Suburban Voice blog #72

A PUNK ROCK ANNIVERSARY

THE CLASH, 2/16/79

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the Clash's first appearance in Boston. It was actually Cambridge, if you want to be specific. On February 16, 1979, the Clash played at the Harvard Square Theatre. It was on their first US invasion, dubbed the "Pearl Harbour" tour. There was a genuine air of excitement about this show, to say the least. This was also the first real rock concert I ever attended. I didn’t really get to go to any concerts or shows until I started my freshman year at Boston University in 1978. It wasn’t as though I was forbidden to attend shows but my parents didn’t encourage it and I didn’t have any friends to go with, anyway.

When I got to BU, one of the first things I needed to do was make a pilgrimage to the Boston punk mecca, The Rat, which I did with my high school buddy who was visiting one weekend in the fall. My dorm was only a few blocks from Kenmore Square, where the club was located. But I don't acknowledge that as my first punk show. The headliners were this godawful bar rock band The Stompers. They were more Springsteen than Sex Pistols and appealed to the Boston rock ‘n roll audience who didn’t really embrace the harder-edged punk sounds. The Stompers later ended up on a major label and you can probably find their albums for 99 cents somewhere.

The first punk show I did attend was in January of 1979 at the same venue--The Plasmatics and The Molls. I'd seen posters for the show all over Boston and had just heard (and subsequently got) their first EP, "Butcher Baby." I decided I needed to go to that show and experience honest to goodness live punk rock. It was quite an intimidating experience, even though I'd already been to the Rat. I was by myself, not having really acquainted myself with any of the punk rock locals, except one guy who had lived in my dorm for awhile but moved out. It was a wild show, pairing the avant-garde Molls (who had an electric bassoon player) and then the sonic blast of the Plasmatics. I had never experienced anything like that before and they introduced themselves with all the subtlety of a thunder clap. The climax (no pun intended), of course, was “Butcher Baby.” For that song, a guitar on a rack was brought out, ready for its chainsaw sacrifice. An electric violinist wearing a hood sawed away and Wendy held up her own saw of destruction, then proceeded to cut through it with skillful ease. That was the end of the set. In those days, the bands would play two sets each but I figured I’d seen what I came for and called it a night.

But this is about the Clash. I'd become a fan in the fall of '77, the introduction to the band being the b-side of their "Remote Control" single, a live take of "London's Burning" that I taped off the radio. I remember, soon after hearing it, I woke up from a dream with the song pounding in my head. I told my mom about it, for some reason, and she seemed quite concerned about that sort of musical obsession. I think there are/were a lot worse things with which to be obsessed or inspired by. After that, I stumbled across an import copy of their first album in an unlikely place--the Musicland chain store in the suburban North Shore Shopping Center. $5.99 later (courtesy of my mom--an early Chanukah present), it was mine and rarely left my turntable.

The singles and EP's only solidified my love for the band and, the following Chanukah, "Give ‘Em Enough Rope" was my gift. In fact, my parents and a friend both bought it for me but I exchanged one of them for the first Cars album. Not a bad choice but certainly not garnering nearly as much turntable time as "Rope."

As '78 turned to '79, I was excited to find out they’d be playing the Harvard Square Theatre in February. Tickets went on sale at the Strawberries record store and I purchased one, for the princely sum of $7.50. It’s a good thing I did because the show sold out quickly. Once again, I went solo—I got there really early and, waiting to go in and seeing all the leather-festooned punks, didn’t feel as though I fit in and didn’t attempt a conversation with anyone. Those feelings dissipated once the show began plus I did run into Jim (the punk from BU who I mentioned earlier), so at least there was one person I could talk to. A local art/garage band, The Rentals, opened and pretty much got booed off the stage (they weren’t that bad, though). Bo Diddley followed—yeah, that Bo Diddley, and he had the crowd eating out of his hand by the end of the set, getting asked back for an encore and blowing a kiss to the audience while the shave ‘n a haircut shuffle got cooking again.

Then it was time for the Clash. A multi-nation flag tapestry dropped to the accompaniment of The Coasters' version of "Riot In Cell Block #9” and the band charged the stage and broke into “I’m So Bored With USA.” By the time they got to “Tommy Gun,” I was up from my seat in the balcony, pumping my fist away. I also remember their tour shirts were $6 but I didn’t like the style, so I passed. I did get a cool Clash tour pin, which I still own to this day:

I had to scan it because I couldn't get a good photo of it but I think it came out pretty good. That's a pin that doesn't leave my house.

What an incredible experience even though, as I said, I was by myself and still don't have much of a connection to the original Boston punk scene. Sure, I've met a few people over the years but it's always felt like I've been caught between the '77 era and early 80s hardcore era. Still, it's something I'll never forget and a show that I still consider one of the best I ever saw.

Incidentally, last week (the 9th) was the 30th anniversary of the day I met Ellen. We hung out the following week, a few days before the Clash show. I mentioned to her that I was going and she said she'd seen the name on the marquee but had no idea who they were since she wasn't into punk. Our first "real" date was on March 2. Yes, I remember the exact day. I'd had so few dates up to that point that I promised myself I'd never forget that date or the day we that met, for that matter. After having dinner at Faneuil Hall in Boston and seeing "Harold and Maude" at the Nickelodeon theater near my dorm, we went up to my room and I played her side 2 of "Give 'Em Enough Rope." I figured she might find the more melodic "Stay Free" to her liking. She didn't really let on whether she liked it or not but she did go out with me again so it didn't scare her off, at least. And she did eventually become a Clash fan and says she wished she'd seen that show. She did seem the with me at the Cape Cod Coliseum in 1982 on the "Combat Rock" tour.

Unfortunately, that was the second and last time I saw them with the Jones/Strummer lineup. I tried to see them in 1980 on the "London Calling" tour but had no luck getting tickets. I even had my neighbor, who played drums in Boston (and with whom I had an ill-fated partnership in a record store--but that's another story entirely) try to get me tickets through a radio station contact but he had no luck either. Hell, he was even label-mates with the Clash (Epic Records) but I don't think he tried to contact anyone on the label.

I suppose I should have been grateful for his effort, especially since he loathed punk. I remember being in his car and "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello came on the radio and he started singing along with it in a mocking fashion and telling me how he couldn't stand Elvis. It might have even been something personal with him but I can't remember exactly what it was. I wasn't a big Elvis fan at that point, either. I'm still not, really, but definitely have a much better appreciation for his early material.

I also saw the Jones-less lineup that played on "Cut The Crap." I thought the latter show was pretty good at the time but maybe I'd feel differently now. I also saw Joe on a couple of his solo tours, one for "Earthquake Weather" and the other with his band the Mescaleros, where he played some revamped versions of Clash songs. Not the same, of course--and it's not fair to expect that.

Thankfully, besides my pin, there are some virtual keepsakes from that tour. I found a page on the Black Market Clash site that has the particulars for that show (and lots of other shows throughout their history), including a set list and a link to photos. And, in the name of full disclosure, the one above (by Catherine Vanaria) is used without permission so don't rat me out, OK? Or sue me... I mean, I'd buy a print for $300 but it's a little out of my price range. Besides, I don't think Joe would have minded. He did sing about "turning rebellion into money" on "White Man In Hammersmith Palais," a jibe at artists cashing in on punk--the reference to mohair suits is supposedly aimed at the Jam. And I promise I won't cash in until I publish my own book, sometime in the next decade hopefully. THEN I can get paid! Mwahahahaha! By the way, I'm being somewhat tongue in cheek. I do believe that artists have the right to be compensated for their work but that's never what it's been about for me. People use my photos all the time, sometimes with permission, sometimes without. All I ask is people credit them.

Of course, there were always contradictions with the Clash, themselves, being signed to a major label for one thing. Still, they insisted on having opening bands with different musical styles and with members who were female and people of color. My old friend George, who was at that Cambridge show (although I wouldn't meet him until a year and a half later when he was next door neighbor in my dorm), saw my "status" post on Facebook, mentioning I'd seen this show. He wrote about how the Clash supported a strike by staff at WBCN (a Boston radio station) in 1979. The action was to protest the firing of 15 station employees after the station was sold and the new owners refused to honor a union contract. Eventually, the workers prevailed.

Speaking of support for union workers, I should also mention that George, who lives in London, is a labor organizer and put together a benefit show for striking firefighters that happened on November 22, 2002 and it featured Joe and the Mescaleros. Mick Jones was there and ended up playing a few Clash songs with them at the end of the set. It was the first time Joe and Mick had played together in nearly 20 years and unfortunately the last, as Joe passed away a little more a month later. He wrote a short book about it, "The Last Night London Burned." If you're interested in getting a copy, you can go to this page on the website for the Fire Brigades Union. George also has some copies himself. Send him an email at grbinette@hotmail.com. George also wrote this piece about the Strummer documentary, "The Future Is Unwritten," for The Weekly Worker in 2007.

Finally, I managed to find an audience recording from the show and the quality is more-than-listenable. Just don't expect high fidelity. Download it here. I have it on right now and it sounds fine to me!

This piece is dedicated to the memory of Joe Strummer (1952-2002)...

