Who Does It For You?

Who Does It For You?
For various reasons I go to a lot less shows than I use to. Time, funds and other commitments seem to do their best to get in the way. It sucks having to pick and choose which shows to go to when in days gone by I would spend all weekend seeing bands. In some cases driving a few hundred kilometers in a day to see four bands play. Why? Cos I could.
Having to be a little selective has got me to thinking about what bands really give me that rush when I see them. Those bands that leave you stunned and wondering what the fuck just happened. When you lose track of time and forget about the shitty week at work you just had. Those bands that from the first chord can cause chaos and everyone in the near vicinity of them goes completely ape shit.
My earliest memory of this was when I was 16 and I went and saw Death Sentence. I already had their 7" and I couldn’t believe my ears, they were the fastest Australia band I have ever heard. Intense, fast and frantic…fucking killer stuff. The first time I saw them was just insane. When they started the room just exploded for the 40 seconds or so to finish the first song. That was enough to unhinge all your senses and make you shake from adrenalin. But most of all, I was scared shitless. These guys were full on, crazed, unstable. It was like at anytime everything could turn to shit but it just held together enough to make it.
When the finished I was shell shocked and was pretty sure I just witnessed something amazing. Anything else I saw that night would be a let down and it was.
Ok to save this column from B.I.T.D. syndrome (Back In The Day syndrome) lets have a look at recent times. We all go and see bands, nod our heads and perform the obligatory golf clap at the end of each song. We watch the first few songs and then head to the bar to talk about Poison Idea or sit outside plotting the revolution that we will never be bothered to even throw a rock in.
But what bands have totally ripped you a new one the first time you saw them? Now I would be stupid to assume we would all agree on the same band but let’s face it there aren’t too many who have achieved this is there?
When Draft Dodger headed to Melbourne to play a few shows we were lucky enough to be playing a show at the Pink Palace (R.I.P.). I was pretty buzzed about this as there was a shitload of bands, many of which I had heard a lot about but never seen live before. The band that tore me a new one and then some that night was Straight Jacket Nation. Their set would have been no more than fifteen minutes but like I mentioned earlier. I lost track of time. Nothing mattered, it was like a smash in the face, repeatedly. A continuous pounding with a few seconds break between each song which didn’t allow you time to think of Poison Idea or Revolutionary tactics. For that time span everyone went ape shit. Totally nuts. When they had finished I stood there stunned and thinking fuck any revolution lets just throw rocks and smash shit anyway. Nothing else came close to that again for me that night.
This is just one example of one current band. There are a few more but that can be for another rant.
There are people who have a dig at you for being obsessed with bands from 20 odd years ago. Stating that there are local hardcore and punk bands that are tearing shit up right now. But how many are ripping your face off? Unfortunately not enough for me. But what keeps me going back to shows to the anticipation I might see another Death Sentence, another Straight Jacket Nation or another bunch of assorted weirdoes from Western Australia playing skin melting crazy tunes.