I Love The Good Mother: Diane Keaton, Roger Ebert and a misjudged masterpiece

Remember how you could write into Roger Ebert with a film-related question? I think I did twice. One time it was a Cassavetes question, and he wrote back to say he did not know the answer, but suggested I ask Ray Carney, which I did, and which led to an interesting brief correspondence between Carney and myself. I forget the exact question -- I think it had to do with the odd number of films John Marley and Lynn Carlin appear together in, but the answer or the fine details escape me. I got some inscribed Ray Carney memorabilia out of it (!). I think I sent him a Love Streams item he did not have (I *added* to his hoard).

So thanks, Roger, for that!

The second time I wrote Roger Ebert, I think, was to ask if he ever considered writing a book about times he got it wrong. He did seem now and again to be able to acknowledge fallability. And lord knows all of us can get something wrong now and then! I wasn't meaning it as a criticism, but he didn't respond to that one. Maybe my question came too close to the "Brown Bunny/ colonscopy period" ("we've had quite enough of that, thanks!"). 

I didn't actually care about that, to be honest, though I thought he handled it all (that is, Gallo) with panache and intelligence, kinda. No, he got that one free; instead, my case in point was a Diane Keaton feature film called The Good Mother. Boy he got that wrong!

And what's interesting is to see -- sympathetically -- just how BADLY he gets it wrong, and how. He's judging the film against the standards of a women's weepie or something, against Hollywood formulae, when it needed to be judged against the standards of Ingmar Bergman or Shakespeare or AT LEAST FUCKING FASSBINDER FOR FUCKSAKE, you know? (I did not write that part to Ebert! I was much more polite). But Fassbinder told as a contemporary child custody case. 

It's really a film about cultural values in conflict, and... I'm not even really sure how to sum it up. It's a film about the dangers of not sticking up for ones values, an everyday tragedy. Just another story about how fear eats the soul. 

It's an astonishing film, and a great adaptation of the novel (which I also read and also admired; even as a kid, I had a love for dramas like this, or say, Ordinary People or The Big Chill, both of which I also saw first run and admired in different ways). The Good Morther is a film that has been widely underestimated. It is only a little bit less grim than Dancer in the Dark, and may not to be everyone's taste, but it is not answerable to the formulae that Ebert expected it to follow! 

I may have accused Ebert of damaging its reputation a little, in fact. But like, that's a whole book to be written: the HOW DARE YOU "fan" mail. Weirdos. He must have drawn a few, and maybe I made it into his "weirdo" file.  Hell, even I have a weirdo or two. There's a country song there for ya: "Everybody's friend is somebody's weirdo, and Everbody's Weirdo is somebody's friend." 

Anyhow, I didn't bug him after that, though I would have welcomed his response with fondness; I meant no ill will. I hope that was clear! It would have rocked if he'd watched the film again with my guidance and "got" it. He missed out.

And the film is also the greatest thing Leonard Nimoy ever did. Not the most popular, but it's a terrific piece of cinema. The whole cast is great. Jason Robards, Ralph Bellamy, Teresa Wright (gotta look her up), Joe Morton, other familiar faces, plus apparently Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are extras in it (?! I just showed the film to Erika and I think we found Affleck but good luck on Damon. Now I have something to ask the guy if I ever run into him). 

And it's a side of Liam Neeson you don't see much of these days, either (maybe his best work, too? It is a film his fans would find very interesting, a challenging role).

Proud to have seen it first run. Have seen it a couple times since, and Erika and I just watched it in Ms. Keaton's respect tonight. If I'd ever interacted with her, I'd have asked about this movie. She's great in it. 

She had guts, took gutsy, interesting roles. This is the best one I've seen, but it raises some challenging questions. The best works of art tend to do that. My respects, Ms. Keaton. Thanks for having the guts.   

Lene Lovich, Royal Strays, Tranzmitors, and Night Court: a spectacular Saturday in Vancouver

Lene Lovich by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

Fabulous two gigs on Saturday, though the high point for most folks -- Lene Lovich's return to Vancouver -- was entirely missed by me. Bob's photos are fascinating, and I'm happy that he got to get his ticket signed, from a show some 35 years ago. May I never come to regret my decision to skip her performance! 

