john was pouring his bland office coffee, telling me about the punk and hardcore shows he used to go to in plymouth.
back then, there were all of these wierd regulations at the rec centers and community-run all ages clubs. johnny law was (and still is) eager to shut down any event where kids are coming together to celebrate and move around. i'm sure if the cops could actually understand any of the punk bands' screamed lyrics, they might have been even more afraid than they were. fear of the unknown is strong enough. but strange shit, like "no dancing" rules. also rules involving insane curfews of 9pm or 10pm for live music at all ages venues, thus forcing bands to start shows at 6pm or earlier.
so john was telling me about a "no dancing" show where people protested by dancing ballroom-style, hand in hand. a pretty funny joke, sure, but it also resulted in them getting kicked out of the venue and the whole show being shut down.
when i lived in vermont, before the laws against dancing were actually enforced, i probably went to a few hundred punk shows at the burlington teen center. there was an ancient crusty motel next door, and an old lady lived in a roof-top apartment right between the teen center and the motel. she used to call the cops all the time. of course, a tangible hatred of the old lady developed among the kids who hung around the teen center. i don't think any of us ever talked to her or even knew what she looked like, but we both feared and despised her. once, she called the cops, the show got shut down, and then, the very next day, her apartment was broken into and she was stabbed. i don't remember if she lived or died, or what the motive of the crime was, but i do remember feeling kind of hazy and detached about the whole mess.
these days, the most hardcore thing about john is that he puts ten sugars in his coffee. ten sugars, i'm not kidding. i watched him do it this morning. the guy's going to give himself a heart attack.
Posted by snackfight at July 10, 2002 11:23 AM