By Tim Lee

The Smoking Popes, one of the most popular pop-punk bands of the mid-nineties, returned to the scene with a live performance at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey.Hailing from Chicago with a distinctive brand of melodic vocals and up beat punk rock, the band showed the world what it might have been like if Morrissey fronted The Ramones.The Smoking Popes had two major label releases and were featured on the Angus soundtrack alongside rock radio giants Green Day and Weezer but by now have all but faded into punk rock obscurity. With a reunion tour, live DVD and plans for a new record, however, The Smoking Popes are poised to regain their rightful place as one of the ’90s more important bands. The atmosphere of the show wasgreat, with many fans both young and old assembled to see the band take the stage for the first time in 10 years. The opening bands Annie Hayden and Bayside combined to bring in a fairly diverse, energetic and rowdy crowd. Bayside’s set got a great response from the younger kids and they also seemed to flow well with The Smoking Popes’ sound.It took The Smoking Popes about an hour and fifteen minutes to set up, finally taking the stage to an exasperated ovation from a sold out crowd. They started with a cover of “Pure Imagination” from the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and from there The Popes launched into a string of hits including “I Gotta Know Right Now,” “Rubella,” “Mrs. You and Me” and “Just Broke Up With My Girlfriend.” Midway through the set singer Josh Caterer announced that they had made plans to release a new record and introduced a new song.The Smoking Popes’ refinement as a band was incredible. Their new drummer, a replacement for this tour with their original drummer now playing for The Alkaline Trio, added his own style to the old standards. The songs gained a new urgency as he played a ferocious set. When it came time for an encore, The band ran into a few difficulties. During the ensuing encore, which included crowd favorites “Not the Kinda Girlfiend” and “I Need You Around,” the bass amp shorted out. The audience began to file out until Caterer said, “I wanted to play more songs for you guys and I will.” He proceeded to finish out the encore without bass or drums. At the end of the last song The Smoking Popes got the bass amp working and finished the set in full force, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that they still possessed the same love for the music as always.

Smoking Popes return