*Note--this article also appeared on my MySpace blog but I posted it here for readers who don't use that website. Also, a small part of this blog originally appeared in the book "My First Time," a collection of "first punk show" anecdotes from different writers. It's available through AK Press and features contributions from Jack Rabid of Big Takeover, Rob Fish from 108, Joe King from the Queers, Blake Schwarzenbach from Jawbreaker and others. Check it out. My piece in there is more extensive...

Suburban Voice blog #71

A PROBLEM WITH PAT

As often happens when I'm out walking with the Creative Zen MP3 player (it used to be an iRiver before that shat the bed and this one hasn't behaved well at times, either--I imagine dropping it 4-5 times on the concrete hasn't helped), weird musical thoughts twist 'n turn their way through my scrambled mind. I've created some playlists based on old mix tapes and the one I was listening to consisted of songs recorded from '77 to '79--it was a sporadic recording process, starting in my senior year of high school and continuing towards the end of my freshman year of college. A very odd collection of songs, though mainly leaning towards punk and power-pop--Clash, Pistols, Radiators From Space, X-Ray Spex, Stranglers, Outcasts but some decidedly non-punk bands/songs--"Helter Skelter" by the Beatles, "Gimme Three Steps" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and a song called "Life In London" by Pat Travers, a Canadian hard rock guitarist with a modicum of US success in the late 70s/80s. His best known songs were "Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)" and "Smokin' Whiskey."

The song on this tape was called "Life In London." I guess I never really paid close attention to the lyrics until recent years. I did mention it in passing in Suburban Voice blog #42, from mid-07. It came out in '77, on the album "Putting It Straight" (it was also released as a single) and dealt with his take on the punk scene happening at the time. Not very complimentary about it, either:

"Life in London is bittersweet /Spray can slogans all along the street /Some kind of revolution in the town /Razorblades and safety pins you look like a clown…"

And, in a 1978 Circus magazine article around the same time, he said London was "horrible--I just can't bear it anymore." It went on to say, "and that's not Pat's last word on the punk phenomenon: "the only real way I'm aware of all this punk shit is by the music papers and , ah, by the lack of sales for our current album. But all our English gigs have been sold out; people haven't changed as much as the press would have you believe. The journalists have really gone over the top. They're so trendy; six months after they promote something they're knocking it."

I can't say I disagree with Pat about the press in England or the fact some of 'em did look like clowns. But denigrating the music that changed my life as "shit" is fightin' words! And guess what song led into "Life In London" on that tape? "God Save The Queen"! The song that made the lightbulb go on over my head and say "fuck yeah!" This was actually the second mix tape that included the song. So that was problem #1.

Problem with Pat #2: I went to see Aerosmith, Travers and Rose Tattoo at the Centrum in Worcester in November of '82 with a couple of girls I worked with at my first post-college job at the Zayre department store. The job I quit after 5 months and this was a few weeks after I left. We went out there in my 1980 Chevy Chevette and I was playing a mix tape that included the "Someone Got Their Head Kicked In" comp and these two hard rock chicks basically weren't digging it. In fact, when the Adolescents' "Wrecking Crew" came on and it got to the part where Tony shouts "we're just the wrecking boys bored with nothing to do," and that blast of guitar cuts through like a rusty razor, they started laughing at this classic punk rock moment. Fuck 'em.

I should mention this was the infamous Aerosmith show on the "Rock In A Hard Place" tour, with the "lite" lineup of Rick Dufay and Jimmy Crespo, instead of Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. It was the show where Steven Tyler passed out on stage, during "Toys In The Attic" and had to be carried off. It was covered on "Behind The Music" and also in the band's autobiography book Walk This Way, although they got the date wrong (said it was in '83) and that they only played four songs. They actually got through nearly the whole set. It's amazing Tyler was able to perform that long because, according to the book, he'd snorted pure heroin with Joe Perry before their set--Joe came to hang out but didn't watch them play. In any case, that was the first time I'd gotten to see them, since I didn't go to concerts when I was a teenager. I remember still being psyched on seeing them but, thinking back, I'd bet the OG lineup was a lot better, even though their 70s era drug exploits are legendary... or notorious... or both. By the time I got to see the original lineup, though, in the 90s, things had gotten watered down and they played too much tripe like "Angel" and "Dude Looks Like A Lady."

OK, back to the show. Rose Tattoo come on. I'm excited to see them, having been a fan for a few years after getting the "Rock 'n Roll Outlaw" album out of a 99 cent bin in late '80 or early '81. Picked that up with Motorhead's "Ace Of Spades." The lights come up and people literally started laughing at them. It probably had to do with the fact that Angry Anderson didn't look like the typical rocker dude, with his shaved head and rather short stature but, with his muscular physique, he could have probably kicked the asses of 90% of the dudes there. And, while I don't remember the specifics of the set list, they mainly stuck to mid-tempo bluesy songs and didn't play "Nice Boys." People were booing 'em and when Angry tried to reach out and tell people to smile, say hi to their neighbors or something like that, well, the reception didn't improve.

Then Pat comes out and, of course, the place goes apeshit when he shouts "ARE YOU READY TO ROCK 'N ROLL?" I mean, he wasn't awful or anything. I don't even mind his big hits although I don't own any of his records. But after seeing Rose Tattoo get disrespected like that (the girls I went with weren't into them, either), then seeing Pat have the crowd eating out of hand, followed by the Aerosmith disaster, well, it wasn't too great a night.

I'm sure Pat Travers is a nice guy, he plays a mean guitar... but now you understand why I have a problem with Pat!

In the meantime, here's a live clip of Rose Tattoo playing "Nice Boys" in 1981...

AND, NOW, SOME "PUNK SHIT" (and more):

BRUTAL KNIGHTS-Living By Yourself (Deranged, CD)
The tracks from the Knights' recent "Living By Yourself" 12" are appended by over a dozen more songs coming from recent 7" and comp efforts for a 25 track hellride. The Knights always had a sound that teetered on the edge of trainwreck but they've made it cruder and more blown-out sounding this time. And, a few times, they fuck with the formula--the latest version of "Extreme Lifestyle" (the '08 remix!) has wacked-out, echo-laden vocals, mechanized percussion and compressed guitar--it's plain fucked up sounding and the same applies to "Bowling With Friends" (from the "My Life, My Fault" EP), a techno-mechanized excursion and, yeah, it's about bowling--shades of Part-Time Christians, if you ever heard of them. And that's not to say the extra songs are exactly slick-sounding... there's plenty of treble and trash-can drums. The Supersuckers and Zeke used to do stuff like this although there was also a cheesy LET'S RAWK ambiance, especially later on. The Knights have always offered up a scrappier take on it, willing to allow garagier and Killed By Death shiznit to sneak in. As always, there's an obsession with diets--finding a way to balance those cravings for pizzas and slurpees with trying to maintain some kind of healthy lifestyle or at least feeling ashamed about it ("Feast of Shame"). At least there aren't any calories in punk rock and, if anything, working up a sweat while watching them play in a small space--like I have a few times--should keep the pounds melting off. (www.derangedrecords.com)

CIVIL VICTIM-Mehr Krieg! (Loud Punk, 7" EP)
One of the lines on "Nothing Left To Say" states, "I Heard It Before" and, yeah, that's pretty much the case for this German hardcore punk band. Not that it's a bad thing--they stick to a hard-edged blueprint but also vary things a bit--the fast tumult of the previously mentioned "Nothing Left To Say" and "Problem," to pounders like "We Are 129A" and "Down The Drain." The guitar playing is pretty hot, throughout, not settling for mere power chords, but adding more damaged-sounding parts, as well. (PO Box 3067, Albany, NY 12203, loudpunk@gmail.com)

DEATHCYCLE-Prelude To Tyranny (Lifeline, CD)
The second and likely last album for Deathcycle. In case titles like "Enemy Of The State," "Pawns Of The New American Century" and "Good Person = Bad American" weren't dead giveaways, the lyrical matter has a pointed politicism and "Blueprint For Enslavement" makes the argument that it's not going to make a difference which party is "in power." In fact, I know that's their vocalist Ron's take on the political landscape--among other things, the onset of an oppressive security state and the belief that the events of 9/11 involved a conspiracy--and some of the links provided deal with those theories. Musically, it remains a bludgeoning tandem of metallic NYHC, encompassing thrash and heaviness and a whiff of Swedish-inspired blitz. In other words, not a whole lotta subtlety here, as with the wordcraft. Definitely attention-grabbing, if perhaps a bit overwrought at times. (PO Box 692, Midlothian, IL 60445, www.lifelinerecords.net)

DEVOUR-s/t (Sorry State, 12")
Devour announce their arrival with a twisted hardcore blitz. There are definitely elements that attack in a similar vein as their North Carolina brethren Double Negative, with the early COC-ish touches rammed home with wanton axe insanity, roiling bass and drums. Their vocalist Cody is credited with "demon howls" and, while his emanations aren't really demonic, he certainly has a nasty, raspy set of pipes. Jugular-grabbing sounds, taking an ambient turn for the intro to the jarring, final track "Useless Ruin"--shades of Celtic Frost going from "Danse Macabre" into "Nocturnal Fear" on "Morbid Tales," although not as unsettling ("DM" sounds like it was inspired by "The Exorcist"). Add this one to my "best of '08' list--I accidentally omitted it on the list published in the last blog. (1102 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro, NC 27510, www.sorrystaterecords.com)