Actually there was a lot I skipped on Saturday: there were at least five noteworthy shows going on, with stuff by bands I have enjoyed or at least heard about at the Red Gate and LanaLou's and the Astoria, but I was already double-booked by the time I heard about most of those - triple booked if you count visiting the island for my brother-in-law's 50th birthday and having to commute back by bus and ferry and train and bus again... 

Royal Strays L-to-R Don Binns, Ani Kyd Wolf, and Don Short. All photos by me except as noted, none to be reused without permission!

Things started for me at the Rickshaw for Royal Strays. Barely caught Hausplants! Heard good things afterwards, but with Bob and I commuting in from the island, we had only just got in the room and gotten our merch sorted and they were done. No photographs, no memories; sorry! Then it was saying hi to Ani as she made a quick dip into the crowd to hug friends. 

(taken by Dave Bowes)

I had actually picked up two of Lene Lovich's most famous albums as homework, and had intended at some point to see her set. But it soon developed that I wasn't going to be able to stay: not only did I want to reward my work as a writer by seeing two of my favourite local bands, the Tranzmitors and Night Court, but I also am doing some non-local press for the latter band and wanted to get fresh photographs. Rather than trying to cram Lovich into my head, I simply gave the albums to Bob and left him to see her...

But I'm so glad I got to see Royal Strays' first concert ever. Ani Kyd Wolf was in peak form, returning to a Vancouver stage after a ten year absence, doing a darkly folky, but sultry and sensual, highly unique alt-lounge act, I guess you could call it, with two members of Sons of Freedom, Don Binns and Don Short. I'd interviewed the three for the Straight, and am gratified to see my article in the number three slot on their website today. 

Ani's voice was gorgeous and her movements captivating. I'd last seen her (Lou Reed tribute nights aside) belting out grungy punk, sharing the Rickshaw stage with Jello Biafra and a reconstituted version of her band Fuel Injected .45; I've heard her do other things, as well, but I have not seen these things presented live; I've actually spent more time, I think, seeing Ani  in social contexts, or interviewing her, than I have on seeing her perform (!). Royal Strays makes music that requires a fair bit more vulnerability and nuance than your average punk song, or even your above-average punk song, so I actually wasn't entirely sure, especially given her long hiatus, what to expect. Ani quickly confirmed that she is astonishing, an under-sung Vancouver powerhouse who I hope will play here more often. She's also a very nice person! She had fun passing down printouts of lyrics into the audience as she finished a song, but I didn't notice her consulting any of them while she performed...

Don Binns wore the most hats of the band members, shifting effortlessly from acoustic guitar to keyboards to bass. I think I'm accurate to say that the vision for Royal Strays began with him, but quickly became a collective venture. That was the impression I received from talking to them, anyhow. I shot a clip of "Sinister Campfire," a song the title for which came from the band, maybe Ani, remarking that the music sounded like a sinister campfire song. It kinda does! That was the one that most reminds me of the Swans' The Burning World. Ani could totally own a song off that album, if they were to cover one, but they hardly need the material, as their new album is great. Hope Royal Strays plays again soon!

I suspect I may have been the only person in the Rickshaw on Saturday who left before the headliner. Seeing Bob's photographs makes me question the wisdom of that -- especially the hooded figure Ms. Lovich cut at the start of her set, full-on Bene Gesserit in its impact. I mean, I've seen the Tranzmitors and Night Court a dozen times each, and I will doubtlessly see them again, but I've never seen anything quite like this: 

Lovich lost some of the costume as the night progressed but clearly still cut quite the figure. It's interesting to me that she's done little to disguise her age (she's 76). I'd just seen Cyndi Lauper, a couple of months ago, and Ms. Lauper does a fair bit to deny/ conceal that she's 72, striving to create the illusion of some timeless, ageless girlhood. Which I don't mean to criticize: she can present however she likes. But to me, it's more interesting to see an older woman who presents as an older woman, but who still makes a vivid visual impression. I mean, talk about advanced style...

