The other night I left home to walk to the Parkside Pub in
Whitestone, Queens to see an excellent hardcore punk rock show. I love punk
rock music and this show was so close it took only a few minutes to walk there.
I have loved punk rock for a long time and knew some of the bands that were
playing from playing with my own band, Blackout Shoppers (currently on hiatus).
It was late and I didn’t have a lot of time to spend there,
but as I set out I noticed an envelope that needed mailing, so I figured I could
drop it in a mailbox on my way to the show.
Publisher’s Clearinghouse is a shitty lottery that only
requires you mail back a form. Of course my chances of winning are next to
zero, but instead of spending two bucks on Powerball I spend only the price of
a stamp. That’s a very low-cost form of gambling, though it does come with the
added humiliation of having your name on a Publisher’s Clearinghouse envelope.
I didn’t run across a mailbox until I got the block that the
Parkside Pub was on. How can I show up at a hardcore punk rock show with a
Publisher’s Clearinghouse envelope? Would that make me a horrible old poser? I
had no choice. Those Publisher’s Clearinghouse millions are destined to me
mine. If I win enough money, I’ll spend part of my fortune on starting a new
non-profit arts venue in New York City that will feature punk shows. As I
neared the show, I hoped no one would see me drop the sweepstakes envelope into
the mailbox. No one did, or at least had the kindness not to call me out on it.
It was glad to see the show was packed. There were people
there old and young and the bands were excellent. It was great to see friends
from many different bands there. Some of them are my age or even older and many
of them also have kids.
Being a parent with serious bills to pay
and a job that requires long hours means I don’t get to very many concerts
anymore. So any time I can steal away for a few hours and subject myself to the
full blasting fury of as much aggressive music I can take.
The show at the Parkside did not disappoint. The bands were
excellent. And even if they hadn’t been, it was worthwhile to see people you
haven’t seen in a while. There are a lot of people that I know and love to see
but only see them in the context of going to shows.
There are people like my friend Pete, who I ran into at the
show. I have known Pete for years but don’t know his full name and couldn’t
tell you what he does for a living. I’ve seen him at numerous shows for my band
and others. I’ve spent hours talking to him at bars and on sidewalks outside of
music clubs. I know he lives in Douglaston, Queens and used to have a
girlfriend named Nicole and he loves punk and metal music, and that’s all I
need to know. We love the music and the scene around it and so it doesn’t
matter what we may or may not have in common.
Because while the band one plays in may not last, the
friendships and the love of music will endure. People have been writing punk
rock’s obituary since the 1970s. It’s still here. And as long as I can stand on
my feet, I’ll make it to shows from time to time. No regrets. See you there.
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