There's a lot of stuff that circulates about Wattie Buchan, frontman of long-lived Scottish punk band The Exploited, who performed in Vancouver last night. Some of what is out there may be bullshit, some of it may be partially true, some of it might be completely true; all I know is, I am not prepared to judge him on the basis of who he has had his photo taken with. There are certainly other whispers out there that circulate, which occasionally cause him controversy, like his allegedly having "ties to neo-Nazi groups" like Haggis, but I've never even heard of Haggis outside that article. And what can I say, I have owned a Skrewdriver album once myself (great music, pity about the lyrics and philosophy). I personally have not heard much that seemed Nazi-like from Wattie, but I also haven't heard him interviewed very often, and when I have, I can't understand half of what he says anyhow (also an issue tonight; my Scottish blood is no help.)
In fact, about the worst I've heard pass his lips is calling (murder victim) Nancy Spungen a cunt in the lyrics to "Sid Vicious Was Innocent", but my understanding is, people from the UK call pretty much everyone cunts; so I try not to judge there, either.
There are some things online where he uses racial epithets, too, which appear to be from the 1980s or such. Apparently he once had a swastika tattoo? And may have now had it removed. Sure didn't notice any swastikas on him last night.
I realize I am opening myself up to some online outrage-merchant one-upping me, demonstrating the moral inferiority of my position by not condemning Wattie sufficiently for such things. I won't defend myself! I honestly don't know what to make of what people say about Wattie. I also don't want to crawl immediately and uncritically on the bandwagon rejecting him based on articles like the one I linked. Nor can I challenge what is written; I can't, I simply do not know what the truth is. He seems a little less uncomfortable associating with neo-Nazis than I'd like him to be. But while I don't know for a fact how much in that Reddit thread is true-- there's also a story about him provoking violence against mods-- there are certainly a few things I know for a fact now about Wattie, that I would RATHER use as my basis of evaluation.
For instance: He is a charismatic, hard-working frontman, still rocking at 68 years old, despite scars from open-heart surgery. I have never seen those on any kind of singer before, but my mother had open-heart surgery, so I do recognize what they look like. She wasn't fronting any punk bands after her surgery (or before, for that matter); open-heart surgery does take some of the life out of you, traumatizes you enough that you emerge somewhat diminished and never fully recover. Wattie must have had extra life to spare, though. If he is in any way a diminished man, he hides it really fucking well.
Didn't he just collapse onstage a few months ago? He sure didn't collapse tonight.
At one point I sent Erika, my wife, the photo above, commenting on how unusual it was to see a punk with bypass scars, and, ever the smartass, she responded that it is also unusual to see a punk in a gnome hat.
Ha, ha.
Wattie also had an incredibly charismatic stare, an ability to get the crowd singing along even with songs they didn't know that well, and an almost menacing, pacing quality, caged-tiger-like. I haven't been intimidated by many 68 year olds. Wattie is actually intimidating, still. It's impressive.
Another thing I know: the Exploited wrote two of the greatest punk songs all time, "Fuck the USA" (which, you can imagine, was VOCIFEROUSLY requested tonight) and "I Believe in Anarchy" (which they also played, but I have a real attachment to that song, having bought the 7" at Zulu Records when I was about 15; wish I still had it! The A-side might have been "Exploited Barmy Army", actually. It was among my first 10 punk 7 inches, along with Flipper's "Love Canal," the Lewd's "Kill Yourself", and a smattering of DOA and Dead Kennedys singles). The version they played tonight was significantly heavier, notably different from the studio version, and that was actually hard for me to adjust to, but I was still blown away to actually hear it. They did a few other favourites, too, like their cover of "Troops of Tomorrow" (albeit foreshortened), dedicated to the people who saw them here 23 years ago (at the Cobalt; W13 was on door at the Rickshaw tonight, by the way). They kicked the night off with "Let's Start a War," with the pit erupting and staying in motion for the next hour+. I caught one clip, after I edged my way out of there, of "Chaos is My Life" and "Dead Cities." They also offered a giant communal choral version of "Sex and Violence", near the night's end, with dozens of punks getting onstage with them, before ending with "Was It Me?"
The setlist was similar to this one, but maybe a couple of songs shorter. Many songs I did not know, and a few songs missing that I do know and love (like "Psycho" off Let's Start a War).
The only thing Wattie said tonight that *might* be controversial to some people out there was "Fuck Israel," and that was in the context of introducing "Fuck the USA," with an intro that began with him dedicating the song to "that orange gibbon-faced bastard in the White House" and ended in the statement "Fuck him and fuck Israel!" (I am not, myself, saying "Fuck Israel" these days, nor have I ever, but I do understand that there are some pretty striking circumstances, globally, which make people want to say those words of late, so again, Wattie gets a pass; I ain't thrilled with Israel myself).
Oh, and the other thing I noticed was: The Exploited's new drummer is a black guy, Garry "G-Man" Sullivan, mostly known for his work with the Cro-Mags. I can certainly see his skin colour being a possible political motivation for hiring him, allowing the band to play the "See, we aren't racists!" card, but that's really kind of unfortunate, because THAT MOTHERFUCKER CAN PLAY HIS INSTRUMENT.
Wattie made no mention of race tonight at all, but he did invite us to boo in a good-natured way that Garry is from America. But American or not, it's rare that I come out of a show talking and thinking about the drummer, first and foremost. Wattie is a hell of a frontman, but the best musician on that stage tonight, I believe, was Garry Sullivan. He MAKES the band. He was ferocious!
The double-kicks made me wonder if his background was more in the realm of metal, in fact. He was wayyyy more proficient as a drummer than we generally have the right to expect a punk drummer to be! Irish Rob (bassist) and Steve Campbell (guitars) were both totally fine at what they did, enjoyable to watch and hear, but G-man had a certain HOLY SHIT LISTEN TO THE DRUMS quality to his playing. Did he really play with Johnny Fucking Thunders? How young was he, then?
Anyhow, thanks to Bob Hanham for the ticket. I missed Extensive Slaughter, only saw about half the Dayglo's set (though it was ferocious). They have a great new t-shirt and are on tour across Canada, I believe. Got Bob a shirt!
I also enjoyed Bootlicker's energy (but find their songs a bit too hardcore, as I do with Josh Nickel's other main band, Chain Whip; good bands but not my cuppa). Saw a bunch of people I knew: the crowd was packed. The pit was exuberant enough that I got out of it after a few songs, but that was mostly so I could take a few photos without my camera being jostled. I kind of enjoyed the jostling for awhile, otherwise...
As for the Exploited, I cannot vouch for Wattie as a human being or political thinker or a man of discerning taste in friends. He might be a thug, a dummy ("a bit of a fuckwit", someone uncharitably observes here), and he might have Nazi pals, for all I know (long discussion about that here with Wattie's brother involved). I have not come here to defend him (or attack him). He might also have grown up a lot over the last decades, having had multiple surgeries and been on the receiving end of a few internet dogpiles. If you want to ostracize the guy, if you worry that it's wrong to give him your money, that's your business--dig around online and make your decisions. (Here's an interview with him, if you like, where absolutely none of this stuff is discussed!).
But whatever else he may or may not be, he's one hell of a frontman, and the Exploited are one hell of a band. People had a really good time last night -- it was a long, powerhouse set and Wattie seemed tireless and focused and having fun. It must be a gas, at age 68, to see a full house of kids moshing to your music and singing along.
I'm glad to have seen them, finally.
Got Bob a Rickshaw shirt, too! New design apropos of their anniversary: there were a few upstairs left in the coat-check area.
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