Poison Idea versus The Liquor Kings: The Liquor Kings win!

Fuck it, I'm going to a gig this Friday! And guess what: it's not going to be Poison Idea.

Prepare to hate me, bacause I have a confession: try as I may, I never really got that excited about Poison Idea, to be honest. Feel the Darkness has some cool songs, but I've actually never been more entertained by them than I am by their covers CD, Pajama Party. I'd rather hear them do "We Got the Beat" than an original! They have a cool sound, are undisputedly the real deal, punkwise, and I feel a sort of fat-guy solidarity with them, but their songwriting actually has never really blown me away - it's not hooky enough, not anthemic enough, not fun enough, which is why I guess I'd rather hear them do covers. And there's something just a little debauched and unwholesome about the band, y'know? It ain't like they keep it a secret - there's sort of an aura of vice, self-destruction, and menace around them, and while that sort of thing doesn't scare me, exactly, I'm trying to discourage that side of my personality these days...I probably would go if Pig Champion was still around, you know? And I *would* kind of dig one of their t-shirts:

...but in fact I'm actually more tempted by that gig because Piggy is on the roster, and I have neglected Piggy - with Ron Reyes, of that recent ill-fated Black Flag venture, on lead guitar - for a long time -

- except The Furies are opening for The Liquor Kings at the Fairview that same night, and I've been neglecting the Furies for even longer, especially considering they're one of my favourite Vancouver live acts. I like the Liquor Kings, too, with Eddie Dutchman's quasi-Keithley snarls, catchy guitar-driven anthems of debauchery and vice, and a sort of rockabilly-meets-punk-in-the-garage vibe (I will try to find a better way to phrase that when I review the new album). Undisputedly also the real deal, but it's a different deal, a little more middle-aged-Dad-rockers than debauched-and-dangerous, if you know what I mean. I mean, I don't even drink that much - god knows what substances Poison Idea abuse! At the Liquor Kings album release, I'm just more likely to a) have fun; b) not get beaten up; and c) not alienate the girlfriend (because never mind that she doesn't enjoy the heavier stuff, I frankly would be terrified to bring my gal to see Poison Idea at Funky's; I'd be traumatizing her, putting her in harm's way, and would have to spend the whole gig making sure she was okay...). Call me a milquetoast, I guess, but...

Actually Ed Hurrell of the Liquor Kings was telling me that he was actually at that June 1977 Japanese Hall gig where the Furies and "Dee Dee and the Dishrags" ushered in the first wave of Vancouver punk. "I remember you could bring your own beer into the hall, you wouldn't get that nowadays. And it was so early in the game that the 'punk rock look' had not been established yet. Mostly people were wearing thrift store/ Salvation Army clothes. You saw the odd studded leather jacket, but..."

Hope the more hardcore of you enjoy the Poison Idea gig. No doubt I'll be looking back someday in awe and disbelief that I missed it (which I occasionally still do about my decision not to go see the Exploited at the Cobalt)...