GIT SOME-s/t (1-2-3-4 Go!)
Heh, heh... gonna "git some." The nekkid drawing on the cover and rather strategic placement of the hub where you put the CD inside the case (let's just say it's between something) makes one think this is going to be some kind of porn rock nonsense. And that is nonsense. Git Some operate in a seriously heavy vein, all bludgeoning riffage, jerking (sorry) stops and starts and howling vocals that verge on overkill at times. Seems to be a resurrection of the mountainous abraso-rock of the early 90s and it's definitely an antidote to tweedious indy folderol, that's for sure. Some of the excesses could stand a bit of trimming, at times, but it's tough to ignore the savage rush of "Trixie Loves Misty," with its dramatic guitar coda or the rockin' fervor of "Impending Zombie Apocalypse." www.1234gorecords.com)

MIDDLE CLASS-Out Of Vogue--The Early Material (Frontier, LP)
One of the best reissues of 2008. Middle Class were an early LA punk band made up of three brothers ranging in age from their mid-teens to early 20s, plus a friend of theirs. The band formed in '77 and their first EP, 1978's "Out Of Vogue," might have been one of the earliest hardcore records, with its speedy attack (although 999's "No Pity" was a fast rager in its own right). One of the best 99 cent scores I ever made but that was quite a few years ago. It's not just 1-2, 1-2 fodder, either, as the band evolved into a tight and musically interesting unit. With the bubbling bass/guitar sting for "Archetype" (originally appearing on the "Tooth and Nail" comp), there's a shift into post-punk territory and that's completed for the songs on their second EP, 1980's "Scavenged Lunxury." The vocals have a detached, bored-sounding cadence, the weakest part of the package but not a huge liability. Collecting both of their 7"s, comp appearances and four earlier, unreleased demos that feature more moderately paced songs that still exude a barbed, gnashing punk spirit. They later completed the transition to doomier/Joy Division-ish material for the "Homeland" album, although the vocals remained the same--but that's a different chapter for the band. This is essential. (PO Box 22, Sun Valley, CA 01353-0022, www.frontierrecords.com)

NOBUNNY-Love Visions (1-2-3-4 Go!, CD)
Nobunny is a guy, not a band, he's from Chicago and he runs around with a bunny rabbit mask on top of his head. According to an interview I dug up, he claims to be the offspring of a jackalope and human and was born in the Arizona desert in 2001. I chuckled when I saw the label that was a tribute to 60s garage label Dunwich Records. And some of the songs here make me chuckle and others make me want to fire my sneakers at the stereo like that guy did to George Bush in Iraq... but it's so damned charming. Obnoxiously so, at times. A good example is the kiddie xylophone (I think) for "Chuck Berry Holiday" that sounds like it could have been on an early 70s bubblegum record. This is a minimalist assimilation of 60s/70s pop, garage and '77 punk. Most of the time, the rhythm is mechanically-generated and these are home recordings. Things begin with "Nobunny Loves You," which is quite brazen in its appropriation of "Land of 1000 Dances." "I Am A Girlfriend" and "Somewhere New," which is actually a cover version of a song from Chicago band The Yolks (and I like it better than the original). It'll ingratiate and grate at 'ya, simultaneously and, much as I want to write this thing off, I can't. (www.1234gorecords.com)

PIRATE LOVE-Black Voudoun Space Blues (Voodoo Rhythm, CD)
Takin' a ride with stomping garage and trippy weirdness and, even if the urge to dock 'em a notch or two for having some songs that are a bit on the lengthy side is there, this is still quite impressive. "The Lonely Streets" gives the impression it's going to be a by-the-numbers garage trip--and I'll never complain about that--but that assumption disappears pretty quickly, starting with the tribal/psych intro for "Shake It!", leading into another dose of raucous heaviness. David Al Dajani's voice is raspily engaging throughout and the guitars have prenty of fuzzbust and other properties. "Slumber Blues" has them getting low down 'n dirty although it's accompanied by some trem-guitar. "Broken Soul #2" features wide stereo separation and an oldie rock 'n roll melody wrapped in a whirling sonic coccoon that eventually sounds like a transistor radio submerged in water or the stereo playing in a room down the hall, fading off into the ether. Rocking hard but also expansive and done without any sense of pretentiousness. (www.voodoorhythm.com)

RAZOR BOIS-s/t (Boycott The Fencewalkers, CD)
Hearty punk with UK '82 and oi-ish touches and a vehemently anti-racist/fascist/homophobia attitude. As mentioned in a previous review, the Bois are a Moscow band and have also been based in NYC. On this album, there are new songs, as well as tracks from their first two demos and it's a spirited affair. Brief, buzzing songs. It's wrapped up with a track from the Bois' hip-hop alter-ego, the Moscow Death Brigade and their science is tight, if that's the right term but it's all about the punk rock here. Some nasty, graphic cover art, too--a bear decapitating some nazis with his claws. Umm... it's all about the punk rock here. (www.myspace.com/razorbois)

RUNNAMUCKS

RUNNAMUCKS-Clawing Back (Six Weeks, CD)
These baked Floridians continue to bring the rock and add some punk to the mix. Or is it vice-versa? Either way, it's a raucous affair. Another revamped lineup--new guitarist and drummer--and stronger than their last effort, the uneven "Inferno." They get it down to the fired-up essence for the boisterous likes of "Mind of God" (with a 70s rock intro careening into a speed attack), "Crime Waves," "Let It Ride" and "Goodbye Sweet Nothing," with some tasty piano trills that mold it into a rock 'n roll firebomb. And, being the comic geeks that they are, I'm sure they were excited to have comic illustrator Sam Kieth do the colorful cover. The opening song, "The Wilderness," states that "sometimes you gotta take the ride." And, to shamelessly steal from Bl'ast, it's a pretty manic ride. (225 Lincoln Ave., Cotati, CA 94931, www.sixweeksrecords.com)

SUBHUMANS-Death Was Too Kind (Alternative Tentacles, CD)
I felt like rejoicing when this disc showed up--FINALLY, a reissue by the Subhumans--the Vancouver one, not the UK one although I love 'em both. This collects two of their early 7"s--"Death To The Sickoids" and "Firing Squad"--and their eponymous debut 12", the one with "Fuck You and "Slave To My Dick." The disc is rounded out with a pair of rare songs originally released with a different mix on the out-of-print anthology "Pissed Off... With Good Reason"). A tough 'n tuneful punk take, with all the scrappiness they could muster and a sharp lyrical eye, making observations about political and sociological issues and also attempting to cope with "being alienated in that special and inevitable teenage way," as the notes for "No Productivity" mentions. "Fuck You" remains a true anthem of defiance with an irresistible refrain, while "Slave To My Dick" delivers the satirical, ironic goods. All that's right about punk--gritty guitars and vocals with a deceptive musical finesse that fuel their catchy-as-fuck tunes. Now, if it's not too much to ask, how about a reissue of their "Incorrect Thoughts" album, with the original mix and running order. Truly classic stuff. (PO Box 419092, SF, CA 94141, www.alternativetentacles.com)

TOTAL ABUSE-s/t (Deranged, CD)
The first full-length audio excursion by Total Abuse represents a developmental leap from the demo and 7". Or should I say decay--as in they've gotten scarier and more intense-sounding. That's obvious from the onset, a four minute noise and Swans-ish lurch that does have one waiting for the payoff and it comes with "I Can See In The Dark." Back and forth between thrash blasts and slower, intense exercises, such as the repetitive "Disease" and "Secrets." There aren't any overtly obvious influences although I'd say that that the driving "Cleanse Me," for instance, has something of an early COC feel to it. The CD includes those earlier recordings and, while you can hear shadings of what's going to come with this album, it still leans towards conventional hardcore--not that I'm complaining about it but, seeing them live, it was a surprising jolt when they played the newer songs--something that wasn't expected at all and this album gives you a good idea about their brutal creativity. Not much in the way of packaging, unfortunately. Just a digipack with no booklet, nothing except the most basic facts but that's minor. Feel the darkness? Watch out for the darkness--savagery lurks in the shadows. Sick. (www.derangedrecords.com)

Suburban Voice blog #70

RON ASHETON (1948-2009)

Quite a few of you have probably heard the sad news about the passing of Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, who was found dead in his home earlier this week. He was 60 years old. It's no false tribute when I say that the Stooges have long been an inspiration to me, since I first heard "Raw Power" in 1976. I've told that story many times--how I went into a "head shop" where, alongside the bongs, pot pipes, tie-dye shirts and tapestries, there was a crate of records. I found a used copy of "Raw Power," got the proprietor to play me some of it and immediately forked over the $3 to purchase this incredible album.

I know that Asheton didn't play guitar on "Raw Power." He'd moved over to bass with the arrival of axe-slinger James Williamson, no slouch himself but stylistically different. It may be sacrilege to say this--and I don't mean to besmirch Ron Asheton's memory--but "Raw Power" is by far my favorite Stooges album and one of my all-time favorite albums, period. That was my introduction to the band and it remained that way until early 1978. That was when I had on one of the big FM rock stations (not sure if it was WCOZ or WBCN) and the DJ said something along the lines of people that were into punk should check out the song he was about to play--it was by the Stooges and called "I Wanna Be Your Dog." I got my dad's stereo tape deck at the ready, anticipating something incredible...