Lene Lovich by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

But what can I say: I did what I did: I took a taxi to Green Auto almost as soon as Ani left the stage, to catch one half a song by a Quebec power pop unit called Danny Laj and the Looks. I even got a photo or two, but though I enjoyed the half song I heard, I resolved to think no more about them and not buy their album because I just cannot follow EVERYTHING that happens...! (If I wasn't deep in a hole this month I'd have grabbed that record for sure). 

Tranzmitors did a killer set, as always, of which I shot two songs. One of the very best (and best-dressed!) bands in Vancouver, whom I first saw in 2007, back when they had a keyboard (!). It is mildly weird that our city should be home to a Mod revival survival of this caliber, but why ask questions when you can DANCE? 

Maybe that is why I have not done them justice yet, interview-wise, but they do have a new album in the works for next year, so there will be chances! Much of their set was off that upcoming album, I gather. I only knew "Teen Man" and "Dancing in the Front Row" as older tunes, in fact -- the set's closers. Much that they played was completely unfamiliar to me, but still, of course, catchy as all get-out. 

Night Court was equally terrific, if harder to pin down; people who strive to put bands into genre-boxes will find them a bit of a challenge. The Straight thing I did (#7 today) looped in Guided by Voices and Fugazi and... I dunno what Circus Lupus sounds like, but I bet Night Court doesn't sound like them either, much. They master the art of being wholly unique while seeming totally familiar, and it was a real treat to see Jiffy liberated (mostly!) from bass duties, so he could make maximum use of both hands. He should injure himself more often!

I jest..l.  but it was great -- he is a terrific frontman; a lot more of his character comes through when he is not slinging an instrument, is freer to move around and gesture. It was like the show where Art Bergmann was forbidden by his band to play guitar, and we could see how expressive his hands could be. It might have pissed Art off, but it was a rare experience for his fans! 

My best photo of the night was probably this one of Dave-O, though: 

It was over all too soon. I chatted with Adam and Talesha, who had both come to the show, then met up with Bob at the bus stop. He told of how he chatted with a couple from California who had followed Lovich up here, and of how she had been very friendly and approachable, signing things for fans, even though she had no merch to speak of.

Me, I got my Nervous Birds scribbled on. Whether I made a duff call or not, I'll never know, but I sure did enjoy my night; it was one of those great nights of local music that sustains me, makes me want more -- the first gigs I've really enjoyed in awhile, having overextended myself a bit recently. It really does help that I interviewed the artists, too, and that they're such nice people.... and part of such rich scene that we have in this city. Nights like this, you can almost forget how totally fuckin' apocalyptic our times seem for a few hours..

...Almost. Jiffy wore an uber-political t-shirt (that's a Tesla truck on fire); there was a striking bit of political graffiti (a sticker, actually) in the bathroom, reading "Charlie Had It Coming"; and I could not resist the newest Night Court t-shirt design, which I guess is only "political" in the broadest possible sense. But now I have two Night Court t-shirts with X-ray themes, and signed copies of everything they've put out on vinyl (I do not have their cassettes and I gave my Nervous Birds CD to Bob).  

We will now endeavour to take somewhat of a breather from gig-going, though next weekend, there's the Jason D. Williams gig, with Supersuckers opening, and the debut performance from the new collab between Billy Hopeless and Philly Roach, And then there's Big Top's return, November 1st, doing a live score for a fabulous Lon Chaney movie... then the Dream Syndicate! 

More to come on that last, and maybe some of the others (I wonder if Supersuckers will be familiar to me at all? I last saw them about 35 years ago at the Cruel Elephant, I think, before they started to add rootsy elements to their music. Enjoyed them at the time. Maybe it's time to give them another chance? 

And Jason D. Williams is terrific. I saw and photographed him last year. Even Jerry Lee Lewis would be impressed.

Sorry to have crapped out on ya, Ms. Lovich! Thanks for stayin' weird. The world needs more of it! 

