Rebels Of A Kind

When watching a true spectacle, there is nothing to be done except to watch intently, because you know that such a thing cannot possibly endure for very long. It transgresses so much of established, civilized behavior that it will die of its own accord even if it is not snuffed out by some external force of justice. When I see such a thing, I am glad to know it will be gone but delight in its presence before that comes to pass.

The other night, I knew I was watching a real spectacle. It was a rock band that was playing before the band I had actually come to see at a nearby venue. The first sign of what was in store came as the band was setting up. The establishment has laws it must abide by to remain a good neighbor to other business and to the people who live there. One law concerns noise, and the band jawed with the guy in charge of the show at length before beginning their set that much later. One member lectured him that "you can't ask for cookies and not allow flour" or some such thing.

The band played an ear-splittingly loud set of somewhat punk-like music. They had lots of vocals, but they may as well not have for how much they could be heard. The lead singer hardly needed to be present, except that you don't easily part with a wild, tattooed lady in overalls. Third most noticeable after the pugnacious fellow and the lady was a keyboardist who seemed to be dressed in a man-sized tiger outfit of the type really meant for children. He repeatedly ventured out off the stage, embracing me among others The first guy did this also, detaching the cord from his electric guitar and knocking down his mike stand at various points.

The whole thing reminded me of a drunken fan running out onto the field and evading security just as long as he could. It seemed that the band feared nothing like being booted out or banned thereafter. They seemed to want only to go as far as they could for as long as they could, and I can only guess that they planned to harbor no regrets whenever the thing came to a halt. It was just a reckless, loud mess, and it was the first performance of the night that really pleased me.