And that's what I got--that eruption of fuzz guitar that introduces the song, laying out the three chord signature and the bass, drums and piano plink kicked in and my brain started to melt. That led off a mix-tape that I eventually called "Greatest Tape Ever," a 60 minute Tracs cassette that probably cost me 50 cents and included Wire, Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, as well as some lesser-knowns like the Maniacs, The Table, New Hearts and Destroy All Monsters--the latter of whom featured Ron Asheton on guitar and Mission of Burma guitarist Roger Miller's brother Ben on saxophone. It was a prized possession until it got boosted out of my car around '89 or so.

When I was at Boston University, I used to comb the bins at Nuggets in Kenmore Square and came across some awesome 99 cent records over the years. Some were there because they weren't going to be best-sellers--and there were gems to be had, like Rose Tattoo's "Rock 'n Roll Outlaw" and Saxon's "Wheels Of Steel." They'd also put out records in "distressed" (i.e. scratched up a bit) in that bin. Freshman year, I got Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and, sophomore year, it was the Stooges eponymous debut. It was pretty beat but playable. I did find it uneven--the ten minute-plus mantra-psych--whatever you want to call it--of "We Will Fall" meant that I'd only listen to "1969" and "Dog" on side A. On the flip, four out of the five songs clicked, the exception being the quieter "Ann." Not the case with the savage, sinister groove of "No Fun," "Little Doll," "Not Right" and the "Real Cool Time." Asheton pulled some true pyrotechnics from that axe of his, accompanying Iggy's oozing menace.

I forget when I came across "Fun House"--in the 80s sometime and in all its gatefold glory. Blistering from start to finish--even the more drawn-out "Dirt" had a heavier feel to it and the wild sax skronk featured on side 2, particularly for "1970" (aka "I Feel Alright") added to the already-fierce stew.

I don't need to review these records... any connoisseur of high energy music already has 'em and has played them a million times. And it's incredible to think the albums were released in 1969, 1970 and 1973 and were completely ignored at the time. I'm just giving some personal recollections and paying tribute.

I already mentioned Destroy All Monsters, a band fronted by a woman named Niagara (born Lynn Rovner) that started off as an avant-garde group but eventually moved in more of a conventional rock direction when they recruited Asheton and MC5 bassist Michael Davis. They had a sound that incorporated influences from both bands. Track down their stuff, if you can--"You're Gonna Die" and "Bored," in particular, are incredible songs.

Some of the obituaries mentioned that he was listed as the 29th best of all time on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarist list. At least he made it that high, although what moron thinks that Jack White from the White Stripes is worthy of being 17? Or thinks that the White Stripes are a good band, period. Talk about suckage. Just as bad as getting a quote from the one of the guys from the mediocre Von Bondies about Asheton's death. That list is a travesty, anyway--Angus Young at 96? Are they joking?

I've been listening to this music off and over the past few days and will be doing a tribute on Sonic Overload next week (1/12/09) and it makes me realize that I was a fucking idiot to have missed their reunion tour a few years ago. I blew the one chance I had to see this lineup play and it made me feel worse when friends told me about how awesome it was (hi, Marc!). I could list the coulda-shoulda-woulda bands/artists I missed before it was too late--Link Wray, Dead Boys (with Stiv, none of this reunion stuff), AC/DC with Bon Scott. Add the Stooges to the list...

This year's off to a crappy start, eh?

BEST OF 2008

A little late but here it is finally. I think it was something of an off year for punk rock. There were only a handful of records that blew me away and a lot of good/OK releases. Of course, I wasn't able to track down/listen to everything that might have grabbed me, so perhaps my opinion might have been different, otherwise. I'm sure I'm missing some quality music.

The lists aren't in any order, except that Bastard Sons of Apocalypse's "Strangled By The System" is my record of the year and Systematic Death were, by far, the best live band I saw last year. Sometimes, people are dubious about reunions but, trust me, there was no going through the motions here. It was explosive and frenetic and bands with people half those guys' age should be so lucky to have such a high energy level. Mind-blowing.

LP/12":

BASTARD SONS OF APOCALYPSE-Strangled By The System
MEANWHILE-Reality Or Nothing
CHRONIC SEIZURE-Ancient Wound
NIGHTSTICK JUSTICE-s/t
THE ESTRANGED-Static Thoughts
EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING-Primary Colours
LIBYANS-s/t
STRAIGHTJACKET NATION-Cheap Kicks
STATIONS-s/t
AVSKUM-Uppror Underifran
SOCIALCIDE-Unapproachable

7":
NIGHTSTICK JUSTICE-Claustrophobic
VIOLENT ARREST-Criminal Record
THE YOUNG-s/t
SEX/VID-Nests
SMART COPS-s/t
SOCIAL CIRCKLE-I've Got Afflictions
REPROBATES-Stress
DEEP SLEEP-Manic Euphoria
DOUBLE NEGATIVE-Raw Energy

DEMOS:
BRAIN KILLER
GENERAL INTEREST
MAD MEN

LIVE:
SYSTEMATIC DEATH
STRAIGHTJACKET NATION
CAREER SUICIDE
SEX/VID
AMERICAN CHEESEBURGER
BRAIN KILLER
MALE NURSES
WASTED TIME
COP ON FIRE

Suburban Voice blog #69

TOTAL ABUSE

BEST LIVE BANDS/SHOWS OF 2008
Something a little different this time--and I'll also be doing a best of 2008 record list in the next week or two as well. First off, I'll be including a few photos with the text but, if you want to see a bunch more, go to my Flickr page.

On with the shows (sorry). I didn't go to quite as many of 'em this year. Probably just a shade over 40, in fact, which is probably still a lot to most people. And out of all of them, only a handful were club shows, at the Midway in Jamaica Plain, one at Church, near Fenway Park, one at the Paradise and two (on the same day) in New York City. The rest were at arts spaces, halls, basements, warehouses and other DIY venues. I haven't been to the Middle East or TT the Bear's in Cambridge in years. It's got to be hitting ten years for TT's (maybe longer) and 4 or 5 for the Middle East, I think. It's not because I necessarily dislike those places but there hasn't been much to draw me there and, truth be told, I didn't have the energy or inclination to go to the shows that did catch my interest. I just hope that some larger spaces continue to be available/start doing shows again--I'm talking about the Ratscellar, which is in the basement of a warehouse and holds up to 200 people.

These are more or less in chronological order and, for each show, I mention the bands that stood out, besides the 'headliner.' Incidentally, with very few exceptions, shows shouldn't be more than four bands...

VITAMIN X, 1/15 and 10/17... with FRUIT SALAD on 1/15 and PERDITION on 10/17, Democracy Center/Papercut 'Zine Library, Cambridge
I've never been disappointed seeing Vitamin X live, going back to when they played a tiny room at the Art Haus at Tufts and there was a big circle pit going through a couple of rooms and through the hallway. Both of these shows were wild and sweaty affairs, a wild whirlwind of activity on the dancefloor and a slam-bang array of hardcore punk. Fruit Salad have really come into their own the past few years, mixing up grind, thrash and heaviness into a killer combo--and that wasn't the only good set I saw them play this year. Crust/thrashers Perdition were excellent for the one song I saw them play in October. Unfortunately, some nimrod "traveler" assholes, who had been ejected, decided to throw a couple of bricks thorugh the window behind the drummer, ending the show and costing hundreds of dollars in damages. Real punk, fuckheads...

WASTED TIME

DIRECT CONTROL, SOCIAL CIRCKLE, WASTED TIME, ACID REFLUX, CHEAP TRAGEDIES, Ratscellar, Boston, 2/16
This was my birthday show and could have also been a de-facto No Way/Grave Mistake mini-fest. Cleveland's Cheap Tragedies, fronted by the one-and-only Tony Erba, didn't garner much of a response and this band is a little more tuneful than his other units. He was sick as a dog so there weren't many stage antics and I completely botched Black Flag's "Police Story" when doing a guest vocal--I thought we were doing "Where There's Smoke" by Slapshot and didn't realize what song it was until the first chorus. Oops. Anyway, Eric from DC/WT was late so, during the wait, Acid Reflux did a quick impromptu set. Eric showed up, his bandmates seemed mighty pissed at him and they harnessed that anger into one of the most punishing hardcore sets I've saw all year. Just ruthless. Social Circkle celebrated the release of their 7" with a fun, energetic showing and Direct Control wrapped things up with their aggressive old-school thrash. My kind of birthday party!

AMERICAN CHEESEBURGER, Ratscellar, 2/29
One of the wildest hardcore punk bands going right now. Amazing stage presence from everyone, including their drummer Jason, who was running around with toilet paper wrapped around his head before they played. Here's the proof in this short clip I shot:

PISSED JEANS, WASTE MANAGEMENT, Oxford Cafe, Tufts University, 4/12
Pissed Jeans are a good example of a band who I'm not all that into on record (although I've warmed up to 'em a bit) but, live, it's a much different story. Completely unhinged in a noise-laden/Flipper/Jesus Lizard/Birthday Party sorta way. Vocalist Matt Korvette is a focal point, including when he was humping a large African drum (I think). Waste Management are one of my favorite newer Boston area hardcore bands. Boiling over early 80s NY/Boston aggro. They sometimes start off with a cover and it was Negative Approach's "Lost Cause" here. Good crowd-pleasing angle but their own songs accomplish that by itself.

