Friday, December 20, 2013

Al Bum Had A Reason, What Was Your Excuse? - Pat Fear Tribute

Unless you live outside of the state, country or farther than 200 miles away, as it was on a Thursday and only announced 2 days prior after all, I don't know how humans from Riverside did not show up for this event. People from all over everywhere else found time to go, but the majority of Riverside musicians that seemingly looked up to Bill were just plain absent. Possibly I am missing something here not being part of the cool guy scene in Riverside, but even some I know who live in Los Angeles did not show, Tony from The Adolescents found time to walk among the people, I doubt the backstage area could contain the Riverside contingent that should have been there but maybe I am wrong.
Friends of Bill started the night off almost garage rock style and the kids got treated to obscure punk classics, The Germs(reformed and this gig with Charlotte Caffey) found time to be there and get the crowd really going , The Adolescents as they are now were there and tearing it up and the remnants of  White Flag did their part as well, minus Al Bum and the late great Bill Bartell known to the world of punk rock as Pat Fear, but not hearing the people from Riverside yelling between songs made me think. The White Flag set I hate to say got far less notice from the younger crowd as did the other bands but that was how it was to an extent back then in the good old days. I did leave before Red Kross I will admit, Bill would have understood as he knows how I am, at least I showed up and acted the way Bill would have remembered if it were 1982 all over again.
Watching flying-v's all night on stage was bitchen, the stories, jokes, the bands and people who took time, my 2 friends who came out, made the night something really fucking cool, someone posted that as nice as this is, it should have been done while Bill was alive, and I couldn't agree more except it would have to be a roast and not a tribute then. Perhaps the tight knit punk community in SoCal, the original DIY music movement needs to think about "Roasting" some of our pioneers.
I have to thank the Flipside Memorial FB crew for alerting me to this event, without them I would have been like the other faceless nameless Riverside rift raft that never showed. I want to thank Davi or is it Davy? A nice lady with an Al Bum face cut out on a stick, she took my pic with Al so I could be with him at the gig, Al is in the hospital and not able to attend, and with the show happening so fast it just happened that way I guess. DJ Howie Pyro spun the best Bill Bartell favorites in between bands and that was like hanging out with Bill one last time, I still have my White Flag, never going to lose that...