At one time, regardless of vicinity, I could go to an all-ages punk show and feel like I was at the center of something exciting and dangerous, where anything spontaneous could happen. At any given time I could bare witness to a fist-fight, people moshing/skanking (yes, its been a while!), people fucking in the bathroom, vomiting, cops being called, drunk people, vandalism, and people skateboarding (skaters are nearly extinct in the frigid, snow covered North Dakota). I'm not trying to bitch about scene-this or scene-that, take me back to the good ole' days. I'm just referring to a time when going to a show had a dangerous element looming overhead. An US vs. Them atmosphere. Kids escaping the qualms of daily life, or a rough home-life to let loose and be themselves. And lately, all-ages shows resemble a high school prom.
Join the new Punk-Rock Metrosexual Revolution! All you need is a black tee shirt (or something ironic on the shirt), Chuck Taylor's, pre-torn pants (or boys in girl pants, et al), a cell phone, and well sculpted hair, preferably black. Make sure you come to the show after the first band. And when you arrive, seek out your friends and exaggerate your actions and facial expressions to exclaim your "giving in" to the moment. You don't want to seem like you're not having a good time. When the band is done, proceed to the alley, herd-like, to smoke cigarettes and talk about the party afterwards. You can't socialize in a dark basement when the band is tearing it up! I'm I getting close here?
Honestly, to each his/her own. It's just nice to see people going out to shows, and I get along with everyone just fine. I just think there's an element lost when people are too focused on how they're perceived by others. We're all guilty of it from time to time. I was introduced to punk through friends with bad home lives, drug problems, criminal records, STD's, or the ones picked on most at school. When I was around these people, I always expected something crazy to happen. Something my parents would disapprove of, and I was rarely disappointed. We all accepted each other regardless of how we dressed, and it made going to shows less uptight.
My friend Weston sent me an email the other day mentioning how poorly received his perzine- Junktown (a fabulously written manifest of life in the big city and his portrait of the "bigger picture") has become within his local punk scene and throughout his circle of friends. Junktown has spanned 5 issues and two years, but Weston has been unable to push it off on others, despite his razor sharp wit and thoroughly digested commentary on his day-to-day observations. He joked that punks were only into dance music these days, and nothing of substance. But I believe there is some association of Weston's misfortune of finding readers with a different paradigm in the indie/hardcore/punk scene. The old standard seemed to be about making a difference or overcoming apathy or creating something better than ourselves. Building a community set upon progressive values and a network set against the mainstream that inhibited each other to express ourselves in our art. Progress, dialogue, and communication have always been stressed. To challenge each other and to make the world around us better, despite the choices offered through commercialism and Christianity. And the printed form has always been what unified everything together. The new paradigm seems like there?s this hierarchy of what is cool and what isn't. That our appearance is more important than how we express ourselves.
There are some positive things happening lately. The lines between musical genres, such as hardcore, punk, and indie are being blurred to create some interesting new styles. This seems like progress. It's more socially acceptable to be open to various types of genres these days. Even the record labels are trying to establish more varied rosters to keep pace.
But in the end, our forms of communication are being rubbed out by indifference. There seems little incentive to produce a 'zine if there is no feedback. Because 'zines are about connecting people, and when that essential piece is missing, the whole idea is lost. History would show that the scene goes through different phases, and this era is no exception. The Emo trend brought in a new legion of kids that aren't always in touch with how things used to be. But like natural selection, when punk is no longer the status quo, people will jump ship for newer trends and things could turn back to normal. I'll be looking forward to that day.