SHARING THE SHOWS
Imagine a bunch of teenagers playing baseball on a nice spring day in a high school gym class. Now imagine a ragtag group of other teenagers walking around a track just so they can get credit for participating. I fell into the latter category, which is where I learned about the Circle Jerks. During my junior year of high school, my friend Jason Parks and I would walk around the track during Physical Education, surreptitiously smoking cigarettes and talking about music. On one of those days, he gave me a tape of the Circle Jerks’s Group Sex album. I’m pretty sure I played those twenty-something minutes on repeat over the next week. I never got that much into punk, but when I heard this group was playing in DC, a landmark of punk history, I figured, why not? This particular show had been postponed three times over a period of two years due to the pandemic; it was supposed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Group Sex, released in 1980. I was supposed to go in April, but their singer, Keith Morris, got COVID. Better to stay healthy, and I’m glad he’s better. At any rate, I got off the Metro at about 7:30 and was greeted by a long line outside of the Black Cat. While on line, I talked with an interesting young aspiring chef named Sam, and we talked about the types of specialty restaurants and bakeries in DC, as well as interesting ways to cook things (see my Bachelor Cooking blog for stuff I do). Once in, I had to get some pictures. The Black Cat is a historic DC venue, mentioned several times in the book Dance of Days, a comprehensive read about the history of punk in DC, recommended by good friend Jason (different guy). My favorite picture is the men’s room door labeled “Urinals.” At around 8:45, the opening band, Negative Approach, went on. I wasn’t impressed. I don’t mind when screaming is the singer’s MO, but after a while, all the songs began to sound the same. Much more impressive was the second band, 7 Seconds, which had an upbeat rhythm, and the lead singer resembled the actor Harry Dean Stanton.
Finally, the main act came on, and Morris told us the story of this performance’s two-year delay. He then had us greet the bassist, Zander Schloss, and informed us he wouldn’t be singing “Feeling 7-Up.” This is a reference from that wacky cult comedy, Repo Man, and there’s a hilarious scene where he plays an 80s nerd who annoys our protagonist by singing that song. I started cracking up, and had the song in my head the whole home. Of course, I ended up singing it in my baby voice to Chester. I did borrow the film from the library and plan to watch it tonight as well. The band started with “Deny Everything,” and transitioned to “I Just Want Some Snack.” They also played “Beverly Hills,” and “Behind the Door” off Group Sex. I’m not as familiar with Wild in the Streets, released two years later, but Morris stated this would also be the 40th anniversary tour of that album as well. They played “Wild in the Streets” and “Moral Majority.” They also busted out “Coup d’Etat,” which I associated with this scene from Repo Man. I had to bust out of the venue early to catch Metro, as did quite a few other people. As a public transportation advocate and denizen, I do wish these clubs would keep Metro hours (however crappy they may be) in mind when they book bands; most of the people at the show are imbibing, and do they really want to encourage drunk driving? Additionally, parking and Ubers are priced through the roof here, and people have to spend money on those they could easily spend at the club. But that’s just my rant, which I’ll turn into an email to them (not that I expect it to do anything, but punk rock is about social action). The ride home was interesting; some drunk derelict kept slamming on one of the subway car’s door, competing with two little kids who kept opening it from the other side trying to goad him. I winded down with some protein-based snacks (an Atkins bar, tuna, and a lot of cheese) and an episode of Married with Children. As much as I love the jam bands, it’s nice to vary my genres once in a while. And I’m hoping for more opportunities to do so.
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May 2024
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