Jiffy and his Skateboard: NEVER TOO OLD TO SKATE

Night Court by Darryl Gussin - Dave-O, Emilor, and Jiffy

Jiffy Marx ended up having a longer quote than I used about skateboarding than appeared in the Straight article I just did.

The whole thing reads as follows:

“I broke my arm and dislocated two fingers skateboarding in July and am still recovering. I was doing a fairly basic trick when it happened so I guess you could call it an accident and like the song says, ‘accidents will happen.’ That said, I don’t know if I will keep skateboarding, and that definitely bums me out as I have been pretty into it for almost 40 years. It’s hard to explain to anyone who doesn’t skate, but skateboarding is the funnest thing. It’s also good exercise and great for my mental health but unfortunately, as I’ve learned recently, it can be detrimental to fingers which doesn’t help playing guitar and bass.”

But I was wearing and explaining my Night Court t-shirt to my in-laws this morning, which features X-rays of Emilor's busted finger and a previous skating injury that Jiffy took to a tooth. And Peter Lax, my father-in-law, wanted me to look up Dan Gelbart on Youtube. He's a 79 year old Nanaimo engineer, and he still skateboards!!!

There is video of him online skating, but I was unable to find it... this is his Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@dgelbart

Also check out Jeffrey Pop's new record wall!!! ...apropos of tonight's gig.

Two show tango tonight: Royal Strays and Night Court

So I am happy to be seeing the Hausplants tonight -- a band I have missed but have, when I investigated, enjoyed.

I am delighted to see Royal Strays. I don't think I have seen a full on Ani Kyd Wolf set since she was onstage with Jello ten years ago.

I actually privately think Royal Strays is the best showcase ever of her vocal talents. I am guessing most people reading the Straight these days don't even know who Jarboe and Diamanda Galas are...

Anyhow, that should be great. I never did catch up with Lene Lovich's music tho. I have heard one of her albums and liked it but I am probably blasting off before she gets onstage to see the Tranzmitors and Night Court at Green Auto.

I have Straight features on both these bands but am out of steam to dig up links and share them, plus I am writing this on my phone, so... I dunno how I even would. Too much work!

Italian Irritations AKA Deep Red Dubbing Dilemma AKA Audio Options Argh!

THIS MAY GET TWEAKED. EARLY DRAFT. HITTING "PUBLISH" ANYHOW.

I find myself with "bachelor time," and rather than plunging into writing projects, I am watching a Dario Argento film, or trying to. 

This relates to an upcoming live music event, by the way, but it's not written as promo for that. I was just thinking to see Argento, actually Deep Red, and then found myself writing this, and realized, hey, there is a Goblin event coming up... Hmmmm. 

Well, let's take note of that, a "Would my wife enjoy it?" evening out. 

Meantime, can I get through this Argento I have never seen, considered by many his masterpiece...? Yes, I think I can... if I can figure out the audio options! 

I plunged in without having consulted the manual, you know? The Ikea method. And understand: the dubbing or lack of dubbing of Italian cinema has always been an issue for me. There are many, many Italian films badly-dubbed into English or with dialogue recorded as per norms in post, which often adds insult to injury, as the scripts were often originally written by Italians with imperfect English themselves; try, oh, I don't know, Fulci's City of the Living Dead if you aren't sure what I mean. 

It can go wrong in very strange ways, on more than one level -- an English language actor struggling to read broken Italian English over the lips of someone speaking Italian; or even worse, an Italian ESL speaker reading English written by an Italian, in an Italian accent, dubbed at least potentially over a different Italian actor speaking English (!), because he had a "better accent." I do believe I have seen that in motion. 

There's more than one permutation of the options available. It all makes it somewhat challenging for a language tutor to enjoy, actually, as I end up thinking about the grammar: "How would I explain this mistake to a student?" "What went wrong there?"

And dubbing in itself, regardless of the original language/ culture, is often an issue for me. I do understand its purposes, but having grown up on badly dubbed Godzilla movies, I was wondering even when I was a child, "Why don't we just watch it in the original language?" 

