Dead Kennedys at Irving Plaza

Guitarist East Bay Ray (Raymond Pepperell) advertised for band mates in a local newspaper after seeing a ska-punk show. Dead Kennedys formed in June 1978 in San Francisco, California, and the band was among the leaders of the hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s, recording five albums. Vocalist Jello Biafra composed biting lyrics that tackled the sociopolitical concerns of the Reagan era with morbid humor and satire. As the early free-thinking avant-garde punk community became outnumbered by rapidly increasing numbers of skinheads and moshers, however, the band members became disillusioned with the scene it helped create and split apart in 1986. Payment-related legal issues and ideological premises further separated Biafra from the musicians; both sides remain vocal about these matters. Nevertheless, East Bay Ray reformed Dead Kennedys in 2001 with a replacement for Biafra. Dead Kennedys is presently comprised of former Wynona Riders singer Ron "Skip" Greer, guitarist East Bay Ray, original bassist Klaus Flouride and longtime drummer D. H. Peligro.

Dead Kennedys never quite overcame the absence of its central figure, Biafra, but at Irving Plaza tonight, the newer vocalist helped revived the spirit of punk rock's golden era. The band's early anger has aged, the experimental music period has ended, and so now the focus was on reliving a legacy. Greer and the veteran DKs opened the set with the theme from Rawhide, a 1960s television western series. "Let's Lynch the Landlord," "I Kill Children" and the final encore, "Chemical Warfare," satirized the extreme violence and conservatism that characterized 1980s American life. "California Über Alles" was a blistering attack on the former governor of California, Jerry Brown. "Holiday in Cambodia" matched yuppie-baiting lyrics with commentary on Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime. "Moon Over Marin," as close as Dead Kennedys ever came to a ballad, came with anti-pollution lyrics. "Nazi Punks, Fuck Off," was an anti-violence paean. A cover of Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" and "Jock-O-Rama," which parodied mainstream America, showed a much more whimsical side. The band played a reworked version of their song "MTV Get Off the Air", re-titled "MP3 Get Off the Web", with lyrics criticizing music piracy. Dead Kennedys brought few new ideas to the concert, but the audience reveled in punk rock nostalgia.

Visit Dead Kennedys at www.deadkennedys.com.