The Vibrators, and a little Spinoza

Love that nipply shirt.



In 1976 The Vibrators came on the scene in "new wave" punk London. Their first gig was with The Stranglers (ever heard Golden Brown? One of my fav's). Vib's also played with the Sex Pistols, Clash, Iggy, Bowie, and guitar great Chris Spedding. You should check out their songs, like London Girls and Sweet Sweet Heart, both on their Pure Mania CD.


So they were in Montreal. And I got a picture.

They're real sweet hearts too. And can still rock.

Their line up has shifted over the years, but their last addition, bassist Pete, is awesome. Even after falling into a corner after the first encore (which included snotty Montreal punks getting on stage and grabbing the mic to yell stuff at the poor sweaty guys) they came back for more. Another 3 songs. Great! Pete let us know what bastards they were for demanding more, but through clenched teeth, smiled anyway. After calling them all bastards, that is. I felt bad too, not a lot of people were buying stuff after the show. Mostly broke ass punks, so probably not a lot of money in the place, or most being spent on beer/drugs. The usual. But I had to buy something. It was kinda sad. I mean, the tickets were cheap at 10 bucks, so they're probably not making a lot of money touring, and considering they've been doing this for 30 years, they must be pretty sick of not making money. Not that real stuff ever equals itself in monetary value anyway--look at poetry. It's not fair. Why don't people celebrate great talent like these guys? Knox is a fantastic songwriter and the songs are amazing. Maybe I'm being naive. Maybe they are celebrated in alternate ways that make it all worth it. I mean, in the end, the music is payment enough right? Yeah right.

It was a little strange though. Drummer Eddie seemed to now and then be playing to the crowd, in asking "what do you want to hear" and almost bowing to them so that the show became something everyone could participate in. Which is cool, but all the punk was out of it. I suppose after 30 years you have alternate perspectives on things. A wife maybe, kids. Grandkids. Who knows. Maybe on Sundays they sit around playing Scrabble and watching kids throw up on the carpet of their London flat. Or maybe they participate in marathons or tend to their herb gardens. I know Knox is a painter. Good one too. But I couldn't help but think that somehow they were selling punk. And you can't sell punk. That just takes the reality out of it. Or maybe it doesn't, sadly.

Quick note on the two opening bands. They were awful. Copies of crap that's been around for 20 years. Real stupid in that trying-to-be-punk way.



I was thinking why it is that I love punk so much. It's simple, really. It's our insides, turned out. Raw. Real. Nothing to hide behind. I mean, people were spitting. It was kinda gross.






Reading Spinoza's Ethics last night. My roomate gave me an ink bottle and a real feather pen to write with for my birthday. So I was dipping, writing, til 2. Took some time to draw black ink flowers on my fingernails too. I mean, what else are you supposed to do with ink? Really enjoying the Spinoza. Love how it flows from sequence to sequence, and references previous logical proofs and makes tidy, well-thought-out, and generously intelligent claims about the nature of existence. Rationalism saved me when I was 21 and discovered such things in first year philosophy class. My first love?

Rainy afternoon in Montreal. Going to the library soon to finish my last essay....listening to the pistols.