"We're living in the age of the IPhone and this shit still happens" WHAT THE PUNK?

I've always wondered if I'm a punk spirit who happened to have been born in the wrong decade, but as we all know, New York is the best city in the world, and last night I had the chance to try a sip of what would've been if I had actually been around while the New York punk scene was hangin' out in 1982 @ A7.
"We where the right age at the rigt time. Anything seemed possible in NY then, and maybe it was.Until reality began to set in a few years later in the late 80s (you know...responsability, drug addiction, etc.) We had the time of our lives. Wether we came from good or bad families, educated or not, we found each other and hung. Really hung. And laughed...a lot. Although I wasn't in the original line-up of Borscht, they were(and are) like brothers to me, and I was eith them all the way, starting with Chappaquiddick+5. Places like A7 and CBGB (and quite a few others) were our own little world. Although I've read that punk was never about escape, looking back not from this point, I can see how it was. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. We created our own thing from the bottom up, from our gut, with our hearts. I can't speak for all the guys in Borscht, but I think they'd agree with me. And we're still laughing. I love these guys, and all four of us are grateful for the opportunity to play. (...)" said a member of Borscht, one of my favorite bands that played last night and dedicated their set to the memory of Adam Nodelman, Borscht bassist.
Borscht set
After listening to 4 bands I understood that I'm clearly not a punk lost soul, and although I enjoy hard core music and I loved their scene, I guess I'll never be able to understand them completely because I'll always be an outsider.
Besides observations like "It's 2 fucking chords all the time!" by a young guy on the stairs while heading to another stage, and the fact that I can't imaine how hard it is to fill a 15 min. set with songs that last between 30 seconds and 1 minute at aprox. 250 BPM (beats per minute) -and that'll definitely explain the sweat-
I'm never going to be able to fully understand punk. Anyway, my love for music is clearly marked by their energy, their musical structure, and their thoughts. I'm just a daughter of my time, not a regular one because I felt like the feedback that was sounding las night to which a guitar player said:"We're living in the age of the IPhone and this shit still happens"...

Here are some pics, quotes, and videos from last night (37 bands together) remembering the A7 scene and the music that changed NYC playing @ the Knitting Factory, a venue that's celebrating it's 20th anniversary and the end of its days in Manhattan because they're re-locating to Brooklyn.
"To somebody like me who never went to their high school reunion or prom, or to a lot of us who were high school drop outs, misfits or black sheep, this is as close as it gets to a high school reunion for any of us. That club opened up my eyes to a whole different way of looking at things. I was coming from a neighborhood that was full of conformity and to hear a band like Reagan Youth sing about things that I was concerned about as a young teenager was really important to me. I was looking up to guys who were like big brothers to me and they were just kids themselves...we were all just kids...with a lot of inspiration and issues and concerns...and some of us still do...but in general it was a very positive experience, especially as a 13 year old, to simply be part of ot" Kevin Kash/Adam 12


"I found the A7 by accident, on a flier that I found on the ground on 2nd ave. my best friend and I were looking for fun and trouble; we found it...the best club in the whole world. $3 admission at the door with your LESRAMAS (Lower East Side musical appreciation society) card. How cool the owner dave was to put up a dozen bands in a room that brought a whole scene together. the coolest people I've ever hung with. Some shows we fought for our lives not to suffocate and loved every minute of it. Bad Brains, Black Flag in my living room and it only got better..." Kenny Waste/Urban Waste
I have trouble uploading pics and videos again...
Anyway, here's the list of the bands that performed
-STAGE 1-
FATAL RAGE
76% UNCERTAIN
PAYLOAD
JERRY'S KIDS
ANTIDOTE
PURE HELL
ISM
URBAN WASTE
THE ABUSED
FALSE PROPHETS
NIHILISTICS
VIRUS
-STAGE2-
ARMED CITIZENS
ADAM 12
BORSCHT
RAPID DEPLOYMENT
SEXUAL SUICIDE
FED UP
VIOLEN SOCIETY
ULTRAVIOLENCE
BUTCH LUST
MAJOR CONFLICT
SUX (AOD)
REAGAN YOUTH
-STAGE3-
ICU
MODERN CLITZ
REASON TO FIGHT
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISGRACE
LOST GENERATION
CARDIAC ARREST
GOVERNMENT WARNING
KRIEG KOPF
PSYCHO
OPPRESSED/BETRAYED
BLACKOUT SHOPPERS
US CHAOS

"The only things that survive are cockroaches and twinkies" said Reagan Youth's front man.

If you want to read more click on the title of this post and you'll go to the Village Voice article "Back to the shoebox" by Tony Rettman