I am not sure I can think of a film where dubbing wasn't distracting. But maybe with Italian cinema, with so many English stars and such an international audience in mind, some dubbing is better than others, especially given that all dialogue is added in afterwards, anyhow; with even the English-language version being, in effect, dubbed, "Is it well-dubbed?" becomes a more significant question. 

I mean, there are definitely Italian films I'd rather see the Italian language version of, regardless of the star. Pontecorvo's Queimada! (Burn!) is only available in its whole version in Italian, but you definitely want *that* version of it, with Brando dubbed into Italian. It's much longer and richer and it's actually less distracting to extract the Brando from the mix! It becomes less of a, well, Brando movie, so you can focus on the anti-colonial, Fanonist message... this is surely what Pontecorvo, Solinas et alia would have had us do...! 

On the other hand, I was surprised that the VIFF Centre projected the Italian-language version of The Big Gundown, the other week, in fact, because that film has one of the very best English dubs of the spaghettis (and who doesn't want to listen to Lee van Cleef, rather than an Italian voice over?). 

I have seen this film a couple of different ways, now, and believe I enjoyed it in either cut. I don't recall feeling like the longer version was somehow the more essential. I had a brief, "They're playing the Italian version!" moment of surprise, then settled in. It may have been the only way to see the whole, "proper" cut of the film, as with Burn!  - in which case, they made the right call, but, I don't know, I might have considered it the other way too? 

That also seems to be the case with Deep Red, which I recently bought off local man-of-culture Mitch (who sometimes sells pretty good cult movies online). I think I am learning the hard way that there is no workable way to watch the complete film, as it played in Europe. 

I am not sure I was aware that my options would become so quickly complicated:

1. Watch the long, pure director's cut in Italian with English subtitles with an actor as engaging as van Cleef, David Hemmings (of Blow Up fame) also getting dubbed into generic Italian male. No, no, I want the English audio option, please! Hemmings > Brando, thank you. Switch to:

2. An alternate version of the director's cut with SOME English, but only for the parts that were preserved for the English version. All the Euro-version parts are only available in Italian. So Hemmings' character changes not only languages but voices between scenes, and you have to have the subtitles on even WITH the English portions.

3. Finally, there is the shorter, English language American version... with dialogue added in post-production or such, so even though Hemmings is speaking English in his own voice, it sounds dubbed... and is, at a later date... but no need for subtitles, no random shifting between languages (or speaker).... 

I would like to apologize to Mr. Argento, here -- maybe I am doing this wrong; but I am going to start with the dubbed American version: I am going to do it "the American way," so to speak. Sometimes the dubbed version is the best way to go, at least the first time. 

Truth is, I have never really felt like I've "gotten" Argento, and associate him with a rather inferior cut of Day of the Dead, which may actually bias me and inform why I struggle. I have seen about five of his films, one twice (The Cat O' Nine Tails). But hell, I struggle with giallo itself, come to think of it, so I am not going to wrestle with the language, too (if I have an option). 

PS: Imagine my surprise that time in Japan where I rented the VHS of The Cat O' Nine Tails, took it home, and discovered it was the Italian language version with Japanese subtitles!

Post-script: so the English-dubbed version manages to imply, more through tone of voice than writing, that newborn butterflies, termites and zebras lose their telepathy in the process of growing up to acquire spoken language. 

I had no ideas termites grew up to speak English, let alone zebras! 

Actually, of course, they mean newborn HUMANS lose these abilities, but the intonation and delivery are so stilted you actually have to stop and go, "What did he just say?" I actually  had to rewind it. 

I quickly switched to the Italian version. I can't tell if the line reading is any better, actually, but at least I don't notice, if it isn't. Alas, despite some very effective moments, I find it meandering enough that I am napping through it. 

I may not solve "the problem of Argento" tonight...   

Circle Jerks live at the Commodore 2025: backstage with Bob, NOW WITH ADDED AARON CHAPMAN!!!

Keith Morris by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

All photos not identified as Bob's are by me!

It was a night beset with technical difficulties. The opening of the Circle Jerks' set saw major repairs to Joey Castillo's drum kit dragged on long enough that Zander started playing the Jeopardy theme on his bass. It was not the only technical difficulty of the night: the old-school laptop being used for merch refused to read every third card it was presented. Elements of fiasco!

