I Had a Beer with FEAR

It was only last Friday that FEAR was booked to play the Earl last night. When you watch a band so far removed from it's heyday, there are so many reasons for one to be skeptical. The rock n' roll lifestyle isn't very kind to the body. It's not like the PGA; there's no Senior Tour. Lee Ving has always been the driving force behind FEAR, so the fact that he is the only original member still didn't concern me too much. But he's old. He's 60. What do you expect from an ancient hardcore punk band with a sexagenarian lead singer? What do you expect from an ancient hardcore punk band with a sexagenarian lead singer playing on a Monday night with just three days of promotion?

Sports writers and talking heads often make mention of something called 'intangibles'. It's that trait that certain players possess, and it cannot be measured by mere statistics. It's why you want a certain guy stepping into the batter's box/taking the shot at the buzzer/handling the ball when the game is on the line, even if his stats aren't necessarily better than someone else's. It's the X-Factor. Well, FEAR has an X-Factor. Let me tell you what that X-Factor is...

Lee Ving is probably the most obnoxious prick to ever get in front of a microphone.

It was clear early on in the night that the crowd wouldn't disappoint. It was a near sellout, and a lot of punk veterans were in attendance. And the band didn't come to fuck around. They opened the set with "I Love Livin' in the City", which is the equivalent of going for a first round knockout, and the crowd erupted immediately. After the second song, Lee Ving demanded to know the identity of someone who had been throwing things at him. A couple of other audience members ratted him out, then pushed him up to the stage so Ving could give him a pretty impressive shove/punch and then have the beefed up club security escort the guy out the back door. This is after about five minutes. I'm pretty sure this kinda shit doesn't happen at a Pennywise show.

FEAR teared through a set of classic songs including "New York's Alright if You Like Saxophones", "Have a Beer with Fear", "More Beer", "Welcome to the Dust Ward", and seasons be damned, they even busted out the holiday classic "Fuck Christmas". Beer was flying all over the place, a couple people got kicked in the head by stage divers, and the most pit, while never exceeding more than 12 or so people at once, did not let up. I took a couple of turns in the pit (can't remember the last time I was in a real one) myself and got knocked around a bit. I was half-drenched in other people's sweat from getting bumped into and picking up the people who had been knocked to the ground. And just when you thought the band had given you all they had, they showed they still had a few tricks up their sleeve and closed the set with "Beef Bologna", "I Don't Care about You" and "Let's Have a War". Incredible.

When you go watch a punk band with a 60 year old singer, there is bound to be some skepticism. Would I have preferred to seen the band in 1980? Would I have preferred to see a reunion of the classic lineup of the band?

Of course. On both counts.

But we're living in a world that has a group calling itself Dead Kennedys, and Jello Biafra is not the singer. This is the same world in which a touring band calling itself The Misfits is fronted by a man whose surname is not Danzig. In this world, this crazy, crazy world, the Germs have reformed with a guy who used to be on Buffy the Vampire Slayer "replacing" Darby Crash. In a world like this, I'll take all of the Lee Ving I can get. Maybe I'm being overly sentimental, but I find it comforting to know that there are still punks growing old disgracefully.

See you soon.