H.R. of Bad Brains singing “I Love I Jah”Going to see Bad Brains for the first time is guaranteed to be a crazy experience no matter what. The legendary Afro-punk band are known just as much for their kinetic hardcore-meets-punk-meets-reggae vibe as they are for the legion of fans that show up to support them. If you’ve ever seen them live, or even seen footage of them performing live, you know you’re going to be looking at a mosh pit to rival all mosh pits anytime they come to town. But nothing can really prepare you for it and that was exactly the case when I hit the front door of El Corazon on Saturday night. I wasn’t inside of the place 10 seconds before I caught an elbow to the head. Bodies were flying all over the place thanks to folks trying to crowd surf or security tossing people out of the show and the energy in the room felt more like a fight club set to music rather than a regular punk show. Don’t get me wrong, El Corazon can get rowdy any night of the week, but with Bad Brains on stage people were going bonkers! In regards to the music, what was slightly surprising to me was how fast the band can still play. A person wouldn’t be crazy for expecting Bad Brains to sound a bit weathered after 30 years of being a group or worn out from having played the MusicFest NW the night before. But the foursome all seemed really sharp. At first, H.R. looked sedated and was more chill than he needed to be, but as the pace of the songs picked up, so did H.R.’s signature vocals (which aren’t what they used to be) but are still good enough. Darryl Jennifer is a monster on bass and watching him play live is something any fan of that instrument should experience at least once. Of course they played a bunch of classics. I recognized “Attitude,” “I Love I Jah,” “Banned in D.C.” and “Pay To Cum” but I’m not an expert on the group’s material. What I do know is that moshing at that show added some years to my life. Adrenaline at full throttle, ducking crazy folks throwing elbows, and enjoying the music at the same time. I haven’t spent too much time at punk shows in the middle of the dance floor — I’m usually off to the side — but on Saturday, you sort of had to just dive into the mayhem and ride it out. It was well worth it. Unfortunately, I missed openers the Insurgence, and P.O.S. but I now recognize where P.O.S. gets some of his rebel rock energy from on stage. Dude is a Bad Brains fan and that was apparent just by him being on this tour.