Tuesday, March 08, 2005

9:30 clu



Rollins, Black Flag 1983 (left) and Ian, Minor Threat (right)(photo Glen Freidman)

Craig and I went to a show at the 9:30 club on Sunday night as sort of chaperones. Along with Atlanta’s Metroplex and CBGB’S the 9:30 is historic as far as being a birthing ground for important music in the last 20 plus years. Walking through the doors was amazing for me. Having been embedded into the scene in the early 80s I learned early on about the existence of the 9:30 club.
Once I tried to explain to the mother of one of our charges my own experience and how I felt seeing Black Flag live for the first time or hearing the Melvins for the first time. These were life changing events for me. As a teenager I always felt like I didn’t belong anywhere and in this community I found a place where people felt and thought as I did. I lived in that community of comrades for many years and still hold to some of the ideas and thoughts.
The punk and underground scenes began as a protest against the overproduced, overly long songs of the 70s. That was the time of the reclaiming of the simplicity of music and the idea it belonged to everyone in a protest against rock stardom. People started their own record companies and pressed their own records and printed their own magazines. Lyrics were about ideas and issues. The hairstyles and clothes were a direct attack on the establishment and being status quo; not being one of the herd. This was a time of do-it-yourself in music and thought. We certainly had our share of boneheads, but it was mostly a positive scene.
Though I did not hear or see anything I haven’t before on Sunday night, I was impressed by the fact that the next generation has embraced this music and that for them it is a totally new thing. The electricity is still in the air. You can feel it as soon as the first chord is struck. You can almost see the energy of the music. And to see a new group of people experience what I experienced (and still experience) is really amazing to see