By Martin Unsworth
So, after nearly 16 months of staying in we are finally being given back some of our freedoms.
The last 16 months have been to put it bluntly a constant moan from folk that they miss live music. You know what? I missed you at gigs when Covid wasn't even an issue, I missed you at the merch stall, I missed you at the smaller independent gigs when you were getting your weekend gear on to go and chase nostalgia.
Punks argue that Punks Not Dead! well, you know what if we don't give the smaller bands an opportunity and constantly hand over fistfuls of cash to the punk dinosaurs from yesteryear, before you know it Punk will be a long-forgotten footnote in the annuls of history.
Let's consider what happened to these big bands during Covid, where were they? I ask that now as I see they are back and holding their hands out for wads of cash for big gigs and they've increased what they charge, they say they care, well do they? I don't see that care when a promoter has to work even harder to pay a band more money and what about the support bands? I'm sure they are glad to share a stage with the big and famous for £40 and a beer but is this right?
I'm not asking your opinion on the matter I don't care whether you agree or not your choice is to pay top dollar and wander around an empty vessel of a public building for a weekend each year or to support the smaller bands at smaller gigs each week or in fact do both and if you are one of those people that actually lives for their music well a bloody big thank you because without people like you this scene would be dead on its arse.
I've seen some pretty shitty behaviour from promoters this year treading on other promoters' toes stealing gig dates for themselves that have been the domain and mainstay of good honest decent promoters for a decade or more. Its shitty when you see this happen and you know what people, bands, Fans, it seems to me they just don't care. Punk family is a farce it's probably the most ironic phrase in the whole punk scene. It's becoming a corporate playground where money is king and everyone joins in and plays the game. Hideous.
Support the Underdog, help along the struggling band, a fiver for a cd is nothing it goes a long way. Wish i had a fiver for every person that said sorry mate got no cash to buy a CD as they are then seen buying a pint or ten later that night!
Look! Your heroes are in their 60s now some in their 70s they won't be here forever, all you'll have is a few pieces of vinyl to remind yourself of when Punk Ruled so support the new bands the kids the teenagers that understand what punk means today not what it meant in the 70s and for what I can see no one seems to know the answer to that?
Nostalgia lives in a place called memory lane
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