Coptic Times - Bad Brains

Just when you think it couldn't be as bad as you imagined it could be, then the proof comes out and it's even worse than you imagined. A Black Flag cover band is the main draw for Punk Rock Posing this year, and people are losing their minds over this? Really? I guess those people didn't see the exact same line up of karaoke stars stumble and plod their way through a few songs at the Goldenvoice 30th Anniversary show a few years ago. Here's some video footage in case you didn't see it. Watch how all the bright flashing lights make up for the fact that there's NOTHING going on on the stage, in the audience, nowhere.

Yeah, so let's assume that the band learns every song that Keith actually sang on while in Black Flag (side 1 of the Everything Went Black album and the Nervous Breakdown single), and, like he does in every band he's in, Keith sings a few classic early Punk Rock songs from the L.A. era (something from the Weirdos or the Dils), and he tells his stories about how much he loves Jeffrey Lee Pierce and The Gun Club, well, let's see, that's about a half hours worth of stage time. Perfect to play a set for the Punk Rock sheeple to line up and pay to be fleeced. And no matter how hard you believe in it, I hate to break it to you, but you're not seeing Black Flag. Sucks to be you, I know. And Bad Religion? What a fucking joke. They haven't been relevant since Against The Grain. Same with The Bouncing Souls. Their last records have sucked so badly it's almost embarrassing to admit to ever liking them at one time. Sub/Hum/Ans? The Damned? OK, good choices, but they might cancel out like other bands from across the pond have done every year in the past. And the rest of the announced bands? Extremely lame. The Lower Class Brats are playing here next week @ LVCS, and I have no idea why they're playing that venue. Are they that big of a draw? Seriously? And D.R.I. just played here a few months ago - same with the $wingin' Utter$ - and I'm sorry to say, but neither one of those shows were very well attended. I have no idea why that is. I guess the secret of putting on an event like this is getting together a bunch of bands who don't draw well on their own and putting them on display in a cattle pen for everyone to stand and stare at. Whatever. Some people like seeing bands up close and intimate, and other people like seeing bands in a Cockstar environment only when it's the 'cool' thing to do. Enjoy your Punk Rock Posing sheeple. I'm planning on staying as far away as possible from that thing. :-)   

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If you wanna get a real dose of what Punk Rock is supposed to be about, in both Music and Attitude, then come out tonight to the Artifice and check out Unfair Fight and The Fat Dukes Of Fuck. Yeah, I know the gripes about Artifice, and I'm not gonna rebut a single one of them, but when you got a lot of Friends there, hanging out, having fun, then you can really make it into a good time, which is exactly what's going to go down tonight. See ya there!