Beki Bondage (born Rebecca Louise Bond) helped start UK punk stalwarts Vice Squad way back in 1978. She left the band for an ill-fated solo career in 1982, but resurrected the name in 1997.
Since, she and an assorted crew of sidemen have been shouting and pointing as if Reagan and Thatcher were still in office. Defiance, Vice Squad's 2006 effort, was old school punk full of anger and energy.
Even with the hot temperatures, expect leather jackets to be the order of the evening.
Austin's Lower Class Brats open the show. I had the opportunity to speak with Brats' lead singer Bones DeLarge a week or so ago. See how it went after the jump...
With Barack Obama in the White House, one might assume that punk of the
hardcore, old school variety might be on the decline as it was during
the Clinton administration. According to Bones DeLarge, frontman for
Austin's Lower Class Brats, that's a deeply flawed hypothesis.
"I voted for Obama," admits DeLarge, "But I don't think people
should be happy saying that they voted for a black guy, thinking
everything is going to be OK and now everyone will get along. Society
ain't like that. It's still a president. A cop is a cop. A pig is a
pig. Obama's still a fucking politician."
Old school, punk venom like that hasn't been voiced since the
golden era of American hardcore, back in the early 80's when bands like
Minor Threat, Fear, Black Flag and Bad Brains matched ferocious music
with fierce diatribes concerning everything from the foibles of Ronald
Reagan to abstention for drugs and alcohol.
DeLarge gladly accepts any association with those legendary
purveyors of bile and rage. As a matter of fact, DeLarge sees himself
and his band as the continuation of classic punk's fundamentally
seditious spirit.society," says DeLarge. "Punk rock has always had to
do with rebellion. Punk has been relevant since the 70's and it's still
relevant today."
Since 1994, DeLarge has been leading some collection of Lower Class
Brats. Under his guidance, the band has released numerous albums,
singles and DVDs. The band's 2006 studio effort, The New Seditionaries,
was actually its best ever, presenting a robust and sloppy collection
of ranting that was almost catchy and unquestionably rebellious. Lower
Class Brats has garnered a decent enough fan base to consistently tour
here in the States and overseas as well.
It's little wonder that Lower Class Brats does well in England
since the band has a definite anglophile influence. Using the film A
Clockwork Orange as a bizarre jumping off point, DeLarge has shaped the
band in his image: cocksure, anarchistic and drunkenly defiant.
"I don't care about the color of Obama's fucking skin," says
DeLarge, returning to his previous presidential discourse. "Just
because a person with a different skin color is in the White House,
that has nothing to do with what is really happening in the streets."
According to DeLarge, what's happening in the streets is a dilution
of punk's essence. He believes that perfectly coifed Emo bands have
turned punk's scowl into a user-friendly mope. DeLarge hopes that
Obama's election hasn't mistakenly placated the disaffected youth of
America.
"Punk rock was good with Reagan and it got even better with Bush,"
says DeLarge. "I hope punk doesn't get stagnated now that we got
someone that people believe in."
