Metal, punk, indy, glasses, hip-hop, hardcore and the griot
I’ve seen a bunch of punk, hardcore hip hop, and metal shows in the last month – all of them pretty impressive. Since I’m filled with the fervor of seeing 7 generations two nights ago and Amde Hamilton last night I’m going to try to toss down a few memories before they all disappear in the Humboldt soundscape.

About a month ago I went to a crazy metal show at the Alibi in Arcata. I think the opening band was The Lords Burning Rain, but they were local and totally rad. And I did get a photo of some of them rocking out.



Ludicra was a band I hadn’t even heard of. I know for many of you that will seem sick and I sort of feel that way now. As soon as the first notes hit the crowd I felt my stomach sink in that “holy crap . . . get ready to fall”. The same thing you get just before you ride off on a rollercoaster. Then it was loud and explosive. The line between hippy and metal head even blurs up here – they all look like anarchist travelers.





I’ve seen gotten their album “Another great love song” and it is fantastic. If you have the slightest inclinations toward metal (and who doesn’t have a TINY metal sliver in their heart) purchase this album in order to better rock in the future. And go see them live because they are funny and kick butt.

The 2006 Bummerfest Olympics brought 30 bands twenty blocks from my house. Thanks to organizers The Placebo. I spent a solid twenty hours at Bummerfest and was totally rewarded. I’m used to being in bands with people who think costumes and themes are idiotic. But I’ve always been a sucker for a theme. I think it was awesome that the bummerfest bands walked around with gold medals on, and many were decked out in seriously funky athletic/punk outfits. It looked like the ramones had robbed the track meet.

I found the circle-pit aesthetic of 801 Warning really soothing. It just does my heart good to hear the unapologetic sound of punk rock. It’s the sound of nihilism of the future. I think this is a photo of them, if it isn’t then I’m sorry.



Tiny Pies offered a bizarre mix of dual drummers, saxophone, and sass. It was hard to grapple with at times, but fortunately a deadly on point back beat made feet tapping a necessity. Oh those tiny pies and their rat tail(s).



I’d been really curious about P.H.I.S.T., a local metal band who’ve made their hatred of hippies a badge of pride. I’ve almost made it out to a couple of their shows, and it was cool to get to see them here. They didn’t seem to move the kids with their loud loud loud metal attack, but I felt pretty impressed. Even though it isn’t really their scene, I think the fact that an older metal band would sign up to rock bummerfest is totally worth supporting. Props to the old metal dudes . . . oh wait, that describes me.

Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) were the best band I saw at bummerfest. Just insane punk/hardcore with jumpy bass lines. Simply attack formation delta and run the maneuvers . . . great sound and a wonderful live show. As the pit got going I stood by the side and slowly got drawn into the frenzy when the music took over.

I’ve been slamdancing since I was 14 years old. I’ve flipped off bad brains’ stages, cracked a tooth to earth crisis (on a local guitarist’s skull none-the-less), and lived through a decade of hardcore dances that all involved fists.

In all of those years I’ve never broken my glasses. Admittedly I usually try to gauge whether or not a pit is going to have any high-flying dancers who would likely knock off glasses. I misjudged the enthusiasm Humboldt has for DNR. Within the first two minutes of my dancing someone was on the shoulders and kicking me in the face. Glasses gone.

I imagine that I can hear the crack, I take a cursory look, but can only find one stray lens (always a bad sign). After the show a kind gentleman hands me a crumpled ball of metal and glass that was once my spectacles. Time to go home.

Only to return the next day.

I fell in love with the Ravens, a woman fronted badass rock-n-roll band. Like I said, I love a costume and the Ravens all wear matching black T-shirts with big R’s on the front. Just awesome. The music was infectious, dance-friendly rock and roll. Big heart, big tent, rock and roll. Good for what ails ya. Thanks Ravens.



I wasn’t as fond of Genghis Tron who mixed hardcore punk with super-high speed techno beats. Maybe I’m old school, but I just can’t dance to that new-fangled music!

The hit of the second day was a dead-on cover band of Joy Division and New Order. Holy Cow, these guys even looked like Joy Division pictures Rhymestyle Bob used to have when we were in college. And they sounded great . . . spot on covers of all the hits. I danced like it was 88 and mumbled the dreary lyrics to myself. Thanks for the hyper-real memories.

I saw a ton of incredible bands, and wish I could write more about all of them, but anyone who played bummerfest rocks in my book and I’ll come see you soon.

One of the problems is that I’ve been feeling increasingly weird about taking pictures at shows. At bummerfest there was self-documentation overload. Every band had a half-dozen photographers snapping away at their every rocking move. It was sort of strange – knowing that these photos are destined for this web page (relatively small audience) I felt like someone else could document this one.

Our camera also takes a while to calibrate for a digital photo and combined with a nervous tendency to jerk the camera away as soon as I take a picture. I got a lot of photos of feet at the show.



Sometimes it just feels weird being the jerk who takes out a camera. I used to mock those people all the time, now I’m one. Ha!

