Saved by Jello: A Soundfest recap.

Note: This piece originally appeared on Seattle music and culture site nadamucho.com

Why I still like punk rock reason #1: I'm on crutches because of an injury suffered while totally dominating 2 little kids in a squirt gun fight. Hobbling around Neumos on Friday night right before The Avengers came on I slipped and kind of stumbled backwards. Someone caught me & kept me from falling, either on purpose or because I bounced off of them. When I turned around to say thanks I realized that I had been propped up by Jello Biafra. Of course, eventually this story will grow until Jello was fireman carrying me out of the building, and reviving me with a sandwich, but for now the truth will suffice.

Since Matt got me into Soundfest for free, I figured I should make an effort to seek out lesser known bands rather than just fawning over my own heroes. This I almost, but not quite totally failed to do.

Friday night: I walked in on the second half of Dreadful Children's set. Old school punk (think Gang Green, in fact they might have actually been playing "Alcohol" when I walked in.) Lead singer/guitarist Lonny has been making great music for a lot longer than I've been talking about it, previously and occasionally still fronting Bristle.

Retox does that angry screamy hardcore thing really well. If you're into that sort of thing they're pretty good. On their way off stage they mentioned the generation gap between themselves and Reagan Youth, pioneers of NYC hardcore. RY seemed to have brought their children to Seattle as roadies. I can't imagine the confusion of seeing your dad on stage like that, clearly cool but you know, still your dad.

I had high hopes and lowish expectations for The Avengers. On one hand, they're The Avengers, on the other hand, Penelope Houston is more known as a Bay Area folksinger these days. It's always dicey seeing your heroes years after their "prime", which is why a lot of smart people forego any and all nostalgia and reunion shows. After what seemed to me like a lukewarm opening with "We Are The Ones", they quickly hit their stride and won me over. Ms. Houston left Seattle for California about 35 years ago, so it wasn't exactly a homecoming, but remember when people moved away from Seattle to strike it rich in the music business?

Nobody can stay pissed off for their whole lives, unless they are Jello Biafra. He's been a seething cauldron of rage against Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown, the PMRC, the music industry, political parties, even the rest of the Dead Kennedys. Fortunately, he seethes with a hell of a band behind him. When I do it with no band it's just complaining, that's why he's Jello and I'm a whiny bitch. Among the new songs played by Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine were "Electronic Plantation" and "Panic Land". To make the old timers poop themselves he also did "California Uber Alles". For an old guy he's pretty spry. Jumping around the stage, waving this arms like a conductor. I think he even made some shadow puppets on the wall behind the stage.

Saturday I had expected to be busy eating cheesecake in the sun all day, so when things freed up earlier than I planned I decided to check out the Dickies, U.S. Bombs, and the Vandals at El Corazon. The Dickies are funny as hell, as are the Vandals. The Vandals are a long time Southern California punk institution, as are the Dickies. The Dickies paved the way for pop-punk, as did the Vandals. This is why I spent the night not being sure who I was seeing. It doesn't mean they're interchangeable, they're very different from each other and both bands were great. Chalk it up to ADHD. In between was a short, drunken, sloppy set by U.S. Bombs, featuring a giant beer dressed up as Duane Peters. If I'd been there just to see USB I would have been pretty bummed, but at least he was just wasted and not pitching a diva fit.

Towards the end of the Vandals set I felt...unfulfilled. Also really sweaty. I headed up the hill to Neumos, where John Doe & Exene Cervenka were just getting started, and it was just perfect. In a sane world the place would have been packed, but hearing John & Exene harmonize in a half full bar at the end of a long day couldn't have been a better end to the night.

Sunday rolled around, like it does pretty much once a week. What doesn't come quite as often is a night with Swingin' Utters  and Stiff Little Fingers. To quote me, "EEEEEEEEEEEE!" The very band that helped knock the hippie out of me 25 years ago, right here in my zip code? The question was, would they suck? No, they would not, but first a word about folk singers. Tim Barry used to be in Avail, now he's a folk singer. Normally punks should not sing folk songs, because often punks lack that ineffable quality we'll call "talent", or "musical ability". Don't get me wrong, some great music has been made by no talent hacks. Anyway, back to Tim; this guy had a hot sweaty crowd that was clearly waiting for Stiff Little Fingers eating out of his hands. One guy and a guitar singing about civil war era folk heroes, and the whole thing just worked great. Look him up. Next up, Swingin' Utters. I was only slightly less excited about SU than I was for SLF, they're just a great band, singing songs about the working class, of which I'm a proud and greasy member.

After a short wait (did I mention that at every show the stage crew did a hell of a job getting one band off the stage and the next band on?) SLF took the stage, in spiffy coordinated shirts, looking pretty good for a bunch of old guys. Jake Burns (lead singer, songwriter, and the only constant member through the years) told stories about how songs came about, and a little about living in Belfast in the mid-70's. They also played a bunch of songs without mucking things up with a lot of new stuff. It was a great show, everything a nostalgia-choked guy like myself hopes for. I don't think I'm a very good critic, because I don't seem to have much to criticize about this weekend. I've been to a few music-type festivals in my day, this one was remarkably well run. El Corazon could use more fans, I guess. I'm a sap for this stuff, it was nice catching up a little, especially without having to do any actual work or spend any money.

Why I love punk rock, reason #2: At Stiff Little Fingers/Swingin' Utters/Tim Barry I was standing next to a woman who had brought her 12 year old son and his friend to teach them a little something about the punk rock. She was a mosh pit veteran, and watched her boys learning the rules of the pit. However, she was also a mom, and you can be sure that she knew where they were at any moment. (I will never get tired of watching people get picked up when they fall down in a mosh pit, it almost chokes me up.) After the show, we're filing out of El Corazon and mom realizes that her son has met himself a girl!

Note: This piece originally appeared on Seattle music and culture site nadamucho.com.

OK, hipsters, the time has come for you to shave. Trust me on this, you're not going to want to look like Cat Stevens when the punks come. The punks are coming to show you that you look silly, and as pretty as it sounds right now, your folk-rock revival is going to sound as fresh and edgy as "Baby I'm-a Want You". I know of what I speak; in 1987, I was fully in the thrall of the hippie menace. True story: I once walked into a record store in downtown Olympia, walked right past "Deep Six", so I could buy a Buffalo Springfield single. Lucky for me my roommate Brian beat me over the head with a Stiff Little Fingers LP. It didn't scare me straight, but it kept me from running full tilt into white-guy Rastafarianism. Next month Stiff Little Fingers are coming in person to slap you up. Also, Jello Biafra, Angelic Upstarts,  The Blasters, Defiance, The Bloodclots, and so much more. Like a little Krishna in your core? Try Cro-Mags.
John Doe and Exene Cervenka used to be in a little thing called X. Seriously, there's some heavy, heavy shit coming to town, and anyone wearing an ironic beard is going to feel pretty stupid. Other bands on the schedule include The Vandals, Swingin' Utters, US Bombs, Reagan Youth, Paul Collins Beat, The Dusty 45's, Hollow Points, Dragstrip Riot, and a whole lot more. Venues include El Corazon, The Vera Project, Neumos, The Funhouse and The Comet.

For the full lineup and all sorts of useful tidbits: http://seattlesoundfest.com/