Photo by Chad Osburn
Oh boy, what is to be said for hardcore punk? That it still exists, and is going strong, I suppose. I don’t know what I mean by “going strong.†It seems really as if that’s just something you can say about something if it’s still around, which hardcore punk most definitely still is. I guess whatever sentiment started the movement is still relevant—anger, confrontation, sexual frustration. The point of it, of course, is entertainment; it can’t really be anything else. It’s just another thing that people congregate around. But at least it’s more engaging than television.
OFF!’s Keith Morris said that everyone should get out and vote. It’s always felt a little pathetic to me when a band uses political sloganeering as stage banter, but I guess if you read the lyrics, you’re probably in for some more political sloganeering. Double Negative’s drummer was extremely impressive—his playing style was almost jazz. Then there’s the singer, who, if he writes the music, is the most important member of the band, and if he doesn’t, still must appear to be the most important member of the band. This is what bugs me about this music—if there’s no overt message, no declaration of some sort of meaning, then the performance just reads as bland entertainment—maybe it grabs you with its initial intensity, but without some sort of message, the music is all just glamor.
Let it not be said that the show wasn’t fun. I had fun. I can’t name too many of the songs. Is that what you wanted to read in this review? Did you want me to give you a blow-by-blow, like a sportscaster, so you could reproduce the show in your head? I’m sorry, but I can only tell you that the drummers, especially Brian Walsby of Double Negative, were quite impressive, and that if you like moshing, this was definitely the show to see.
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