Not sure how the sublime punk doc You Weren’t There: A History of Chicago Punk, 1977-1984, escaped me considering I grew up in the exurbs, knew these bands at arm's length or intimately, and was nut-deep in the culture on the tail-end of this doc's date range and beyond.
After being supremely disappointed in the American Hardcore doc my standards are pretty low for a film such as this. But I was really impressed (and i'm a dick!)... except with (surprisingly) Albini who just validated the GodsHonestTruth that he's just an unpleasant (albeit veddy smart) cat. He also demonstrated that there was a real chip on the shoulder of these first wave Chicagowegans and that chip entitled them to blatantly dis one another at the drop of a fedora. The same confirmed for me a lingering belief, the scene not so much existed for the comfort of others but as an arena for sparring and schlong-wagging. Just a notion. And yes it seems Vic Bondi is a sad, frustrated man desperately in need of shrink time (fer reals what 45+ year old man is still publicly threatening a nemesis from 20+ years ago?)
Onward... here's the Busted at Oz comp referenced frequently in the film. It contains some really great moments: The Effigies musically bury all comers; a weird, amateurish Naked Raygun before they became formulaic/boring/male models, a slanted Urinals-like performance by Silver Abuse, Strike Under laying out a template for the sound to come, DA's pre no-wave rusty gothy-dance thing.
Yes, Chicago didn't spawn the best faces of the genre but it's still a nice artifact and worthy of study to see how the Second City handle the explosion and crafted it into a totem of themselves.
Naked Raygun Strike Under Subverts Effigies DA Silver Abuse Effigies Subverts Naked Raygun DA Strike Under Silver Abuse Recorded live at OZ, Chicago, March 9, 10, 11, 1981 ©1981 | |
 | Strike Under Subverts Effigies |
 | Naked Raygun Silver Abuse DA The license at this premise has been |
1 comment:
Who all is part of the "Busted At Oz" reunion?
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