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Thursday, August 20, 2009
Upcoming / Love Akimbo Does Black Flag
Posted by Megan Seling on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 2:18 PM
Akimbo closed their unsettlingly loud and uncomfortably sweaty show at the Capitol Hill Block Party with a cover of Black Flag's "Thirsty and Miserable." The crowd went apeshit and it was the best live cover of Black Flag I ever remembering hearing. Usually it's sloppy and shitty punk bands that give it a go and it's just, well, sloppy and shitty. Akmibo had the passion, the fire. Afterwards, to everyone's delight, they announced they'll be playing a show set of Black Flag covers later this fall, and details were to follow. 
Well, to all the stoked folks in the crowd that day, more details have arrived. From the band's press release:
What the fuck happened to punk rock? These days a "punk" band might mean 9 people with no rhythm on stage banging pots and blowing into trumpets, or 30 year old xtreme sports enthusiasts with slim sunglasses and the perfectly frosted faux hawk and goatee singing "melodic hardcore", or chugga chugga emo-metal bands covering The Postal Service, or Fallout Boy, or even better, a DJ. A DJ?!?! And before this mess there was the whole punk/ska debacle... If Goldfinger didn't ruin it, No Doubt sure fucking did.Arguably, BLACK FLAG is perhaps the purest form of "punk" that ever was. I don't need to tell you that they invented the concept of living on the road and touring until the wheels fall off. I don't need to tell you that they damned the critics and pushed their own creative limits at every stage of their existence. I don't need to tell you that they helped pioneer the concept of starting your own damn label to put out your own damn albums because, well, hey, fuck the majors. I don't need to tell you that they are the most sonically raw, visceral, purely channeled force of rage that has ever exploded on a stage. I don't need to tell you that albums like "Damaged", "My War", and "Slip it In" are legendary in all literal sense of the word...
I do need to tell you that on September 11th and 12th, members of Akimbo, Tad, and Black Elk will be gathering to perform 15 of Black Flag's most pounding songs. Why? Lets call it a reminder of what we used to have.
They'll be playing Friday, September 11th, at the Comet Tavern and again Saturday, September 12th, at East End in Portland. Both shows are 21+, $6.
4
well, i hope you old turds have fun standing around with your beers. i can't decide if i'm in total disbelief that this is 21+, or not surprised at all. either way it's fucking weak to put an age restriction on this show. i could easy name at least 20 underagers off the top of my head who would love to come to this and who would rage harder than any of you. really sucks when selling drinks is more of a priority than non-discriminatory admission...in hardcore punk, no less, and on a night of celebration of a fiercely DIY band whose best-known singer joined before HE was even 21.
5
this is also a perfect setting for megan to see a hardcore show in, because she doesn't have to deal with any actual youth, and can sip on drinks while chuckling over how she was straight edge when she was 16 and therefore totally understands hardcore, amirite
6
Megan have you ever listened to any of the three albums you listed? They're sloppy and shitty as fuck. Just cause some bar band can cover Black Flag in a way that pleases your tired (clearly from years of attendance at hardcore shows) ears, doesn't make it good. The fact that this event is 21+ is laughable. In a way its a good thing; wouldn't want ol' Megan to have to watch some shitty punk covers without getting buzzed first, right? This post falls in second place in most clueless Megan Seling posts; second to Trial. Stay the fuck away from hardcore.
7
hardcore mantra of the '80s: do it yourself
hardcore mantra of the '00s: go online and bitch about other people doing it.
hardcore mantra of the '00s: go online and bitch about other people doing it.
8
@4, 5, 6 I've been straight edge since 95, dude(s). Won't be sipping on drinks or getting a buzz before the show. And Akimbo is hardly a bar band. Does it suck that it's 21+? Yes. It sucks that any show is 21+. But that's not my call.
9
@6 And yeah, I've heard the records. What all those shitty and sloppy punk bands are missing out on is the passion Black Flag had. So often they just play the songs loud and fast and assume that that's all they need to do. But it's so boring when a band plays the songs the exact same way, technically, without bringing anything else to it. Feels robotic (and in this case, it's a sloppy and shitty robot).
Akimbo is going to be on fire. They're going to kill these songs. It's going to be amazing.
I'm sorry you're such an unfun internet grump who won't be able to enjoy it.
