Story and photos by John Ambrosio
Forty years ago this week, NYC punk icons Television played
their first show at the then-un-punk venue CBGBs, marking
the beginning of the golden age of the NYC punk scene. To
commemorate this anniversary, several events were staged
around the city, including discussions with Richard Hell
and Kathleen Hannah, which celebrated punk rock history.
However, the most fitting tribute to this pivotal moment
in rock history came from up-and-coming NYC punks the So
So Glos, who headlined a tribute show on Saturday, March
22 at Judson Memorial Church. And while 40 might seem a
bit old to be celebrating an inherently youthful and energetic
art form, the Glos proved that age is just a number.
The show, which benefitted the Silent Barn in Brooklyn,
represented many of the things that are great about punk;
it was dirt cheap (just a $5-$10 donation), held in an unusual
and cool space, and attended mostly by kids (including one
charismatic punk who couldn’t have been a day over
13).
After sets from local bands Arm Candy and Household, the
So So Glos took the stage—which was actually a priest’s
pulpit—and started preaching the gospel of punk. Although
they were down a member (Mat Elkins and his collection of
baseball caps were sorely missed), Titus Androncius guitarist/So
So Glos producer/fellow king of Shea Stadium Adam Reich
did such a good job filling in on guitar that the So So
Glos barely missed a beat.
The Underdogs of Brooklyn opened with “Son of an
American”, making it clear immediately that the whole
standing-a-few-feet-from-the-stage-and-bobbing-your-head
thing was not going to fly. Less than a minute into their
set, the small crowd erupted into a sea of slam dancing,
and yea the punk rock Gods said it was good.
From there, the So So Glos ran through the first couple
tracks off Blowout, including “Diss Town”, “House
of Glass” and “Lost Weekend” to “get
the boring stuff out of the way”, as Alex Levine put
it.
In keeping with the theme of the celebration, the Glos
then covered Richard Hell’s “Love Comes in Spurts”
and the Ramones’ “Chinese Rocks”. Also
in keeping with the theme, the covers were sloppy, chaotic
and a testament both to the phrase “good enough for
punk” and to the tightness of the rest of the So So
Glos’ set.
However, the highlight of their show were the few tracks
they played off their first album, which only recently made
its way out of their vault. After their covers, they played
an explosive version of “Broken Mirror Baby”
(sans saxophone, unfortunately), during which they taught
the audience the secret meaning of “So So Glo”.
Finally, the Glos ended strong with “We Got the Days”,
which devolved into a debauched celebration of all things
punk. During the middle of that song, the So So Glos brought
everything down to a whisper, before building back up and
eventually exploding into a righteous tirade against “magazine
beauty, Ritalin junkies and social butterflies”.
At the end of the night, the So So Glos had reaffirmed
that punk, though quickly entering middle age, is still
immature, reckless and fun—just as the good lord intended.
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