Around
9:30pm this past Friday (3/22/2019), the status quo held strong when
the verdict of not guilty came back from the jury in the trial
involving the murder of Antwon Rose II.
The
prospects of a positive outcome were not high to begin with but once
it was announced that the jury was being put together out of town
that pretty much sealed it. Especially when the jury was handed the
case on a Friday afternoon. Deliberate for a few hours on Friday
night and they could be home by lunchtime on Saturday.
I was
shaking with anger and sadness to the point where I was unable to tie
my shoes when I was about to hit the streets and figured it would be
best for all involved if I wasn't out on the roads driving around. I was left to checking in
with the internet every so often as I was yelling at my television.
The
local television coverage could be boiled down to scared white news
anchors sounding the alarm to scared white viewers to not leave their
suburban houses. Describing peaceful protests and marching as riots. Aw, what a shame a bunch of gentrifying colonizers had their
overpriced dinners interrupted and had to sit in traffic for a few
minutes. At least they made it home to their families.
One of
the local political analysts went so far as to say that protesting
was not the solution and that people should put their energies into
voting. I guess this political starfucker never thought that it was
possible for people to do two things. He might want to check the
bottoms of his shoes before he goes into the house because he really
stepped in it this time.
Protests
are gatherings of like minded people. This can lead to organizing. Organizing can lead to people running for office or ballot
initiatives to change laws. Ask our new state representatives Summer
Lee and Sara Innamorato. They are proof of this very basic civics
lesson that a political “editor” that gets paid to talk for a
living should know.
Protesting
is one part of a multifaceted approach to wrenching power away from
the pigfuckers. Said pigfuckers will never cede power if we simply
say “please” based solely on the fact that they don't want to
share. That's why there will always be pleas for civility and
decorum. When being called on their bullshit they will always say
that we are being impolite when doing so.
The
local bigots came out in force in online comment sections. Courageous bunch they are. Smart, too. Wondering why the people
marching in the streets weren't at work when it was a student
organized walkout.
Luckily,
Punk Rock saved the day. Killer Of Sheep was playing a show up in
Cleveland and I had been dragging my feet on making the decision
whether to make the trip or not. The events happening around town
pushed me over the edge and northward up the highway. It felt good
to get out of town and leave some of the weight behind for a few
hours.
The
venue was a place called Mulberry's which was an indoor
volleyball/basketball facility with plastic sports tile for flooring. There was a pizza place/bar in the upstairs so at least there were
food options on site since we were located under a bridge with nothing
else in the area.
Mulberry's
certainly had the vibe of an early Fugazi show since it looked like
the gym in a middle school. Other folks felt like they were at a
school dance and I guess some part of me did as well since I found
myself standing along one of the sidewalls for most of the night.
The
lineup was Minority Threat, MAAFA, Soul Glo, Killer Of Sheep and For
Your Health. For Your Health was up first. They were from the
Columbus, OH area and looked to be a rather young band. If they keep
at it, in a few years they could end up being quite formidable. Sound wise, For Your Health had a very post-hardcore/At The Drive-In
thing going on which even At The Drive-In can't seem to do anymore. I was halfway down the turnpike on my way home when I realized that I
forgot to pick up the singles that they had at the merch table.
Killer
Of Sheep went on second and provided the catharsis that I sorely
needed. They hit stage and went off like a bomb. I guess they were
feeling the same weight that I was. The band's usual fury had a
little extra on the attack this time around.
The
band caught a friendly hail of boos from the crowd during the intro
to “Firewater” when Ollie compared Flint, MI to the equally
polluted cities of Pittsburgh and Cleveland by saying, “Your river
actually caught on fire, once.” Apparently, the people of
Cleveland are still a little sensitive about that.
Fortunately,
Greg The Drummer decided to use his own kit. The drums that were
provided seemed awful small and he would have ended up walking right
through the kit. There wasn't much for the kick drum to dig into so
it kept taking off on him. This kept Ollie immobilized since he had
to keep one foot planted in front of the drum to keep it in place.
Helping
the band load in, set up, tear down and load out was definitely
healthy for the psyche. I was able to focus on the task at hand and
get out of my head for a while. Lugging drums and amps got me right
down to the lizard brain of “make the show work” and all of my
other concerns and issues fell to the wayside.
Third
on the bill was Soul Glo, from Philadelphia. The first time I
encountered this band was back in November of 2017 at the Mr. Roboto
Project for Anti-Flag’s Anti-Fest. I was floored immediately back
then and Saturday night was no different. Soul Glo is one of those
bands that gives me confidence that the future of Punk Rock is in
good hands. Even with a drummer that was filling in, they didn't
skip a beat and tore it up for the length of their set. I can't wait
until they put out a new record.
Hailing
from New York and up fourth was, MAAFA. The band's singer, Flora
Lucini, describes the band as Afro-Progressive Hardcore. And dammit,
if she wasn't right about that. The songs were tight and the
arrangements had more density to them than run of the mill hardcore.
MAAFA
was certainly the pleasant surprise of the night. Their drummer had
the kind of swing that made me want to put him in a time machine to
go up against Coltrane on Elvin Jones' night off.
The
headliner and organizer of the evening was Minority Threat. They put
the show together as a release party for an EP. I crossed paths with
Minority Threat several months ago on Bandcamp off of a
recommendation from former Vice/Noisey writer, and current labor
rabble rouser, Kim Kelly. I was an instant fan of the band and had
to pick my jaw up off of the floor when they started playing shows
with Killer Of Sheep every now and then. This was the first time
that I was able to make it out to see them and Minority Threat did
not disappoint.
Minority
Threat has an approach that would fall in the category of
unfuckwithable. They were the perfect band to bring the night to a
close with a burst of energy to get me back on the road.
There
was a complete and total lack of bullshit attitudes throughout the
course of the night and a groundswell of positivity. If that's where
Punk Rock is heading, I can't wait to get there with it.
Here are
links for those who may be interested:
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