Murphy's Law at the Bowery Electric

Jimmy G

Murphy's Law formed in 1982 in Queens, New York, and quickly became a staple of New York's hardcore punk scene. Vocalist James Drescher, better known as Jimmy G, is the only remaining member of the original band. Murphy's Law released five albums, of which the last, 2002's The Party's Over, was about Mayor Giuliani's clean-up campaign.

Performing at the Bowery Electric as part of the Third Annual CBGB's Music and Film Festival tonight, Murphy's Law remained true to its punk roots while also becoming more of a party band. Reprising many of its usual themes with songs about pot, beer, girls, cars and partying, the band neither introduced new songs nor broke new ground. Instead of stage diving (an impossibility on the club's low stage), fans came onstage to sing along and consume the band's alcohol. New York has changed, the hardcore punk scene has evolved, yet G and his crew have performed the same set for more than a decade. The difference is that now the band is less angry and more fun.