We did not care, Bob and I. We got to hang out backstage (in one of multiple upstairs rooms) with Keith Morris, who was chattier and friendlier than either of us expected, mostly recommending movies to us off the Eternal Family streaming service. He's watched Shaolin vs. Evil Dead multiple times; Bob and I have not seen it once. I told him about giving tentacle porn to Lemmy Kilmister, who Keith had hung out with occasionally. He showed me trailers for some screwed-up seeming European SF the likes of which I have not encountered -- lowbrow but ambitious, occupying a space somewhere between Jodorowsky and Brides of Blood, between The Wizard of Oz and Parajanov. Or something: it's cinema I have not seen, beyond trailers, like the 1990 Latvian film Maija and Paija: what? Or try Ruslan and Ludmila. I have never heard of these films, but I'm very, very curious. 

Keith and I by Bob Hanham

Keith signed everything I brought and accepted some gifts. We talked about Bev Davies -- I showed him some of her photos (she's been in the hospital with pains in her side and shoulder) and clarified that when she shot him in 1981, she had followed D.O.A. down south. We joked about whether she slept in the van with them. 

"I don't know if she ever did that, but she did tell me about sleeping on their laundry once." 

We all laughed about what that might have been like. Later in the night I would buy her a Circle Jerks air freshener (she'd hoped for a lighter, but we didn't have one). One wonders who would want a car that smelled like Skank Man. 

Actually, Johnny Matter, who I'd helped with a comp, bought that for her, butting into the line and insisting he pay, so I let him. I tried to take a photo of him in the process but it didn't work. In fact the comps were actually provided by Aaron Chapman, whose show it was, and who decided behind the scenes that a half-empty Commodore was a not-so-fun Commodore (tickets had not flown) and took action to fill the venue up. He generously comped a ton of Vancouver's music glitterati into the show  -- so in fact, Johnny, don't thank me, thank Aaron!!! . 

Once I'd secured my merch (and Bob and I chatted with Chappie a bit), Keith was amazingly friendly and approachable, if more interested in talking about cult movies than punk rock. I didn't take notes -- he didn't want to do an interview just then, so I left the recorder off and we just hung out. He clarified, when I got him to sign the "When the Shit Hits the Fan" 7", that Chuck is not on that at all; he is ONLY recorded in the actual movie. I'm not sure the article made that clear?

People kept popping in to press him to get the setlist done. He eventually cleared us out so he could focus. It was 31 songs long, apparently, and despite various pauses to repair the drum kit and such, they played every one of them. 

There is a chance of further Q&A stuff between Keith and I. I definitely want to ask him about "I, I and I" -- a song co-written by Chris D. and Tito Larriva. It delights me that it has been played every time I've seen them. 

Anyhow, eventually he cleared us out so he could get to work, but we were up there for a good half hour, chatting. GANG! was playing by that point, a band I know nothing about, who played hip-hop-inflected punk while wearing menacing neon ski masks. I couldn't entirely figure them out. They seemed to have a very strange song about stalking Tony Hawk. I couldn't quite put it together, but I did snap a photo of Bob snapping a photo of them. Bob is having computer issues so many of his photos will remain unseen until the issue is resolved... though he did contribute a few that he took on his cell phone, which are what you see, interspersed with mine. There are better ones!

GANG! were quite unique, if not entirely my sorta thing. 

Later in the night, I saw someone in one of the green masks and asked, ha ha, if he was "gang affiliated," but he was just some audience member. He explained that they had thrown their masks out into the audience at the end of the set, so he picked one up and put it on. I'm not sure anyone actually got to see the band's faces, tho.

Despite GANG!s earnest efforts, the mask prize of the night went to this guy, right up front for the whole CJ's set, never once taking off his mask (I am told his name is Eric and that he comes to shows masked all the time). 

One nice thing: every copy of Keith's autobiography was apparently signed. The one I picked up certainly was. I asked Keith to sign it and he flipped it open and showed me -- "it's already signed!" 

