F-Minus @ Emo's Wednesday Jan.21, 2004

Black Flag, Sick of It All, Minor Threat, and Bad Brains-these are the pioneers of the hard core movement. They made short songs that shred all meaning into 2 minute concentrate of anarchy, rebellion, and anti-pop. Many bands have carried the banner of hardcore, but few have chosen to adhere to the hardcore manifesto, instead opting to succumb to alchemical variations of punk rock’s American mutated musical variant. The result is today’s watered down version of MTV2’s corporate sponsored bastardization of punk rebellion. Thus punk’s contemporary downfall: widespread acceptance among soccer moms, hipster yuppies, and Algebra teachers everywhere-a true sign of the Armageddon age (see G.W. Bush State of the Union Speech).

What does a hard-core punk to do? It’s enough to make a punk shave his/her mohawk and apply to Law School. Perhaps a trip to Emo’s on Wednesday, January 21, 2004, featuring the South California quintet, F-Minus, will rekindle the fire of punk’s apocalyptic past. Indeed, even the indie God himself, Steve Albini, thought enough of F-Minus to grace his recording presence on their E.P. Wake Up Screaming. Anyone who listens to the album will certainly recognize musical patterns reminiscent of Bad Brains, Cro-Mags, Minor Threat, and Black Flag - not a bad thing in this age that brings us hybridized musical atrocities like the current metal-emo movement. Purity can be a good thing. However, strict adherence to a formula is quite another. Lurking somewhere in between are F-Minus members Brad Logan (guitar/vocals), Erica Daking (guitar/vocals), Joe Steinbrick (bass), and Adam Zuckert (drums) who are intent on returning hardcore to a time when hardcore was new and exciting. Their latest album Wake up Screaming is made up of fifteen blazing tracks that will give punks de ja vu about what hardcore is all about.

Ok, so this particular show initially lacked audience participation. Bassist Joe Steinbrick threatened to stop playing barring an immediate mosh pit aggregation. The infested crew at hand gradually gave in to the bands demands and danced the punk rock lambada through the last half of the set resulting in an entertaining psychic tug-o-war between punk band and punk audience. F-Minus may not be the future of punk, but they are mighty ambassadors of punks’ hardcore past hopefully igniting a fascination with pure musical rebellion.

Adam Kalled