The Misfits
on a whim (and a tip), i made my way down to st. pete last night to see the misfits at state theater. i went into this thing without much in the way of expectations- you know, that whole retirement age, washed up band factor that can really kill a show with a lack of energy and a general “i just need to pay the bills” mentality. this was so not the case last night.
i was highly impressed with these guys. they were high energy and when they seemed to be experiencing technical difficulty, it was seamless, unless you were really paying attention. the stage set was pretty awesome, the venue (which, surprisingly, i had never been to before) was nice and the crowd was alive. if it weren’t for the two kids slobbering all over each other, nudging me out of the way and basically trying to screw each other all over ME, it would have been perfect. that’s my only complaint really and it was minor. of course, i was sitting there laughing at the kid, because he couldn’t figure out that with the lighting in the venue, he needed to disable his flash to get a good picture. if they hadn’t been a couple of raging assholes, i likely would have done the nice thing and fixed it for him. so i’m standing there over his shoulder watching him take washed out picture after washed out picture. i just laughed at him (i guess i am kind of an asshole, huh?).
seriously, though, i was watching the pit area and, even though it was full of young twenty-somethings, they seemed to be doing it the way we used to do it before pits became slugfests……..more about chaos and violence without intent, rather than an excuse to beat someone senseless. i liked that aspect of it too, though grandpa still stays away from those things these days (i’d much rather enjoy the show). besides, you’ll never top the pit we had going for ministry at lollapalooza 2 (1992). that thing was massive and FUN. we were chucking water bottles at each other and sliding around in the mud. for those who don’t know the background, the show in orlando that year happened the same day andrew rolled through south florida, so there was outer banding happening overhead and the place was a mudbath. but that’s a tangent……
i did get a good chuckle at the kid who appeared to be 19 at best wearing the g.g. allin sweatshirt. i’m thinking to myself, this kid was in elementary school when g.g. allin DIED (and, of course, somehow didn’t manage to fulfill his prophetic ideal of blowing himself up).
the one thing the band did that kind of threw me off for a minute……he gets on the mic and starts talking about how this is “for the kids”…….looking around, there were probably 5 or 6 kids in the range of 12-15 in the place. i mean, don’t get me wrong…..it’s kinda cool to see the kids enjoying a band that people were enjoying before i was even their age, but THAT show is NOT for the kids. not implying any morality here. this is merely to say that i, at the age of 35, enjoyed that show. and i, at the age of 35, payed money to see that show. that show was for me as much as for them. but, i know, it’s cool and commendable to make it all about “the kids”. great. they are the future, but WE are the present. my take. but what do i know?
summary: a GREAT show with a couple of minor blemishes that didn’t really distract from it. if you guys are out there in another town and this hasn’t come through yet, go. it was a rather steep price to pay…..$25 at the door……but it was worth it. WELL worth it.