SYSTEMATIC DEATH

SYSTEMATIC DEATH, DROPDEAD, AS-200, Providence, 5/3
Systematic Death are, hands down, the best band I saw in 2008. Anyone who thinks reunions are lame/a waste of time didn't see these Japanese legends tear the place apart for nearly an hour. The show sold out well in advance (they added an earlier one, in fact) and people traveled far and wide. Raw, ravenous and never flagging, powered by some amazing drumming. I won't forget this one soon. I don't get to see Dropdead that often and they didn't disappoint either with some blazing fodder. I missed almost all of Tragedy, who played between the two bands but I saw them play a pretty decent set at Welfare Records a week or so before that that was pretty potent. And, truth be told, I was there to see one band and it was mind-blowing.

CAREER SUICIDE

CAREER SUICIDE, STRAIGHTJACKET NATION, MENS INTEREST, Cake Shop, Manhattan and The Charelston, Brooklyn, 6/7
The only overnight roadtrip I took for a show this year and it was because SJN didn't play Boston--they did play Providence, but that was the same night as Gasmask Terror in Boston--a French d-beat band who do the sound very well and are one of the "runners up" for this list (can't list every show I saw!). Considering Career Sucide have played the Boston area a grand total of one time and I usually end up seeing them out of town, this was an added treat as they remain one of the most energetic punk bands in existence. SJN are from Australia and I've been a fan of their high-powered old school hardcore sound since hearing their first 7" and they didn't disappoint one bit. Mens Interest, a band with Shaun from Cold Sweat/Repercussions on vocals and people from Waste Management, Mind Eraser, etc, dishing out some intense, off-kilter hardcore. Hot as fuck in the city that weekend and, thankfully, both spaces were in the basement and cool. I just wish I'd known about the free pizza if you purchased a drink deal at the Charleston. Oh well...

MISSION OF BURMA, Paradise, Boston, 6/13
$20 is a bit steep for a show in this economy; hell, it's steep period but this was the second of two shows where Burma played their vintage stuff. The night before was "Signals Calls and Marches" (wish I'd seen it) and this show was "Vs.," played in order, along with some of the newer songs. I do get puzzled when I hear youngsters say the modern-day Burma songs blow away the old ones. Actually, it makes me want to violently shake some sense into these misguided people's brains. Anyway, this was a lot better than the rather subdued, sit-down show I saw at the ICA (an art museum) last year. By the time Burma released "Vs." in 1982, they'd perfected their tandem of abrasive and tuneful elements although I found out recently that some of these songs actually came from their early days. It was topped off with a cover of Unnatural Axe's "They Saved Hitler's Brain," featuring guest vocals from that band's Richie Parsons. An electrifying trip down memory lane.

TOTAL ABUSE, Ratscellar, 6/16
The last (as of now) show at the Ratscellar almost didn't happen there but it's a long story. The Texas band's show has expanded from its chaotic thrash base into something that pushes those parameters. Vocalist Rusty Kelley set up a table in front of the stage with effects and an amplified tin can. They mixed up the straight ahead songs with clattering, heavier abrasiveness and it made for an intriguing, unpredictable performance.

SEX/VID

SEX/VID, Cottage Street Studio, Springfield, 7/19
So Sex/Vid's Boston show fell through and it was relocated to this space, next to a potato chip warehouse in a desolate part of Springfield, with nothing much around except for a Dunkin Donuts but if you spit more than a few feet in Massachusetts, you'll hit a Dunks. The studio is actually a warehouse space itself and in a hot room on the second floor. No Fucker opened and Mind Eraser played last. No Fucker do the distorto d-beat thing very well but you couldn't hear the guitar this time--they were better at the Ratscellar in March. Mind Eraser are always intense live but this was Sex/Vid's night. Probably 20 minutes in length, maybe a bit longer but no let-up with the thrashed-out sizzle-whizzle assault, then culminating with the dirge-like intensity of "Always Home," from the "Nests" EP. Worth the drive...

COP ON FIRE

COP ON FIRE, MALE NURSES, Democracy Center, 9/26
I saw a couple of bands from Spain this year. Invasion in May and Cop on Fire at this show. They were late arrivals, barely having time to set and play but they were pillaging. Crust 'n thrash that wails away with savage riffs, walloping drums and hoarse vocals. Male Nurses, who opened up, are a promising new local band playing in an old-school vein.

WALLS, MIND ERASER, BREATHING FIRE, MENS INTEREST, Quincy Cage, Harvard University, 11/14
As of now, this is the last show I attended in '08 and it was interesting from a few different angles. First off, it was one of those shows where the feelings of alienation built up over the evening. Just one of those shows where I felt like an outsider. The venue itself was interesting--in the basement of a Harvard dorm. You get off an elevator and the show space is inside a fenced area, essentially. Considering how crazy things got at times, one thought of the possibility of a steel cage match or even the "Beyond Thunderdome" Road Warrior movie. All four of these bands play off-kilter hardcore in one way or another. Actually, Breathing Fire and Mind Eraser both follow the slow-heavy/grind-blast/sick vocal blueprint and Mens Interest were covered earlier in this piece. Walls, from Washington state, consist of former members of Cold Sweat and it's another band I enjoyed better live than on record. Dark, heavy, lurching sounds. The best was saved for last, though--a brief Cold Sweat reunion and things got crazy once Shaun grabbed the mike and it was a treat, considering I never got to see them when they played here earlier. An eruption of speed and chaos. I don't know if this is necessarily one of the best shows I saw this year--as I said, there were sour feelings when I left--but it was one of the more memorable ones. Walls are definitely a subject for further research, to quote Robert Christgau.

Suburban Voice blog #68

RADIO SILENCE: A Selected Visual History Of American Hardcore Music (Nathan Nedorostek and Anthony Pappalardo, MTV Press)

Add this book to the growing number of archival treatments of hardcore. “Radio Silence,” compiled by Nathan Nedorostek and Anthony Pappalardo (ex-Ten Yard Fight/In My Eyes guitarist), approaches hardcore with more of a visual emphasis, in case the title didn’t tip you off! The images have catalogue numbers for each “artifact,” like in the sort of book you’d get from an art exhibit. But those items alone can’t provide a complete presentation of US hardcore punk throughout the 80s and 90s, in its different incarnations and dispersal into various permutations. That comes from reflections from the participants and the photography that accompanies the ephemera that’s “survived.” Blessed be the pack rats so Anthony and Nathan could, for instance, borrow my original Siege demo and hand-written lyric sheet that one of the guys had given me before it had even been officially released. And I’m grateful to have gotten it back in the same condition or this book might have been a posthumous effort from those two! The leather jacket with hand-painted logos that hangs on the front cover is nothing by itself—it has to be filled in by a human, breathing entity and the photographs that follow manage to present it in at least a two-dimensional form and the stories flesh it out further although, as I said, that’s more of a sidebar than in the “oral history” type books about this music. And they’ve collected an impressive array of stuff—original layouts for milestone records like Minor Threat’s “Salad Days,” personal letters, t-shirts and records. Not flyers, though... and that’s been covered more extensively in other books, anyway.

One of the more interesting pieces is on the graphic design of hardcore, written by a designer/artist/filmmaker named Mark Owens. In his piece “On To Greener Pastures,” Owens traces the evolution of Dischord Records’ visual presentation, pointing out the block, rub-on letters used on the early releases to the transitional nature of the “Salad Days” sleeve. And the lettering sheet is pictured across from a Dada journal from 1923 and it features an X with “DA” in the four quadrants. I don’t know if that was intentional on the part of Dischord co-founder and Minor Threat drummer Jeff Nelson but it’s interesting, nonetheless. And I never knew that the Dischord logo itself was inspired by the Saints’ logo but it’s true.

A lot of ground is covered—the birth of independent punk itself, in the LA and SF scenes, the early 80’s origins with the DC bands, of course, Boston, NYC, LA, the nexus of skating and hardcore, the introduction of graffiti style and the late 80s sXe eruption. Then it goes in different directions in the 90s, such as with the more chaotic-sounding hardcore created by bands on the Gravity label, for whom the visual packaging was just as important as the music inside. There’s a gallery of records and t-shirts that show similarities of design, the use of certain icons, such as the American flag, which is used for more of a patriotic purpose on an Agnostic Front record, but the flag-covered coffins on Hüsker Dü’s “Land Speed Record” and Born Against’s “Nine Patriotic Hymns For Children” cover show how it can make a not-so-subtle political statement in the former’s case and an ironic one in the latter.

A combination of coffee table book (although not really big enough to fit that description) and written history, with a good ratio of each and the book does a pretty decent job covering the subject matter.

REKKIDS AND SUCH...

