Thursday, October 22, 2009
Film / Music / Post No Bills You Weren't There (and Neither Was I)
Posted by Peter Margasak on Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 1:45 PM
- Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun
I settled in Chicago during the summer of 1984, though I’d also spent the summer of 1983 here, during which I attended the record-release show for Naked Raygun’s classic Basement Screams at Tut’s. But I missed out on most of the scene documented in You Weren’t There. Eventually I would hear music from early Chicago punk bands like Strike Under, the Subverts, and End Result, but I have to say, during the first half of the documentary I was learning an awful lot about a sorely underdocumented scene. I feel foolish admitting it, but I’d never even heard of Tutu & the Pirates.
Most of the key players from the scene are interviewed, and their often witty reminiscences are intercut with super-rare video footage of many of the bands. What emerges is a picture of the circumstances that helped produce some of the best music to come out of Chicago: because there was no industry, no infrastructure, and no hip media presence, anyone who wanted to make art or have fun usually had to create a situation from scratch. This explains why early punks often made common cause with the gay community and hung out in gay bars—two persecuted minorities joining together because they each had something to gain.
When the scene developed and some bands found a modicum of success in the early 80s, rifts started to appear, and in the movie you can still hear bitterness in the voices of singers John Kezdy (Effigies) and Vic Bondi (Articles of Faith) nearly three decades after the fact, as they harp on relatively benign philosophical differences as though they were mortal enemies. By the time hardcore rolled around, the punk scene was well into the hangover after the party, and the final section of the film devotes attention to some truly marginal acts—you could perusasively argue that they’ve been forgotten because they kind of sucked, not because the forces of history conspired against them. Nadsat Rebel, Verboten, and Losurdo’s Life Sentence weren’t any good the first time around, and they haven’t improved with age.
Clocking in at two hours, the film is about 30 minutes too long. Some easy fat to trim would’ve been the tedious coda, where many of the subjects come off as curmudgeonly old men (I think there are three or four women featured in the whole movie). They recall the good old days and rip on subsequent generations for lacking originality, failing to understand what punk was all about, and/or pursuing commercial motives. It’s at this point where I really started to notice all the balding heads and middle-age paunches.
Following the Saturday screening the Empty Bottle hosts a show featuring reconstituted versions of three of the bands from the documentary: Silver Abuse, Tutu & the Pirates, and Wes & Brian (of Savage Beliefs).
Below is the trailer for the film:
Today’s playlist:
Jimmy Ruffin, Ruff’n Ready (Reel/Soul)
Regina Souza, Outonos (Biscoito Fino)
Peter Serkin, Ida Kavafian, Fred Sherry, and Richard Stoltzman, Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time (RCA Victor)
Lokai, Transition (Thrill Jockey)
Pax Nicholas & the Nettey Family, Na Teef Know de Road of Teef (Daptone)
Showing 1-13 of 13
Exactly, you dumbass - by admitting that you didn't arrive to Chi until '84 (previous summer notwithstanding), you negated any credibility you think that you might have had to review this documentary. Remember that those of us who WERE there might be balding & paunchy, but we still don't take kindly to arrogant little shits like yourself who think they are qualified to express opinions regarding matters that they really know nothing about.
Just to clarify , my band that I played in when I was 16, Life Sentence, is on screen for about 3 seconds, and Nadsat Rebel is on screen for about 5 seconds.Verboten is featured in the All Ages segment, and in that context,you'll know why they're in there if you see the film. Oh yeah, the name is LOSURDO just like it says on the DVD and press material.
Joe, I apologize for the misspelling. No excuses on that front. But you seem a little defensive about what I wrote about the hardcore bands. I think it was important to include them--I only mention that fact that they weren't as strong musically as most of the other groups. I think it was pretty clear, but I felt you did an excellent job and kept everything eminently watchable. I just found the grousing at the end a little unfortunate.
As for Mr. 114 Naked Now-nows (I think it's safe to assume you're a man by the sheer power of your words), I'm sorry that you think only people who were part of history are able to have an opinion on it. Thank god you're totally wrong.
The "paunchy old men" were right. Btw, if you settled here in 84, you're a paunchy old man now too.
-Old Lady Who Was There
Looking forward to the moral effeciency of Savage Beliefs!
What time is the screening on Saturday?
Screening is at 7 PM.
Anybody know which Silver Abuse line-up is playing at Empty Bottle? I'd like to see drummer Bob Damrau play again.
some seem too really hone in on that "paunchy" part, ha! Will there be another chance to see a screening of the film?
It's nice to see punkers haven't lost their attitude in this comments section. I was there, but in a parallel universe. I went to La Mere once with my punk-tendency boyfriend, but Huey's was a place for me to see the blues, Tut's was the still-lamented (by me) Quiet Knight for folk-jazz, Mother's was kind of a suburbanized rock club that I never really liked, and I was as Biddy Mulligan's (also an interracial club in Rogers Park) for blues.
I agree that the film needed some tightening, but I really dug it. I really would like to see End Result reconstituted. Had no idea Steve Albini was such a dick.
Loosegrip - The screening was to launch the DVD.
Hey Peter - Nadsat Rebel was a good band. I should know - I was in it. How many 15 year olds do you know tripped out on Killing Joke, Discharge, Motorhead, and Wire, organized their own shows, appeared on comps with Husker Du and Big Black and opened for every major punk band? I'd like to hear your band from high school - we can compare. And Verboten rule (better than Nadsat Rebel) and Steve Albini is no dick. As for history, yes, Effigies, Naked Raygun and Big Black have aged best. Great remains great. But what Verboten, Nadsat etc. did best was validate expression for those that had none. We rule, okay? (Pun for those who actually were there...) Best, Matt Diehl
Just watched the movie on DVD. I too liked the early band and club history. The movie lost me when it went into the bickering between the bands. While I enjoyed the interviews of the bands and promotors, I think the film is sorely missing opinions/observations from those in the scene -- those that went to the shows or hung out at the clubs. I also disagree that the scene died by 1985. It was alive and well and some of the things from '85 like Aetna Park, Medusa's, bands like Out of Order and No Empathy, and how punks started moving from Lake View into Wicker Park, need to be documented. I also liked Life Sentence (it's okay to give props to your own band Joe) and Nadsat Rebel. These bands had decent followings and deserve a little more credit.
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