Legendary punk band Jawbreaker broke the hearts of thousands of fans worldwide when they broke up in 1996. Fans feared a reunion was completely out of the question, until the group were announced to play this year’s Riot Fest in Chicago. Last night though, the group played an intimate warm-up show for a small number of fans – their first show in over two decades.
As Stereogum reports, the band played a surprise show at the Ivy Room, a small 200 capacity venue in Albany, California. Jawbreaker frontman Blake Schwarzenbach kicked off the show by reading the John Keats poem ‘Ode On A Grecian Urn’, before launching into a seven-song set, which featured classics of the genre including ‘Save Your Generation’, and ‘Boxcar’.
Here’s @JawbreakerBand‘s first setlist in 21 years. pic.twitter.com/OwR5xJRkuR
— Scott Heisel (@scottheisel) August 4, 2017
The group initially broke up in 1996, following the divisive reception of their major-label record Dear You the year before. While the record has since been considered a classic, many fans believed the group sold out their punk roots by signing with a major record label. Jawbreaker members remained within music though, with Blake Schwarzenbach forming Jets To Brazil, The Thorns Of Life, and Forgetters, while bassist Chris Bauermeister briefly joined the band Horace Pinker.
A documentary on the group’s history, entitled Don’t Break Down, is set to premiere next week. In the meantime though, check out some footage of the group’s first show in 21 years below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF4x3SGG7l8