WARTORN

FPO-Ne/Znaes/Sto/E/Toa/Covek (Third Party, LP/Junk Cola, CD)
FPO/SEEIN RED-Split (Refuse, CD)
SMART BOMB-demo (CD-R)
Wow—“Ne Znaes etc...” is the best stuff I’ve ever heard from the Macedonian band FPO (Forever Positively Obsessed). While the velocity remains from previous material, there’s not as much of the warp-blast and things are kept musically interesting within the band’s hard-edged framework. There’s a tough rock’n’roll quality to “Do You See, Do You Hear?” and “We’re Not In ‘17/’77/’99” (both are English translations). “It’s Other’s Fault” bounces back and forth between medium speed and “Seein’ Red”-inspired thrash. Vasko’s voice sounds like a cross between Kurt from DRI and Vic Bondi of Articles of Faith. Speaking of Seein Red (the band, not the Minor Threat song), FPO’s split CD with the long-time Dutch band came out around a year ago but I got it at the same time as “Ne Znaes.” FPO’s portion is a 14 minute untitled song or “suite” or whatever you want to call it since one segment flows into the next without any separation. The totality of their hardcore musical arsenal appears, ultimately hitting a chaotic conclusion and fading out with a spoken segment in their native language. Seein Red’s speed attack has always been hit and miss and that remains the case here although it’s still a powerful approach. One thing I really enjoyed about this package, though, are the essays written by Vasko from FPO, the guys from Seein Red and Robert from Refuse Records, who lives in Poland. They tell their life stories, talk about their countries and relate it to their love for punk. Vasko comes from the former Yugoslavia and talks about the fall of communism, as does Robert, and how capitalism in each of their countries have had a worsening effect. Finally, Vasko has a new band called Smart Bomb and their four song CD demo is a fairly good start, although they could work on their tightness a bit. Basic, stripped-down old school hardcore. (Third Party: www.myspace.com/thirdxpartyrecords, Refuse: www.refuserecords.prv.pl, Smart Bomb: www.myspace.com/smartxbomb)

KUNG FU KILLERS-Fists Of Fury (BGT, CD)/5 separate 7” singles (Zodiac Killer)
This “mysterious” New Jersey band did an EP on TKO Records in 2001 and are back from... well, somewhere. Rumor has it some people have played in Electric Frankenstein, the Undead and Slap of Reality, to name just a few bands. You have your choice of formats here—13 songs on CD, including three cover songs (Bad Brains, Adolescents and obscure 80s power poppers the Monroes) or 10 of ‘em (sans covers) spread over five 7” singles, limited to 300 sets and, if you put the covers side by side, it forms a panoramic illustration of a ninja attack on the band. The Moby Grape’s record label did that in 1968, simultaneously releasing five singles and an album but KFK don’t sound anything like that. No hippie shit here—in fact, they don’t much care for “Hippies In Punk Clothing.” It’s hardcore punk with a number of older influences, including a strong west coast bent. Naming one of their songs “Raise High The Black Flag” shows the hand a bit—quite a bit with the name-checking of old-school bands. “Fairly energetic and catchy in spots, though hardly groundbreaking. I like the lyrics, “Welcome To The Prison Planet,” about the encroaching police state. (PO Box 294, Whippany, NJ 07981, www.myspace.com/thekungfukillers or www.zodiackillerrecords.com)

LIMB FROM LIMB-Death.Famine.Plague (No Options, LP)
Cheery and heavy sounds. Voetsek had a song about not getting a record if the band’s logo was illegibile and I had to cheat and check the spine to make it out but that’s just a trifling detail. Plenty of volume and the sound is forged from a band like Sacrilege. After the Bombs do a similar thing but there’s no echo on the vocals and the microphone is commanded by a guy (Barnical Byron) and he has an unholy growl Sure, there’s an apocalyptic vision on some songs but, within these dark musical trappings, there are also laments about the day-to-day existence and how people get conditioned and ground down by it. The riffs are bludgeoning and, even if there aren’t really any hooks, Limb From Limb’s sonic pound is more than enough. (PO Box 22285, Oakland, CA 94623, www.myspace.com/nooptionsrecords).

RATIONAL ANIMALS-Perception Becomes Reality (Feral Kid/Crotch Rot, 7” EP)
This is a musical mental breakdown announcement—with guitars, if I may be so bold to make a half-Clash reference (“Know Your Rights”—look it up). Rational Animals create a Flag-ish tumult to muck up your senses. Actually, I make the reference to the four-bar boys due mainly to the guitar slash but there’s a similar darkness, a lurking danger. Howling vocals on the edge of sanity and a shattering sound to give ‘ya nightmares. (29 Custer St., Buffalo, NY 14214, www.myspace.com/feralkidrecords)

RESIST-Resistography (Profane Existence, 2xCD)
With 50 songs and over a dozen live video clips, this is an exhaustive (and exhausting if you play it all at once) compilation from Portland’s Resist, whose heyday was in the early 90s. They definitely drew a page from Final Conflict and, being from Portland, some faster hardcore influences ala Poison Idea definitely rubbed off on ‘em as well. By the time they got around to recording the “Innocence Is Bliss” album in ‘93/94, half done with original vocalist Tom Nims and the other half with his temporary replacement Tony Mengis, they’d tightened up considerably and created some powerful music but all of it is pretty raging. As for the visual content, on the first disc, it’s taken from the early 90s. The stuff on the second disc is from some recent reunion shows and it looks as though that reunion will be permanent. Judging by the live footage, they still sound vital. (PO Box 18051, Minneapolis, MN 55418, www.profaneexistence.com)

RUNS-Piss and Shit (Criminal IQ, 7” EP)
Got this as a CD-R awhile back and now it’s been waxed on CrimIQ. Hmm... considering the title, should I use that term? Too late. This is silly, minimalist punk made by two guys from Ottawa, assisted by their loyal rhythm machine. In fact, there’s an ode to that on “Beatcraft Rules” (“I don’t need no fucking drummer...”) The pain exuded on “Constipation” is more real than any screamo-yowler could ever muster—fiber deficiency is as real as it gets. To quote the ever-quotable Spinal Tap, there’s a fine line between stupid and clever and the Runs know that. I’m not sure if it’s all that clever, but it’s fun, in a novelty sort of way. (3057 N. Rockwell, Chicago, IL 60618, www.criminaliq.com)

SBV-Raw Nerve (Mankind, CD)
SBV have been around for a bit but this is their first album. The sound is upbeat, youthful hardcore with Chad’s Dubar-esque vocals, meaning they’re high and soaring but the problem is they’re also off-key quite a bit of time. The other problem is on the thrashier material, they sound disjointed, the problem being the drumming is on the stiff side (not the case for the slower tempos). Well-produced and with buzzing riffs but it doesn’t really hold together all that well. The two earlier 7”s I have featured the same sort of approach and the same weaknesses but the rougher sound quality actually worked to their advantage a bit. Not so much here. I’ll give ‘em kudos for the clever song title “Excuse Me, But Haven’t We Met Before?” and what’s funny is the scream from the song that leads into that one is very similar to the one that ends Minor Threat’s “No Reason.” Does that make sense? (PO Box 265, Bellflower, CA 90707, www.mankindrecords.com)

SAID RADIO-Tidal Waves And Teeth (Mankind, CD)
Well, they didn’t exactly go all-out on the artwork—just a black cover with the band name and title—but this record grew on me a bit after a couple of listens. The latest band for Eric Ozenne, late of the Nerve Agents, Redemption 87 and Unit Pride way back in the day and he’s joined by his Agents compatriot Dante Sigona. Said Radio retain some elements of the Nerve Agents’ dark, edgy hardcore sound and there’s also some TSOL-like nightmarish atmospherics in the guitar sound, as well. I guess the black cover fits the mood. Eric retains the bark ‘n bite but he also sings in a mournful timbre at times. “Cue The Crickets” is probably the closest thing to a throwback hardcore assault but the guitar lines float over the chorus. There’s nearly a self-improvement message to some of these songs—breaking out of life’s ruts, breaking free of self-medication or, in the case of “Killing Her Softly,” anorexia. Not a rerun of past projects but harnessing the intensity into different musical modes. (PO Box 265, Bellflower, CA 90707, www.mankindrecords.com)

SEASICK-Ouroboros (Soulrebel, 12”)
Interestingly, there’s another recent record with this title, that being the Germ Attak LP. It’s a symbol of a snake swallowing its own tail. An endless circle? People doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over? I don’t know crud about Greek Mythology (its origin, apparently) but there’s some heady, near-intellectualized lyrical matter here that cover issues of religion, economic division and even those who wish to separate the political from the punk, to simplify things a bit. This one-sided 12” (the other side has an etching of said snake) begins with a tribal intro called “Fallacies” that gradually builds up before careening into the speed bomb of “Leviathan.” The double-speed hammer assault for “Collapse” isn’t quite as effective but that’s only a brief misstep (and not even a major one) for this band’s dramatic, energetic hardcore sound. There’s a 90s era vibe for me, in terms of pairing musical intensity with esoteric lyricism but this is furious, in-your-face stuff, concluding with a lurching emanation about the “human anguish, pain and evil” brought on by religion. Amen. Incidentally, both this record and the Soulrebel comp reviewed below come with a download card so you can load up your MP3 player with these loud sounds. (www.myspace.com/xsoulrebelrecordsx)

TITANARUM-Spastis Progressivus Aggressiorum (self-released, 7” EP)
Vocalist Kenny Leek used to growl ‘n scream for the underrated Neighbors and this newish San Deigo band have a similarly fast, unfettered hardcore attack, although there’s a little more metal molt/damage in the guitar lines and jerkin’ tempo shifts. Along with the music, Kenny’s lyrics show a man unwilling to tone it down, as it says on “Aging Quickly”—and that’s both musically or in the way he approaches his life. Pessimistic, angry, doubtful, questioning but also maintaining a defiant individualism. A “Muckhead,” as he calls himself. Shit, did this guy just attend the same high school reunion I did? So what’s the coping mechanism? This music, of course—“the spastic bands I that I get to play in/That’s why I live life.” The music keeps him going. Same here. (www.titanarum.net)

