be played by a cranky middle-aged guy than by an outraged twentysomething. So why did D.O.A. come off as a little, well, dated? Maybe it was because Keithley played “Fucked Up Bush” (original title: “Fucked Up Ronnie,” i.e., Reagan) and “Race Riot” yet somehow failed to note that five days ago voters made Bush an official lame duck in favor of a black man. Joey, it’s over. We won.
This article appears in November 14 • 2008.