He had told me about Greg Hetson and Chuck Biscuits falling out in the thing I did for the Straight, but he didn't tell all the details. Bob, who has actually read the book, said that Hetson kicked Biscuits in the balls! I've gotta read that part. 

Speaking of inside baseball, Mike has finally convinced me to give Biscuits a break. I still think he really was the party responsible for the hoax, but I think he was probably  just trying, half-assedly, to get Greene to go away. He didn't realize Greene would report it and that he'd inadvertently draw MORE attention to himself, rather than closing the door. If Biscuits would rather people think him dead than talk about his time in showbiz, people should stop hounding him.

I don't usually let Mike win arguments, but looking at it from that perspective, he's right. Let's leave Chuck alone (we miss you, man!). 

Mellow Friesen was there and talked about having reunited with her band the Bombshells for this year's Bowie Ball, which is going to be quite different for her: her projects for that -- often the highlight of the night -- with Mel's Rock Pile are entirely driven around the Bowie Ball; the band has no existence of identity beside that, so she is conceptually free to evoke Bowie how she will. This year will be more challenging, because the Bombshells are actually her band, and DO have a pre-existing sound (which I know nothing of, never saw them, but you can hear samples here). 

I confess to not paying close attention to the Adolescents. I like the blue album a lot, but I didn't know much of what they played... and then they covered the Subhumans' "Fuck You." I told Tony Reflex later that I knew Gerry and would let him know that I would make sure he knew that the song got played. It was real good! It was the second to last song on their set, followed by the stellar track of the blue album, "Kids of the Black Hole." I perked up for that one -- they should have done  "Fuck You" or that one as their opening number, and then shmucks like me would have actually listened more attentively to everything they did!

Adolescents by Bob Hanham

Tony Reflex by Bob Hanham: I gave him an upgrade on his Sharpie and he posed with it.

I made a couple of runs on the merch table. I liked this guy's 1984 Circle Jerks shirt the best -- the style actually reminds me of vintage underground-comic era Corben, but I doubt that is the artist. The fella (apparently Chappie's friend Mike Wurm) said he got the shirt the first time he was the band, back in 1984!

I had only been backstage at the Commodore once before, to get stuff signed by the Dougless Doug and the Slugs, but it's still pretty new for me, and I have never watched a show from the wings. This time, I did with Bob, Mellow, Chris Crud, and later, Tony Reflex himself. It was real fun. I actually  had initially thought Keith was making fun of media whore mendacity when he offered me backstage access and so forth, but he was actually serious! 

I gave him some real good records, though. I am shocked he didn't have Incorrect Thoughts already! Now he does.

Especially fun was trying to get some expressive audience shots. Bob probably has better ones! These are mine. 

It was a powerful set -- the first of their short tour -- with the only surprise (for me) being the inclusion of two Black Flag songs; "Nervous Breakdown," of course, but also "Revenge."  There was also plenty of political commentary between songs -- including a fun lyrical addition. In "Stars and Stripes," for example, instead of "you're all gonna die/ And you voted for that guy" it was something like, "even though YOU didn't vote for that guy," or something like that. Like, we're in the same toilet with the U.S., even though we have no control over what happens down there.

It ain't the first time we've been in that position, Keith! 

But I have nothing exciting to say. Nice to see a few people I know, like Ty Stranglehold, who crossed the pond to the show. Greg had not manifested when we were upstairs, backstage, but as he came off the stage, I hailed him and he came over and signed my three CJ's LPs (but I didn't dig out all my stuff -- I'd gotten Keith to sign my Repo Man soundtrack but I was standing in between Greg and his chilling, so I just got my three actual albums signed.

There was no encore, but everyone had a very fun night. Bob and I too! You'd never know that ticket sales had been pretty weak -- the agenda to fill the room sure worked, so again, if you got comped in, you know who to thank! (It ain't me). 

And I got a Group Sex shirt. I mean, do you figure people out of the punk loop will know that a shirt with both "Circle Jerks" and "Group Sex" on it is a reference to music, or will they just think I'm kinky?

Thanks again to Aaron Chapman for bein' such a mensch!