Akimbo is going to be on fire. They're going to kill these songs. It's going to be amazing.
I'm sorry you're such an unfun internet grump who won't be able to enjoy it.
10
Honestly, I can't think that there are really a lot of people under 21 wanting to see a band 10+ years older than them covering songs that came out 25 years ago. But if you're right #4, rather than whining about it on the Internet while giving lip service to DIY, why don't you take DIY to fucking heart and contact the band and line them up an all-ages show too. And if you want a little sympathy from 21-and-over punk rock fans, you might not want to call them "old turds" when they had nothing to do with booking the show.
11
@9 Black Flag wasn't about passion. Almost every song on Damaged (for example) is a self-destructive sort of rant that ended quickly and in a mess. Most of them are about giving up, hating the world around you and not being able to find an out. While you may feel passionate about Black Flag, as many of us are, that wasn't the point. It would be worse if it was a group of over 21 bar dudes covering Cap'n Jazz, yeah I'd throw a fucking fit, but Black Flag doesn't belong in a bar.
@10 You may not be able to think of that many, but they exist in greater numbers than you would know. No one wants sympathy from anyone. I want the proper respect given to a fiercly DIY band in a proper setting, and being told that not that many people under 21 are able to appreciate that band really fucking pisses me off. Also, poster 4/5 is an active and helpful member of the DIY community.
Fuck bars, fuck bar bands.
@10 You may not be able to think of that many, but they exist in greater numbers than you would know. No one wants sympathy from anyone. I want the proper respect given to a fiercly DIY band in a proper setting, and being told that not that many people under 21 are able to appreciate that band really fucking pisses me off. Also, poster 4/5 is an active and helpful member of the DIY community.
Fuck bars, fuck bar bands.
12
@11, I can't see getting too worked up over a cover band. When I was under 21, I remember being totally pissed when Black Flag came to town and I couldn't go because they played a bar show at the Central Tavern.
13
BF
i'm glad to hear the younger hardcore audience still appreciates Black Flag, and to a lesser extent Cap'n Jazz. but ultimately, this show is really about Akimbo.
if some random band formed strictly to perform Black Flag songs, i personally would not be interested. i would hope others would not be interested as well. punk and hardcore was never about nostalgia or living in the past. it's about the present. that's why there's never been a Black Flag reunion.
there is, however, interest in Akimbo doing these songs because Akimbo is a great band, and suitably full of piss and vinegar. to appreciate this show, i believe you have to be an Akimbo fan first, a Black Flag second. if you're truly upset by this show, i would expect that you would also grumble when Akimbo plays any 21+ show where they're doing their own original material. if not, you've missed the point.
finally, Black Flag played in bars. Minor Threat played in bars. washington state liquor laws are notoriously strict and stupid. if you're grumbling about bands playing in bars now, you should've been around 15 years ago. i understand your frustration; i've been there. be proactive about it instead of slinging mud at people in your community. book an all ages show, fight the liquor board, etc... just don't cast accusations anonymously online.
i'm glad to hear the younger hardcore audience still appreciates Black Flag, and to a lesser extent Cap'n Jazz. but ultimately, this show is really about Akimbo.
if some random band formed strictly to perform Black Flag songs, i personally would not be interested. i would hope others would not be interested as well. punk and hardcore was never about nostalgia or living in the past. it's about the present. that's why there's never been a Black Flag reunion.
there is, however, interest in Akimbo doing these songs because Akimbo is a great band, and suitably full of piss and vinegar. to appreciate this show, i believe you have to be an Akimbo fan first, a Black Flag second. if you're truly upset by this show, i would expect that you would also grumble when Akimbo plays any 21+ show where they're doing their own original material. if not, you've missed the point.
finally, Black Flag played in bars. Minor Threat played in bars. washington state liquor laws are notoriously strict and stupid. if you're grumbling about bands playing in bars now, you should've been around 15 years ago. i understand your frustration; i've been there. be proactive about it instead of slinging mud at people in your community. book an all ages show, fight the liquor board, etc... just don't cast accusations anonymously online.
14
Brian, there actually was a Black Flag reunion in 2003. They played three shows,t wo were at the Hollywood Palladium and one was at a bar. Dez sang, Greg Ginn was on guitars, Robo drummed, and C'el, Black Flag's last bassist, was on bass. I totally wish I flew down for one of those shows!
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