Yeat another lame "reunion" without the original leader
It even references VH
Re-Formed Kennedys Not The Same
November 21, 2005
By DAN LEROY, Special To The Courant It's an age-old rock debate, as perplexing as the question about a tree falling in the forest when no one's around: Is a band, missing its original voice, still valid?
Sometimes the answer is maybe (Van Hagar) and sometimes it's just plain no (Van Cherone). But evaluating legendary punk quartet the Dead Kennedys without former frontman Jello Biafra is a tougher call.
The Kennedys, who finished the current leg of an American tour Saturday at Hartford's Webster Theatre, won't be reuniting with Biafra anytime soon. After a bitter court dispute that involved distribution of the band's back catalog (now in the hands of the remaining Kennedys), guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Flouride and drummer D.H. Peligro reformed the group.
Substitute vocalist Brandon Cruz has since been replaced by Philadelphia singer Jeff Penalty, a boy among aging men onstage. Penalty gives the Kennedys an undeniable shot of twentysomething adrenaline - even though Ray's trebly, shredded-surf riffs and Peligro's pounding sound as energetic as ever - but his predecessor's legacy works both for and against Penalty's efforts.
There are certainly signature Kennedys songs - and most of them were reprised Saturday - yet the band was always less about individual tunes and more about a worldview. The group's uncompromising left-wing stance, especially as applied to the music business, was a huge influence on virtually every act that followed in the American underground of the Eighties.
That means it isn't quite as jarring to hear Penalty take on greatest hits such as "Holiday in Cambodia" or "California Über Alles" as it might be to listen to, say, Hüsker Dü minus Bob Mould. Yet while Biafra's vocals may be replaceable, a band that owes so much to his larger-than-life personality can't escape it so easily.
You could make the case that Penalty's presence underscores the timelessness of the Kennedys' message, that he represents a new generation for whom "Nazi Punks F*** Off" and "Bleed For Me" (updated with the expected Cowboy Bush invective) are just as meaningful as they were two decades ago.
Or you could counter that the endearingly sloppy take on OutKast's "Hey Ya" was the most relevant moment of the evening.
For all the power and professionalism on display Saturday, it's a lot easier to defend the second argument.
Originally Posted by Kristy
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