The legendary punk band D.O.A. is playing at the Quadra Legion on Thursday night, along with a full roster of supporting acts. It will the band’s first performance on Quadra in its 40 year history, and part of a summer-long tour that has brought the band across the United States and Canada.
Over the past four decades, D.O.A. has consistently championed movements against racism, poverty and injustice. They’re continuing to push that defiant message with their latest album – the 17th in their studio discography – titled Fight Back.
“I asked a friend the other day, ‘Did you think in 2018 that we would be talking about the Ku Klux Klan?'” said singer and guitarist Joe Keithley. “Of course my friend said no, of course not. We thought that kind of stuff [would be] dead and gone.”
The theme of the new album is inequality, he said. It emerged amid the resurgence of white supremacist groups, and the rise of politicians like Donald Trump and others with authoritarian tendencies.
“We are in a dark period for Western democracies and freedom,” he said. “Not to sound corny, but keep fighting back, keep standing up for what you believe in, keep giving those people a kick in the ass.”
Founded in Vancouver in 1978, D.O.A. is considered to be among the originators of hardcore punk. And while there have been a number of changes to the line-up over the years, Keithley has remained as the one constant member.
The band has mostly been playing clubs in US cities this summer. Now, on the last leg of the summer tour, they’re playing at Royal Canadian Legion halls on Quadra and in Ucluelet, with other stops in Duncan and Port Alberni. Keithley savours the small-town scenes.
“You get to meet a lot of people close-up,” he said. “That’s how you learn about communities.”
D.O.A., Powell River Punk Jams, Crashing Into Things, ScocoLag and local punks the Indifferent and Meth Crab play at the Quadra Island Legion on Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. $20 at the door.
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