"People suck. Society sucks. Government sucks. This country sucks." Ah, punk music, the enduring spirit of nihilistic youth. One might wonder exactly how this type of music fares after the Sept. 11 attacks. This past Saturday, the Massachusetts Tattoo Fest's Back to School Jam answered this question with ten continuous hours of punk.
At the Worcester Palladium, a slew of bands - mostly local - performed on both the small club-like upper stage, and the main stage in the basement. People moved freely between both shows throughout the afternoon and after about 5 p.m. the upper stage area was cleared out as better-known bands began playing downstairs. Dedication, Panic, Carry On, Over My Dead Body, Death Threat, Kill Your Idols, Hope Conspiracy, Figure Four, Most Precious Blood, Pug Uglies, Unseen, Stretch Arm Strong, Reach The Sky, and Converge gathered growing crowds, although the majority of the audience came for the touring trio of Tiger Army, Sick of it All, and Dropkick Murphys.
The crowd was not all mohawks, spikes, and chains. The performing bands varied in style and in turn attracted diverse ages and looks. Anticipation marked the young faces of the audience, at least until the evening came and people grew weary waiting for the headliners to arrive. Despite some problems with the sound equipment, Sick of it All and Dropkick Murphys refueled the crowd with frenzied passion. For a mere $20, the audience got much more than they paid for.
The overwhelming tone of all of the performers was one of sympathy and unity. Most bands started their sets with words of condolence - strangely ironic, considering most songs were packed with furious roars and pounding instruments. Unseen dedicated their entire set to those connected with the World Trade Center attacks. They commented, "That's f-ked-up... This song is called 'Are We Dead Yet?'"
Dropkick Murphys dedicated individual songs to the New York Police and Fire Departments, but played "Pipebomb on Landsdowne," a pyrotechnical satire of Boston's club scene, anyway. Regardless of such contradictions, bands acknowledged the national tragedy in non-aggressive ways, through simple words or overbearing stage preaching. Some bands used their speeches to fuel energy with patriotism and unity. Reach The Sky best expressed the mood by noting that the concert brought together completely different groups of people on the sole basis of appreciating something as silly as punk music.
The sense of unity could be seen in the relatively courteous mosh pit, where complete strangers would sometimes put their arms around each other and dance. (If a clean-cut high school student wearing a Weezer t-shirt and a skinhead arm in arm, dancing in time doesn't move you, what does?) Many band members seemed to dance and stage dive as much as the audience. (The award for best stage dancing goes to Tiger Army's Rob Peltier who rushed and danced with a stand-up bass across stage with the impressive agility of a piccolo player.) The fact that audience members could stand on the sides of the stage as the band played further evidenced a strong sense of unity.
Bands even traded members for some numbers. Since there were no bouncers, the performers got as beat-up by stage divers as the audience. With the audience on the stage and the band in the crowd, equality between all music lovers reigned in the concert hall.
Irony and equality gave the show even more power. Some of the money made on ticket sales and t-shirt sales will be donated to the Sept. 11 Firemen's Fund. Although many avid concertgoers may say that nothing has changed since the attacks, there was one striking difference: nothing the performers said or did received more cheers than their displaying of the American flag.