Elena and I rushed out to hear Subliminal Sabotage and Nucleus at the Red Fox Tavern in Eureka. I was a bit nervous because Elena isn’t a big fan of hip hop, but I was convinced that she’d like the music of Nucleus (a fully functioning funk/dance band on their own). To my utter enjoyment I was right. Elena was tapping her feet and rocking out on the dance floor with me as Nucleus dropped layers of sound into the club. This is directly a result of B.Swiz, Big Pete, and of course my favorite flute player . . .Chris. I know the rest of the band rock, but it is hard to overstate how badass these folks are.

Another part of it is the climate. The emcees in Sub Sab aren’t likely to include “bitch” or “fag” too much in their rhymes. The climate of the show is much more family friendly – the first person I met at the bar, was in fact a band-member’s aunt.

That doesn’t take away from the deadly seriousness of these artists in rocking the crowd. It was Elision’s birthday and he took the stage like a hurricane, attacking the microphone and jumping around the stage. An emcee with a purpose and a man with some hustle.



This show also represented the rebirth of Mika Sun and MCP. Mika has always impressed me, I think his rhymes are tight and flow is excellent. But he has struggled in the past with stage presence, sometimes falling to the background (understandable in a band with a dozen members or whatever). Not on this night – Elena described him as “the hip hop Viking” as he stood on the edge of the stage and propelled his words into the audience’s brains.

MCP also shined. I can’t remember the name of the song, but the chorus says something like: “what’s it gonna be, what’s it gonna be?” sounded better than I’ve ever heard it. His flow sounds tighter and faster than ever.

Happy birthday Eli and props to the sub sab crew and nucleus for holding down Humboldt hip hop.

Sabian asked me to give a quick speech at a hardcore show at the peace and justice center. He told me that there was a bunch of traveling vegan hardcore straightedge bands coming through – really political. I was absolutely sold.

The increasingly familiar sounds of 801 warning opened up the show. Punk rock circle up!

Time for change were a great political hardcore band from Southern California. They were really nice, hanging around and talking with the kids and then taking the stage to blast. It was the old-school version of punk where the kids are the bands and the bands are the kids. Even they commented on the lack of hardcore versus punk controversies.

The pit was filled with so much energy (I hid my new glasses) that I had to join and was covered with sweat by the time I had to give my speech. I was prepared to talk during the break between bands, but the hardcore band from Holland Eye of Judgment told me to wait til they were set up to maximize the audience. Members of 7 generations joined the conversation about how best to get people to hear me speak! It seemed like these bands were authentically radical – trying to educate and get people amped at the same time.

Still feeling the energy of the pit I talked about how easily we give power away. Remembering the anti-war protests on Feb 15, 2003, I talked about taking over New York City during that day – that the cops just got out of our way. Even though we were in complete control of the city, we just went home after it was over.

I talked about remembering our history, doing our homework to know about revolutionaries who came before us. Talking about Fred Hampton, I called out “I am a revolutionary” and was pleasantly surprised to have most of the crowd respond. On the second cry we got loud and like a good hardcore crowd should, the front row grabbed the mic and screamed “I am a revolutionary” with me. An oratorical first for me, but it felt great.

I shared a few tips of how to think about the struggle and then passed the microphone to Eye of Judgment who brought the legacy of 90s hardcore alive. It sounded so chunky, so “chug, chug, roar” that I was quite moved. I felt really nostalgic, and it only got worse when they busted into an Earth Crisis cover.

The room got quiet when 7 Generations took the stage. After explaining that because of illness and injury they could only perform four songs, they kicked off the first song and the place went nuts. Hardcore kids up front frenzied flying of hands and arms, the sound thunderous and the words authentic. It was heavy and incredible . . . really dance-ready hardcore and the crowd responded. Wonderful and political like a good radical hardcore band should be, thanks 7 generations for being so badass.



The next night, the hip hop diversity collective, known as the Nu-Jacks brought father Amde Hamilton to HSU. I had the privilege to get to meet and chat with this living legend, because he was gracious enough to come through early and hang out with the hip hop crew. During this reception, we had DJ Chico spinning on turntables which I think set the tone for the event and helped to get us in the mood. I was amazed at how much good music and a few snacks can change a boring classroom into a living breathing space

Hamilton showed a 10 minute documentary describing the Watts Prophet’s influence on poetry and culture and then he calmly started talking. He talked about his history and story in a raspy quiet voice. A few minutes in, he dropped his first poem and the room got deadly silent. I looked around the room and saw a few shocked faces at the power of Hamilton’s words. He returned to his narrative and the crammed room leaded forward collectively to hear these words of wisdom.

An hour later and I feel blessed to have spent this time. My batteries are recharged and I’m ready to fight. I’ve got a half-dozen new plans and capers in my radar-screen.

Part of it is Hamilton’s poetry which is classic old-school Lost Poets/Watts Prophets style. But I also hear hip-hop cadence in his flow, the influence on the art form is so obvious. The originator of the sound, and the coiner of the term “rap” the Watts Prophets are victims of our war against real black history.

The other thing that was inspiring was the audience, filled with anxious poets, b-boys and critics. They were excited, moved and connected to Hamilton. During the question and answer session, Hamilton fielded a lot of questions about racism and at one point he turned to the crowd with a grin and said: “now we’re getting somewhere” after a particularly good point.

I feel honored to live in a place where there is so much music that I can’t even take it all in, let alone write about it. From bummerfest to Amde Hamilton, Humboldt is truly an autonomous musical zone!