 |
| Fuckin' Floor Model! |
So my kid told me about a week ago that her friend was having a house party, and that among the bands that would lie there would be one with the drummer from Fall Out Boy, a band from her younger years. "I've heard of them," I said, sounding all mom-ish. I won't claim that I know any of their songs, or that I could pick out any of them in a lineup. Still, a somewhat famous person was going to be playing in somebody's basement in Riverwest, and that was reason enough to poke my head in.
Actually, it wasn't the famous person (indeed, Andy Hurley formerly of Fall Out Boy) that piqued my interest. It was more of the concept of "bands playing at a house party" that made me smile. Regular readers of this blog know I'm a fan of DIY, hardcore, and generally people who through nothing more than love of the culture, put together and nurture a scene. (see also: Kenocore).
But as with a lot of these events put on by these organic promoters, I can't/don't want to give away too much about them. Despite the fact that they're usually peaceful gatherings (yes, I know you're thinking "Peaceful hardcore show?" but the show/moshpit and the behavior of the peripheral crowd are two different things) there's usually some blowhard busybody who decides the police should get involved. Even when there's no fighting. No drugs. No alcohol. No reason to stop the kids (anybody younger than fifty something is a "kid" as far as I'm concerned) from having a good slam dance and release from pent up shit other than "they don't have a license" "they didn't get permission" "the music's too loud" or other crap. So, I'm not going to give out any names or identifying characteristics of the location or the names of the promoters, other than the bands, and the fact that this was somewhere in Riverwest. (Where
did you
expect this, Tosa?)
Anyway, I spent the evening going back and forth between this house party and the Circle A (with folks "my age") to see (as regular readers of this blog know) one of my favorites, Floor Model. With as much praise as I heap upon them, it's been a long time, too long, since I've seen them. I admit it, I take them and their politically charged, snotty but intelligent punk for granted. They've added a new guitarist and new bass player since I last saw them, but the original duo of Jeff Callesen and Dave Somerscales is still the heart of the band. I like this new guitarist, tho: he adds some nice flourishes like
here on Burger Trigger Suicide. No
Charles Bukowski tonight (wah!), but plenty of newer tunes, such as
Swillaukee.
 |
| Lifes |
Out of the five bands that were at the house party, I only caught two (and not the one with The Famous Person). The first, Lifes, was a local duo that sounded like more than the simple guitar and drum setup they had: they sounded like there were at least two guitars and a bass pumping out aggressive but precise hardcore. That's why Hive had to work twice as hard to make an impression on me, which they did. You're not going to get much musical subtlety at a house party, so I checked out their recordings on SoundCloud when I got home and could confirm my impressions: trashy metal, cookie monster vocals, too-angry-to-be-nihilistic subject matter.
 |
| Hive |
You want into this scene? Start going to punk and hardcore shows and genuinely earn the trust of the folks. They'll tell you where to go. And if you do, follow the rules, which are generally: 1) No drugs. The last thing this scene and the people organizing need is a drug bust. 2) No alcohol. Most of these shows are all-ages affairs. In fact, they exist because most of the places you can normally see bands are bars or venues where alcohol is sold/served, and this is all the kids have for seeing bands. If you're of age, there's plenty of places in Milwaukee (certainly in Riverwest) where you can put down a shot and a beer legally before you show up. 3) Don't start a fight. Slamming in the mosh pit is one thing. And I'm happy to report on Saturday night, the old school mosh pit etiquette was in effect -- if anybody fell down or looked hurt, the moshing stopped until whoever was down on the ground gave the thumbs up/OK. But fighting is for assholes. Take it to the street. 4) Don't be an asshole. While there's plenty of racist, phobic assholes in this (or any) scene, these underground affairs are generally friendly to marginalized communities and most organizers don't tolerate racist, sexist, or LGBTQ-phobic language or behavior. If you can't abide by these four simple rules, don't bother. Go up to Deer Fest and see Ted Nugent or something.
Comments