VARIOUS-A Tribute To Unnatural Axe—Ruling The World From The Back Seat (Lawless, 2xLP)
The first release on Lawless Records (in 1997) was the “Unnatural Axe is Gonna Kick Your Ass” anthology and, if you need a history lesson, they were one of the early Boston punk bands and they still play out from time time. Their opening salvo was a mega-collectible debut 7” that featured the classic “They Saved Hitler’s Brain” and three other rippers. Snarly, snotty, nasty stuff. So Eric Law and the Axe’s vocalist Richie Parsons have put together a 27 song (plus intro by Rev. Nørb) tribute with bands from around the globe. I’m not too big a fan of tribute albums for the most part and not everything here is particularly mesmerizing but there are some ravaging interpretations. Since the Axe’s oeuvre wasn’t that vast, there are some repeats—four takes on “Summertime,” four “Hitler’s Brains,” three versions of “The Creeper” and a couple of “The Man I Don’t Wanna Be” a later, more melodic/introspective song. Unfortunately, those takes aren’t particularly good—one’s done by The Neighborhoods, who used to be the best live band in Boston ca. ’80 but, these days, sound like a lethargic bar band. Ditto for Classic Ruins’ rendition, another vintage Boston band who had their moments but, once again, it sounds too much like bar rock. Enough negativity. There are other local bands who have come out of retirement or semi-retirement for the occasion. Mission of Burma have actually been back for several years and they capture the seething nature of “The Creeper.” Stranglehold bash their way through “Big Noise” and Jerry’s Kids rock out for “Bombing & Burying.” Dim Stars, a band with Richard Hell and Thurston Moore, do a good job with “The Plug,” from that classic EP. It’s the younger bands (in relative terms) who really breathe life into the songs, though. There are super-raw takes on “Hitler’s Brain” by Italian bands Dick Dastardly and UFO Dictatorz and Germans “Demolition Girl.” Johnny & The Reforms add a Childish/garage bash for “Summertime.” The Mongrolls’ “3 Chord Rock” (another early Axe fave) has plenty of rawness, which is bound to happen when you do it on a four-track in your practice space, as they didOnly 500 of these suckas so you might not want to dawdle. (PO Box 689, Hingham, MA 02043, (elaw@fieldfabrics.com)

VARIOUS-The Right To Assemble Volume Two (Soulrebel, LP)
The first RTA comp came out in the late 90s and was a 7” EP. This time around, there are 21 songs plus a spoken intro about “unity” and “diversity” from a self-described Puerto Rican homosexual skinhead named Pedro Angel Serrano. The comp features bands from New Brunswick, NJ, aka the Hub City. There is musical diversity here and a variance in quality but I think the common thread here is passion, a sense of community, even with the accusations of being “too cliquey” or “too PC,” according to Craig from Degenerics/Kamikaze/Soulrebel. Truth be told, I think that happens in just about every town—certainly in Boston, where there are even factions in the DIY “community.” In any case, there doesn’t seem to be any sense of going through the motions with these bands. All the songs are unreleased New music from the hard-hitting Degenerics is always something to be happy about and that’s followed with an equally intense song from Seasick. Other stirring hardcore comes from the likes of Fanshen, Flash Attacks and RSO, who throw in some cool guitar damage. The Hunchback’s “Creepshow” fuses surfy punk with a near Minutemen vibe. The Ergs’ track is one of the better songs I’ve heard from them. Not as compelling are the more melodic stylings of Scream Hello and Rock, Star. Very few comps are going to satisfy everyone but there wasn’t that much that made me want to move the needle. (www.myspace.com/xsoulrebelrecordsx)

VITAMIN X-Full Scale Assault (Tankcrimes, LP/CD)
VX are back with their first full-length album since 2004’s “Bad Trip” and, even if it’s a cliché to use the expression, “Full Scale Assault” really is the best one they’ve done to date. It was recorded by Steve Albini in Chicago and there’s a boldness and richness in the mix. There’s also a guest appearance from Negative Approach’s John Brannon, who lends his tortured tonsils on a couple of songs. The speed and ferocity remain but there seems to be a slightly more prominent rock ‘n roll flavor here, especially in Mark’s hot guitar licks and willingness to “borrow” a bit, such as the “Detroit Rock City” quotation for “Deal With It.” “Whatcha Gonna Do” mixes some “whoahs” into a driving rock sound. “Time Has Come” favors a crossover tinge. The LP marks the recorded debut of their new drummer Wolfi (also from the Tangled Lines) and he provides a hard-hitting anchor to the sound. Kudos has to be given to the lavish packaging, as well—a gatefold sleeve featuring colorful artwork from John Dyer Baizley of Baroness, a poster, colored vinyl, cardboard inner sleeve, the works. It’s almost as cool as the gatefold for the first Bad Company album. OK, not really... I mean, how could it be? As for the contents inside, they’re quite cool or, more accurately, pulverizing. It’s available on CD but you really need the vinyl here. (PO Box 3495, Oakland, CA 94609, www.tankcrimes.com)

WAKING THE DEAD/THE SHINING-Thrash Attack (Dead Area/Pick Up, LP)
Two ravenous bands from the Netherlands. I’ve got a couple of EPs by the Shining, but wasn’t familiar with Waking The Dead before. Let’s start with The Shining—I would have said thrash attack even if I hadn’t seen the title. Looking at the band photos, I see a bandana, I see a denim vest with some patches and pins and, as expected, they play in a crossover vein. That’s something they’ve been moving towards since their first EP and this more less completes the transition. A streamlined, speedy sound with crisp execution and some hot guitar riffs ‘n licks. Covering the Accüsed’s “Slow Death” endears them to me, as well. This is definitely from the hardcore side of the street but, really, the lines were blurred (much to some HC purists’ dismay) but I never had any problem with it. Waking The Dead do something stylistically similar although it sounds a tad more metal to my ears. They’re also not quite as instrumentally-adept as the Shining but keep it convincingly-energetic. Bonus points for the purloined Exodus stage banter. (www.skateordiemotherfucker.nl/wakingthedead.html and www.myspace.com/theshiningtrash)

WARTORN-Tainting Tomorrow With The Blood of Yesterday (Crimes Against Humanity/Profane Existence, LP/CD)
Powerful crust-core with a sense of drama and foreboding, while Bitty threatens to tear his innards apart. The lyrics deal with certain topics from a personalized perspective, such as a friend’s suicide after being diagnosed with a terminal disease, dealing with Tourette syndrome and post traumatic stress order (members of the band have those afflictions) and another friend’s arrest on trumped up fraud charges—that were ultimately dismissed—while he was helping out with Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts. There’s a weight and gravitas to the band’s sound but it maintains a driving hardcore edge, as well, as they bash through Poison Idea’s “Taken By Surprise” (they also cover State of Fear’s “Bloodthirsty System”). The vinyl version has a gatefold sleeve and poster—I’m not really into the skeleton imagery although I suppose it matches the mood. The musical contents are fine, though. (www.cahrecords.com, www.profaneexistence.com)

THE YOUNG-s/t (Criminal IQ, 7” EP)
Inside this colorful sleeve that features a collage of birds on one side and sea life on the other, you’ll find record containing a scrappy combination of melodic punk done with a garage bash. The tunefulness emerges from the mess instead of being obvious and the last song, “Cemetery Song,” has chiming guitar and a dense swirl to bring a more primitive, stripped-down My Bloody Valentine to mind. It’s very poppy but with plenty of edge and that’s the case throughout. (3057 N. Rockwell, Chicago, IL 60618, www.criminaliq.com)

Suburban Voice blog #67

LOST CAUSE

WRITER’S BLOCK REALLY SUCKS

I figured it was time to post what I’d written lately, since it’s been over a month and despite the fact I’ve been suffering from miserable writer’s block. I mean, I get a lot of cool records, I play them but it’s sometimes tough to come up with an original way to describe records that I thoroughly enjoy but have to rehash the same words over and over to the point where it might become boring for the reader. Or become one run-on sentence! So this may not be my best work but read between the lines and it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out what’s lighting a fire under you-know-where. And I'm going to keep hammering away at that pile of records and books and DVDs and...

