The notion of a legacy in punk rock can be somewhat convoluted. For some bands, that means crashing and burning after one album, which will live in infamy amongst fans. For others, that means consistently staying the course, true to themselves, and enduring for decades. In the case of Social Distortion, who headlined the Miller Lite Oasis on the 4th of July, it’s very much the latter.

The inherently blue-collar band took the stage for a 10:15 timeslot on Friday, and delivered 75 minutes of what they’ve always been known for; hard-driving, slicker-than-most punk with no pretense about it. It’s pretty remarkable, considering frontman Mike Ness is just over two years removed from being diagnosed with stage one tonsil cancer. You wouldn’t see any signs of struggle from him or the rest of the band throughout the night.

Friday’s set was, in a word, relentless. After walking out to a clip from David Bowie’s “Rock And Roll Suicide,” the band kicked things off with “Born To Kill,” a song that has gone unreleased for years, partially due to Ness’ health issues while creating a new record. From the start, you could tell what you were in for from the band, who have always been one to deliver the most from each set possible. 

They would drift through album cuts throughout the night, as well as bring out a couple of relatively new songs that have remained unreleased, as the band are now somewhat notorious for taking long breaks between records due to their touring schedule. Besides the set opener, they would also play “Tonight,” “No Way Out,” and “The Way Things Were,” each of which has yet to see a proper release despite being in their set regularly. In some ways, it felt like an exclusive bonus for coming to the show, as if they were touring to support an album that isn’t out. 

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Ness was also ready to keep the party going late into the night, joking that the band was “just warming up” around 11 p.m., and saying that they weren’t necessarily in a rush to get to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they have a show on Saturday night. He also mentioned that around the Summerfest stop, he had rented a car and had been driving through the city for the past few days.

“I tell ya, you’ve gotta watch out for the potholes around here” he said, which got a reaction from the Oasis crowd. In fairness, he’s not wrong. 

The back half of the set would feature the band’s most notable material, with trips back to the 80’s on “Mommy’s Little Monster” and “Prison Bound.” They’d omit one of their biggest hits, though, by not playing “Ball And Chain” from their 1990 self-titled record. The album’s other big hits, though, were entirely fair game, with their cover of “Ring of Fire” and “Story of My Life” coming back to back. 

Opting not to do an encore, Ness addressed the crowd one final time, thanking them for coming out, and introducing “Don’t Drag Me Down,” a song about society instilling racism and ignorance into youth and trying to change that. 

“We wrote this song, and it feels like it’s still more relevant than ever before” he noted, before calling out the song. It felt like one final statement at the end of the night, and especially punk of Ness and the band to do on the 4th of July. The band tore through the song and called it a night, with just a lack of pomp and circumstance, same as how they entered. It was another night at the office for Social Distortion, but never one that left the crowd dissatisfied. 

Consistency is hard to achieve in any genre of music, much less punk rock, but Social Distortion has felt like an ever-present act for over 40 years now. Friday’s show was a reminder that not only were the band still here, they were still doing everything that they’ve been known for at a high level, which is a lot more than some of their contemporaries can say. The band have a legacy all their own, and every show feels like a celebration of that.