Punk Rock

This post is going to be tricky, and I know some reading this might disagree with a few of the things I might say. Punk is a genre that has many faces, and many fans. Those fans have many differing opinions.Bare in mind I am no authority on Punk but I've been to a handful of shows that I believe can be consider Punk shows.

My first Punk show was a band called Against Me!. This is more of a contemporary Punk Rock band. They have polished melodies with crunchy guitar and rough vocals. Lyrics laced with political and social commentary. When I refer to rough vocals I have in mind. - It's not whiny, and that's where I sort of draw the line on my punk threshold. In actuality my taste for Punk music is generally limited.

I like a polished punk music sound with a man singing, not a man singing like a boy. Which is what I wrote without realizing and recently found out that the lead singer Laura Jane Grace identifies as being a woman and now is publicly embracing being a woman. All power to her, if it feels right and it makes her happy then that's excellent. If anything it makes me like the music even more.

I saw Against Me! with opener.
Matt & Kim they were a fun band, it's always nice to walk away from enjoying an opening band you aren't familiar with.


It was a high energy show... Clearly!This was my first concert at the Grove Of Anaheim. I was invited to this show by my friend Haley who is a very cool person, she rounded up me and a couple other friends, Lauren and Andrea. The crowd had a lot of momentum, I felt responsible for trying to keep my female friends from dying as the ocean of people swirled around. At one point I felt it would be a good idea to jump into the mosh pit. Jumping into the mosh pit always seems like a good idea, however it often times turns out not to be. This particular time I basically had a pretty big person's body come down on by head. I felt my neck compress into my body and I felt dizzy and sick for a good 15 minutes after. They say it's fun and games until someone gets hurt, it's totally true.

I discovered Against Me! through Haley and they continue to be a band I listen too frequently. So thanks Haley! They really did put on a good show that night, they sounded fantastic. I really need to see them again, it's been years.

The second show one can consider punk would be Vans Warped Tour. I did find myself at one of those once. Ultimately Vans Warped tour doesn't cater to my taste in music. I went that year because it was free courtesy of my crazy ex-girlfriend. My friend Lauren was with us too, so that's now a total of 2 concerts in this post I've seen with Lauren out of a number of concerts. She should start her own blog. Next to Me and My girlfriend Alex, Lauren has a pretty high concert count.
I can't say I really enjoyed this concert that much. My ex really had a way of sucking the fun out of things. I think that night even ended in an argument. Thank god Lauren was there, but I think she didn't really have too much fun either >.< my ex was the worst. Warped tour was the first time I chanced upon the Adicts. It essentially was the only part of the festival that was cool for me. The first of now 4 Adicts concerts I've been too. You'll notice "I think" was used a lot in this paragraph, this is really a show that yeah... I attended, but it can stay a distant memory.

I was sold on the first time I saw the Adicts, now the Adicts have become one of my most favorite acts to see live. It is literally one of the funnest shows to go to. Streamers, glitter, and good ol' fashioned English Punk Rock. The people who've seen the Adicts know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't been to an Adicts concert you really should. You don't have to know their music, you don't have to be into Punk music. It helps, but it doesn't matter. Regardless of your taste, you are going to find yourself having a good time at an Adicts concert. I promise that it will be full of streamers, glitter, and good ol' fashion Punk Rock. I've managed to see the Adicts a total of 4 times. It was just last Halloween I got to see them perform at the House Of Blues on Sunset Strip with my numero uno gal-pal Alex. I've sat through a few acts as openers for the Adicts, and honestly the only interesting thing that's happened was East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedy's performed with his band, and they performed a couple Dead Kennedy songs.

That concludes the Punk Rock shows I've attended. Not too much experience, but that experiences I have had with Punk shows have been great. It's a high energy crowd that is really into it. It's a little chaotic and it's not for the faint of heart. You'll be covered in sweat, you'll smell like beer. And you'll think to yourself how funny it is to see Punk Rockers march through downtown Disney. But I've seen that with a handful of acts at House of Blues Anaheim. I've seen a couple Metal artists there, and it's just funny to see metal heads in downtown Disney.