Jade Devitt: The best gig I ever saw was Bad Brains at Legends in Tacoma, WA, Sept. 1989.
At age 17 I found myself living in a punk house with five dudes, just days after graduating high school. Mike Dees & Craig Becker from Olympia-based punk band Fitz of Depression were not only my housemates, but coworkers as dishwashers at the upscale marina Budd Bay Cafe. Our lives had little separation as we idled the days away bombing hills on skateboards, dropping acid, buying records, hanging at their rehearsals, and downing cases of Rheinlander Beer every afternoon for $6.50 a pop, aka “Beer:30”.
Mike was a key part of the scene and introduced me to his friends Kurt Cobain and Kathleen Hannah, well before they were well known. The summer was filled with amazing shows including Melvins, Seaweed, and Sleater Kinney. But the show we all had marked down was Bad Brains at Legends. The furious NYC hardcore band were idols to us, the soundtrack to our teens. And only matched in impact nationally, by Black Flag and Minor Threat. When the Brains hit their first note bedlam broke out into the biggest circle mosh-pit I had ever seen, or have since.
Imagine half a football field in a whirling dervish of leather and plaid, unified in sound. Frontman HR was frenetic, a familiar form that was a lightning rod for the room. Guitarist Dr. Know navigated flawlessly through the bands disparate musical forms, from high-speed punk burners to slowed-down reggae, to rock anthem solos. The rhythm section of Earl Hudson and Darryl Jennifer flexed with an articulation and clarity that few have ever accomplished at such breakneck tempos. It was a watershed moment in the my life. And still spoken about in many corners of Northwest punk lore.
Gale Forces’ Highlights of Existence album is out now.