At the Drive-In: Anthology

An Anthology isn't the same as a greatest hits or best of package... it's simply a collection of songs.

As for At The Drive-In not being on CD:UK, I can't exactly see them loosing any sleep over it (Unless they fancy Cat or something... and I don't think that's likely... she's not as good looking as everyone makes it).

Plus, they did appear on Later... With Jools Holland (a music show that actually matters, unlike CD:UK and TOTShits) ... and that was a fucking awesome performance.

One would assume that as the Anthology includes music vids and live footage, that it's a dvd. But this info is currently available.

yup i remember that. didn't they throw a kid out for surfing during napoleon solo?

it was a pretty lacklustre gig, not really worthy of them as a band. it had none of the energy they were so capable of.

i missed defacto. when was that?

x
gen

I can see where they're coming from - from all accounts, violence at punk shows in the 80s, escpecially in the States could get shockingly ugly and you can't have music turning into an arena for knuckleheads to pummle each other into the ground.

At the ATD-I show, I really didn't see any more than a bit of jumping around. Cedric, or maybe Jim, ordering the crowd to 'jump up and down, not back and forward' or summat, was really counter-productive in that, rather than a natural crowd dynamic, surging back and forward, you had a situation where people were trying to be as rigid as possible creating far more turbulence in the crowd as people pushed back against each other in order not to move from their little spot.

Discouraging violence at gigs is, of course, noble, but it's a question of both perspective and manner. You can use gentle persuation or even, good lord, wit. Often, all it takes is to remind people that others are getting hurt, to snap them out of their limb-flailing japery. I've seen numerous scuffles broken up by the good-humoured intervention of the band, be it Goldblade, Fugazi, or even Blink bloody 182 (I was at a festival, I was bored, I'm not proud of what I did, but I went and watched them, it's in the past now...they were dead good, actually).

Jim and Cedric were openly antagonistic of the crowd, which of course makes for a more tense atmosphere in which, well, shit is gonna go off. To be fair, they were on the verge of splitting up, you can't balme them for being tense and pissed-off themselves, but it didn't help too calm any violence that might have happened. I'm not saying gig-goers are precious little flowers who deserve to be gently soothed into a well behaved calm, but it's only common sense that if the band are openly angry at the crowd, or a section of it, the crowd is going to respond with more anger, not by simmering down.

As far as getting a cricked neck, despite being a nine stone weakling, I've always been the first to dive into the pit and take vicious beats from grizzled old punks, but if someone has paid their money and would rather stand and watch the band, then yeah, there's no justification for them suffering injury or even discomfort. (If, on the other hand, they're a journo who got in for free, they deserve all manner of bullying...) You can't really stop people moshing, a ban would be all but unenforcable, and would probably just create a more uptight atmosphere where real violence would go off. All you can do is encourage a less macho environment. I guess the problem is partly that venues are so packed out, that there's no room to dance, unless you want to shuffle like an uncle at a wedding it's often a choice of standing stock still or moshing. Now, there'd be a nice treat, more dancing at rock gigs.

Tell you what really pisses me off, though. Often you'll get one or two gnarly old punks starting a lone moshpit, which you feel obliged to join, in the name of charity! Said oldster(s) then pursue you throughout the gig, dragging you into sweaty shennanigans and, inevitably knocking you into innocent bystanders invoking their scowlwrath. At your age, you really should know better, gents...

*that creepy track with the Iggy Pop spokenword*

are you thinking of 'Aisha' by Death in Vegas?