BALLAST-Fuse (Inimical, LP)
Inimical did a remaster of this Montreal band’s album and it was released earlier this year. Melodic crust but the guitars aren’t downtuned and Spoke’s vocals have a rasp but are sung clearly and forcefully. And the haunting quality on a song like “Untitled” has a Wipers-ish feel, as well. I’m not always into the somberness but there’s a warmth and richness paired with the band’s aggressive drive. (PO Box 2803, Seattle, WA 98111, www.inimical.com)

BROWN SUGAR-Deportation EP (Feral Kid, 7”)
The title of the EP is in reference to their vocalist Eddie’s “undocumented” status but that’s the only song with any sort of mention of the immigration issue. The balance of the time, it’s the laundry list of plaints against conformity, big-mouths and the like. Energetic hardcore with a few west-coast elements; basically, it’s loud and catchy (well, my definition of catchy) rough-hewn fodder. (379 Ontario St., Buffalo, NY 14207, xFeral_Kidx@yahoo.com)

CEREMONY-Still Nothing Moves You (Bridge Nine, CD)
Unpredictable, often explosive hardcore from Ceremony. There are brutalizing, hammering properties but also intros and bridges with ominous and droning elements. The instrumental “Overcast,” for instance, leads into the furious “Birth.Conspire. Be. Upset.” The opening song “Dead Moon California (Midnight In Solitude)” slowly builds up and develops over a few minutes until the soul-scream comes in. Quite a dramatic entrance. Their earlier records also had a kinetic attack but, this time out, it comes across as more focused and they’re the better for it. (www.bridge9.com)

CHRIST ON PARADE-Loud and Live-KFJC-08/15/07 (Prank, CD)
A live on the radio recording from the reunited Christ on Parade and they sound like they haven’t lost one step. People can bandy the whole reunion argument back and forth but these songs from the mid-80s spring to life and maintain the aggressive nature. This was a time where things were crossing over a bit and maybe there was the occasional hint of that here but COP still found themselves very much on the thrashy hardcore punk side of the street. If you’re curious, this is the lineup that appeared on “Sounds Of Nature,” with Barrie on vocals. And, as history repeats itself ad infinitum, the lyrics maintain their resonance. OK, the reference to “Ron” on “Another Country” is of its time but lines like “We do it all for the rich/we’re buried in a corporate ditch” may not qualify as poetry but I’d say it’s still relevant. (PO Box 410892, SF, CA 94141-0892, www.prankrecords.com)

COLA FREAKS-Dødt Batteri/Nej! (Local Cross, 7”)
Two jittery gems by the Danish Freaks. Enough rock-crit speak. The Cola Freaks’ first EP (which is all I’d heard up to this point) had a jabbing, stripped down punk sound and it’s maintained here while also adding some haunting melody to the mix. “Dødt Batteri” has a pronounced nervousness, especially vocally. Flip it over and there’s a slightly more straight-forward riff but the tension still bubbles. Definitely a step up for these guys. (16 ½ Suffolk St., Cambridge, MA 02139, www.bloodstainrecords.com/localcross)

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST-Life’s Hateful Seed (Inimical, LP)
A provocative band name isn’t enough... you’ve got to have the sound to back it up and, once again, that’s the case for this trio. There’s a familiarity with JFC that harkens back to bands like Christ on Parade and, with some of the bass-lines, Final Conflict. I could see this coming out on Alchemy Records in the late 80s. Flirting with metal, at times, and also packed with haunting riffs. Vocals going back and forth and if one of ‘em’s a little too cookie monster-ish for my tastes, it’s not a deal-breaker. They also go instrumental for the foreboding “Forty-Third” (about a certain 43rd president about to leave office, one wonders?). And I don’t know what pissed these guys off about the 924 Gilman space in Berkeley, as they rant on “A Living Hell,” but it sounds like they mean it with the refrain “Jesus fucking christ! You’re all assholes! Jesus fucking christ! Go to fucking hell!” Incidentally, not that it really matters and this is a complete non-sequitur but I found out recently that their bass-player Dave Ed is also in Neurosis, who I saw on my honeymoon at, of all places, 924 Gilman! (PO Box 2803, Seattle, WA 98111, www.inimical.com)

LIBYANS-s/t (Upstate Chamber of Commerce, 12”)
Since this band’s 7”, Libyans have had a change in guitarists and the sound is slightly more stripped-down, with less distortion on the guitar. Still, the older lineup wrote most of the songs here and it remains a strong combination of fast old school hardcore and more melodic, west coast punk properties—especially for “Missing Pills.” Also, as with that 7”, the packaging is really cool, with a transparency over the cover and it came with a Libyans wooden airplane, which has been getting a lot of use around here and, fortunately, I still haven’t broken any lamps or windows. One of my favorite local bands over the past year or two. (www.myspace.com/thelibyansarecoming)

LOGIC PROBLEM-s/t (Sorry State, 7” EP)
Some slammin’ hardcore, with four songs culled from two different sessions and there’s definitely a noticeable difference. The “-“ (or negative) side has a rough, demo-like quality with a thorny, gnarled guitar sound leading the way through the slammin’ tunes. Things don’t get much prettier on the other side, since it remains a wailin’ attack but the production has a tad more punchiness but the rawness remains a part of it. Those songs do have more presence, though. (1102 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro, NC 27510, www.sorrystaterecords.com)

LOST CAUSE-Walk Alone (Love The Music, Hate The Scene, 7” EP)
Four blazing new songs from this Philly band, their second piece of vinyl. The opening song “Ending Time,” in addition to being a virulent critique of shallow interactions and the search for “meaning” in life (amen, Brother Ned), has a hint of rock ‘n roll swagger. “Broken Mirrors, Broken Minds” also follows a medium-paced blueprint while the other pair of songs have a go-for-the-throat speediness as Ned spits out the angry words of alienation. Still pissed, still raging. (www.myspace.com/trackedtofail)

OUT COLD/FOR THE WORSE-Split (Kangaroo/Even Worse, 7” EP)
No bullshit hardcore and a perfect pairing. That’s pretty much all that needs to be said but I imagine a little elaboration wouldn’t be a bad thing. Well, Out Cold don’t need any sort of deep explanation. The three songs here are pure roughness although “Colder” changes the pace and throws in some formidable lead breaks. For The Worse keep up the raw pace with a tight, classic sound and include a solid version of Cops and Robbers’ “Dropping Like Flies”—now, there was an underrated Boston band. Mike McCarthy barks away in typically rabid fashion and the songs possess the usual ferocity. (www.geocities.com/tysonkanagroo or www.geocities.com/evenworserecords/)

RAMMING SPEED

RAMMING SPEED-Brainwreck (Teenage Disco Bloodbath, CD)
Thrash metal maniacs who also embrace some NWOBHM moves—you should have heard their live cover of Grim Reaper’s “See You In Hell”--but the spirit of ’87 is the main emphasis. While there’s a nod and a wink in the execution, it’s interesting that the lyrics explore some serious topical issues. Well, sometimes—“Shane Embury Is The Brad Pitt Of Grindcore” is a tribute to the Napalm Death bassist. But “Immigrant Song” is about nativism, “Bogus Facade” deals with racism and “Speed Trials” deals with the drudgery of day to day existence (actually, for the latter two songs, that’s a timeless theme). Shredding with a sense of purpose. (www.tdbrecords.com)

SHELL SHOCK-Comics, Transformers, & Punk (multi label, 7” EP)
Sadly, this ends up being a posthumous release—not only the band’s recorded swan-song but, more poignantly, in that vocalist Jeff DiLorenzo passed away earlier this year at the way-too-young age of 32. That’s something difficult to get my mind around. This five song EP was released as a tribute to Jeff and given away at a benefit show for a non-kill animal shelter. Continuing in the same no-bullshit hardcore vein as their fine album a few years back (with their original vocalist Andy). That means blunt, aggressive sounds and lyrics. Scoot, their guitarist, mentioned that he wasn’t satisfied with the three songs on the b-side but I think the roughness adds something to it. And there’s a sad irony to the opening song “Not Like You,” with the chorus that states, in part, “I may have inherited my father’s addictions, but I refuse to live with his curse... You may be gone but I wish you were here/Unlike you I’ll do something good with my life.” I hope that Jeff found that sort of satisfaction during his brief life. (www.myspace.com/shellshock)

SMART COPS-s/t (Sorry State, 7” EP)
Italian band with people from the late, great La Piovra and Ohuzaru. As with La Piovra, it’s a fast/rough hardcore punk attack with a whole lotta snot. There’s a mid-tempo thump for the righteously rockin’ “La Soffiagta” and “Tra Le Reclute Un Pessimo Soggetto. No idea what it’s about but I suppose I could punch it into a translator. I’ll tell you this much—if Italian is one of the romance languages, the Smart Cops are trying to refute that tradition. Their tradition is punk fuckin’ rock and that’s something worth preserving. (1102 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro, NC 27510, www.sorrystaterecords.com)

SPECIAL PATROL GROUP-s/t (tape)
Just ripping old-school hardcore with a skate punk flavor on occasion and an anti-authoritarian bent—what else would you expect with songs like “Ignorant Assholes” and “Destroy”? Wouldn’t mind hearing more from these guys. (www.myspace.com/spgspecialpatrolgroup)

STATIONS-s/t (Abiology, 12”)
Stations, in case you hadn’t heard of ‘em before (I did review a previous 7”) are a Philadelphia wrecking machine that let forth a formidable hardcore sound. Vocalist Kane sounds as though he’s trying to expel demons or at least a particularly awful Geno’s cheese steak from his inner being. Or perhaps he’s vegan or has the common sense not to patronize such a lousy establishment, since their food is always awful and they’re right-wing assholes, anyway. No matter. Stations have a sound that brings 9 Shocks to mind, especially in the vocal dept. In other words, it careens like a motherfucker, with an abundance of speed and hot riffs. All of ‘em fast, except for a slight respite with “Recycled Air,” which closes the first side. J. Robbins’ recording brings out a fullness without making it sound overproduced, keeping the rawness a part of the equation. Lyrical concerns tie together, for one thing, a sterile middle class existence and consumption, while “Shepards” is a critique of band reunions that are divorced from any sort of sincerity and how that inspires a defiant DIY attitude. Blazin’. (www.myspace.com/stationspunx)