Recap: Bad Religion at Empire Live 10/25

Words By: Rob Smittix

Photos By: Tammie Birdwell

Let’s hear it for the hard working crew at Empire Live for this incredible sold out show on a vibrant Wednesday night in Downtown Albany.
First off, I (Rob Smittix) can’t state enough how happy I am that Empire Live/Underground even exists now in the Capital City. This is a much needed venue and I highly recommend you pay attention to the events that are upcoming. CLICK HERE.

My night began with me walking down Central Avenue and heading down to 93 North Pearl Street. Central Ave provides some of the area’s best entertainment for free, I considered this a pre-game show. When I arrived at Empire Live the crowd was just starting to gather in line. I met with Tammie our photographer and thank God she had some over counter pills for me to help alleviate my toothache pain.

That’s right, I went to a punk rock show while suffering a full blown assault on my face. In fact I was just coming from my dentist before the concert. I am sure that many people in the crowd may have heard me say that “the drugs are finally kicking in,” but I suppose that they thought I meant the fun kind. Not the case, I needed my face to stop pulsating so I could enjoy the music.

Speed of Light opened the show and I’ve got to say that this band really got the crowd ready for Bad Religion. Although SOL had a very different sound than the headliner they certainly were a good fit to support this tour.

This show was packed and I noticed something that was very unusual. The line to the men’s room was very long but the line to the ladies’ room was almost non-existent, you don’t see that everyday. Bad Religion seemed very pleased with the crowd size and said from the stage that they will have to come back to Albany more often. They also said that this was the most intimate show of the tour, so far.

All in all, we had a great night. Thank you to Tammie Birdwell for the amazing photos. Thank you to Empire Live for hosting such an amazing event. Thank you to Speed of Light for getting us warmed up and lastly thank you to Bad Religion for coming to our capital city and blowing the roof off the building!