No Age swing through Santa Rosa this weekend

Weirdo Rippers came out 10 years ago. Man, that is crazy. To put that in perspective, the Los Angeles punk duo No Age released their debut album the same summer that Apple dropped the iPhone. And while both were groundbreaking in their on right, the question remains: Which one ended up being more influential on underground punk?

On the one hand, No Age’s deconstructionist approach to pop-punk song crafting and unwavering devotion to art-collective aesthetic was vital in molding the shape of punk to come. I imagine Dean Spunt and Randy Ravall spent the mid-2000s in a bathroom stall in LA boiling the pop-friendly formula of the Ramones and the Buzzocks in a spoon; extracting its raw essence while discarding the extraneous bits. It’s hard to even describe No Age to people who have never seen them because they exist in that ethereal realm where art begins to defy analysis. Without Weirdo Rippers and their subsequent releases, it’s hard to imagine Best Coast, Japandroids, and Joyce Manor gaining their respective followings.

The iPhone, on the other hand, has meme accounts. I’m not sure which ended up being more influential. 2017 is weird.

But I digress. Spunt and Ravall are back on the road this summer, and in typical No Age style, hitting the small towns and quirky venues. That means you’ll have to cross the bridge and make your way up to Santa Rosa if you want to catch them on this tour. And speaking of quirky venues, Arlene Francis Center is perfect for complete sonic saturation, with its tall wooden ceilings and brick walls. Don’t worry if you can’t make it — someone will probably film it on their iPhone.