Tour a snapshot of punk through the years

When it comes to punk rock, two years cast especially long shadows.

There was 1977, when The Clash, the Ramones, The Damned and scads more released watershed albums that defined punk in its infancy.

Then there was 1994, when punk broke into the mainstream, making millionaires out of dudes with cheetah-print hairdos.

Two bands ensconced on the inaugural Summer Nationals Tour embody both eras.

First, there’s Irish punks Stiff Little Fingers, who formed in ’77 and who gave impassioned voice to the social strife of their homeland.

Next, there’s The Offspring, whose tellingly titled third record, “Smash,” released in 1994, quickly became one of punk’s biggest gateway records and all-time top sellers along with Green Day’s “Dookie,” issued the same year.

Stiff Little Fingers are opening the show, The Offspring are closing.

In between are a pair of bands influential in their own right: SoCal bro punks Pennywise and the music’s melodic conscience, Bad Religion.

Taken as a whole, the lineup is a snapshot of punk’s first, second and third generations, bands who paved the way for many more to come.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow on Twitter @JasonBracelin.