The Business
Tremont Music Hall
Dec. 18, 2012

On Tuesday night, Tremont Music Hall was transformed into a church of the working class and its "parishioners" - donning leather jackets, combat boots and tattoos - were ready to bow at the altar of British Oi! band The Business.

Joking that he didn't speak the language and couldn't understand anyone in the crowd, singer Micky Fitz was in good spirits. The band blazed into its set with "Blind Justice," which immediately whipped the crowd into a furious frenzy. The area in front of the stage was filled with flying bodies as fans jumped from the stage and danced in a tight circle pit. Fitz fueled the fire by encouraging sing-alongs at every stop.

After more than 30 years of making music, The Business still sounds great. The band flawlessly intermingles its songs with plenty of jokes, at one point asking for a girl to wash the group's socks and cook dinner after the show.

Throughout the night, shouts of "Oi!" were belted out in unison during songs including "Guiness Boys," "Drinking and Driving" and "Harry May." Before performing "Suburban Rebels," Fitz invited members of opening act and fellow oi band The Beatdowns onto the stage to sing along. The crowd erupted and sang louder than those on stage.

As the music wound down, the stale smell of PBR and sweat lingered in the room along with a few bloody noses and bruised arms. However, attendees left feeling overwhelming positivity instead of pain.