There’s Always Room for Jello

Jello Biafra. At UCSB’s Campbell Hall, Saturday, November
18.

Reviewed by Drew Mackie

Standing before an audience of mostly
twenty-somethings — an age group that would have been toddling at
the time of the Dead Kennedys, which officially broke up in
1986 — former frontman Jello Biafra gave a big thanks to those who
attended his show in lieu of watching “Lost or Survivor or whatever
else is on at eight o’clock on a Sunday.” When an audience member
explained that Lost had finished with new episodes for the year,
Biafra retorted, “Ah, a Santa Barbara education. Have
Schwarzenegger cut the budget for schools again and you won’t even
know that.” The exchange pretty much set the tone for the night, as
Biafra mixed political commentary with pop culture references much
in the way his name combines the kitschy gelatin dessert with the
short-lived African nation.

Literally the only person in the world who can put both “punk
icon” and “San Francisco mayoral candidate” on his résumé, Biafra
is a bit of a wild card. But from the moment he strode onstage with
a faux declaration of martial law, his lecture on the various
failings of American government was met with cheers and applause
from attendees.