I Wasn't There (For the Most Part)

Joe Losurdo and Christina Tillman's documentary, You Weren't There: A History of Chicago Punk 1977-1984, made its LA debut last night at the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax, and — after hearing about it for well over a year — Carole and I were supremely stoked to finally have a chance to view Joe and Chris's labor of punk love. I'm even more stoked to report that it more than lived up to our (fairly high) expectations, and that the film is a most worthy addition to such punk docs as Decline of Western Civilization, The Filth and the Fury, and American Hardcore. Hopefully, they'll be able to find distribution for it, because it's a hilarious, educational and totally rocking flick that really belongs in every punk fan's DVD collection.

Widely ignored both during and after its heyday, the Chicago punk movement completely lacked the glitz and glamor (and mainstream media attention) of the NYC and LA scenes, or the (mostly) unified dogma and sound of the DC hardcore scene. Big Black is probably the best-known and -respected band to come out of it, with Naked Raygun running a distant second. But there were many other good-to-great bands like the Effigies, Strike Under, Articles of Faith, the Subverts, Savage Beliefs, End Result, Negative Element (pictured above), Rights of the Accused, Verboten, etc., all of whom finally get their moments in the cinematic sun in You Weren't There. I read one review of the film that spoke of how Chicago punk bands "out-played and out-weirded" their contemporaries from other cities, and in many of the above cases I'd have to agree.

And I can say all of this without any trace of Chicago scenester chauvinism because, frankly, I wasn't there. Sure, I moved to Chicago in December 1979, and I was intrigued by punk rock from a fairly early age, but I can count on one hand the number of local punk shows I attended between 1979 and 1985. Part of this was because I fell victim to the weird inferiority complex that ran rampant in Chicago where local culture was concerned: the idea that, if something creative was happening in Chi-Town, it couldn't possibly be worth a damn compared to what was going on in LA, NYC or London — a notion which was constantly reinforced by the inability of local artists to pierce the national consciousness.

(The flip side of this complex, which I never subscribed to, was the idea that the few Chicago-spawned things that DID catch on beyond the Midwest — be it Styx, the Blues Brothers, or John Hughes films — must be blindly supported and eternally worshiped, regardless of their actual worth. No, the opening night of Styx's Paradise Theater tour wasn't really an "historic event," as the jocks on WLUP claimed; but woe betideth whoever, at the time, dared utter something to the contrary.)

So yeah, I'll readily admit that, back then, I was way more interested in listening to the Jam, the Clash, etc. than whatever was happening, punk-wise, in my own back yard. This was further reinforced by the fact that I was a big new wave fan, and Chicago's more popular contributors to that particular genre — Phil N' the Blanks, Bohemia, Wazmo Nariz — were unbelievably lame, something which You Weren't There definitely touches upon. I also knew a few people in high school who were way involved with the local punk scene, and found them insufferably pretentious and prone to making endless iron-clad pronouncements about what or who was or wasn't "punk". Their attitude was a major turn-off; and since I never really had the gear (or even really considered myself a punk in the first place), I figured there was no way I could effectively conform to their particular brand of non-conformity. So I basically said "fuck it" and went back to my Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Blondie and Ramones records. And anyway, there was this band called The Kinks who I related to way more than I did to Naked Raygun, so I didn't feel like I was particularly missing out on anything big.

Of course, I later became good pals with Anthony Illarde (from Rights of the Accused) and Tom Faulkner (from Negative Element), the former of whom I played with in Lava Sutra, and the latter of whom is now my brother-in-law, and both of them have since regaled me with countless tales from back in the day that make me wish I'd done more than just catch the occasional Articles of Faith/Savage Beliefs gig at the Central American Social Club. This film does the same thing.

Actually, one of the things I love most about You Weren't There is the way it totally nails the "punker than thou" 'tude that was such a big part of the Chicago punk scene, as well as the way Chicago musicians (and really, Chicagoans in general) are never willing to fucking let go of even the pettiest arguments, jealousies, feuds and grievances. Seriously, if Chicago is, as Carl Sandburg once dubbed it, the "City of Big Shoulders," it's because Chicagoans have been hauling grudges around like sacks of manure ever since Chief Black Hawk ruled the roost. The shit-talking that goes on throughout the film between Steve Albini, John Kezdy (Effigies/Strike Under), Vic Bondi (Articles of Faith), Mike O'Connell (R.O.T.A.) and others is alternately hilarious, pathetic and oddly endearing, but it's REAL — and I've never seen another film truly capture this peculiarly pig-headed aspect of Chicago existence in the way that You Weren't There does. Watching it made me both really proud to have grown up in Chi-Town, and really happy that I got the fuck out before the concrete tentacles could wrap around my ankles and the bitterness and self-righteousness could fill my veins.

Comments

[John Battles]

Dan , I think Joe and Chris managed to capture what was/is largely an utterly humorless underground music scene , and extract the humor that was'nt always obvious , be it sick humor (Mentally Ill , God Bless Them.) or the "Shoulda been a nightclub comedian but the breaks were'nt right , even so , at least I'm not a lawyer like John Kedzy warned me I might become if I did'nt take this SERIOUSLY , and , now , I'm a Bartender and HE's a Lawyer!" humor of Mike O'Connell. I HARDLY THINK cHICAGO HAS AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX TODAY , BUT THERE'S A REASON THINGS HAPPEN WHEN AND WHERE THEY DO. We're only now being reminded that , in the mid - 70's , New York WAS STACKED a mile high in garbage , and on the brink of bankruptcy. President Ford famously told 'em to drop dead. I visited Chicago in '79 , and it was definitely a different vibe than today.My Cousin told me about the new music that was happening (And getting airplay here , tho' not in the Dallas /Ft. Worth AREA , WHERE I RESIDED , WHICH ALSO PRODUCED A GREAT PUNK AND NEW WAVE SCENE BY THIS TIME , ANYWAY...). aS IT HAPPENS , I FOLLOWED THE EFFIGIES ONCE , BUT , BUY THAT , I MEAN , THEY WERE THE HEADLINER , AND I KICKED OFF THE AFTER PARTY , TO 15 PEOPLE. I caught a bit of grief for doing a Nrevebreakers/Vomit Pigs medley from High Ranking Chicago Punk officials who thought Texas Punk = Big Boys and Dicks , but , it was all just a laugh. "You Were'nt There " points out that the Punkers at that time were verbally and physically abused as much as their Gay allies who opened up their clubs to them (Which happened in nearly every major city.).... It was'nt all fun and games. But , if it had been , just like in New York or L.A. , OR Boston , Detroit , Dallas , etc., would anything truly memorable have come out of it? John.

[Sarah Parker]

I thought the movie was great.

But actually, my favorite part was before it even began: At the premiere, Matt made everyone giggle when he stated: "I was there...but left early".

[Eric Colin]

I've only seen the rushes of it when I was at Joe's house before it was released.
Unfortunately when it screened here I suffered from an anxiety attack of sorts, most likely brought on by my fear of seeing people that I haven't seen in 20 some odd years.
I do want to check it out though, apparently there's a still of me with feathered hair at "The Hall"

[dsinger]

I can't wait to see this movie - having snuck in as a 13 year old to a handful of ROTA shows (and Raygun, Effigies, etc.), I was in AWE of most of these people. Can't wait to look at them with grownup eyes...

Any word on when the movie's making it to the flyover states?

[Michael A.]

I disagree: Wazmo Nariz's single "Checkin' Out the Checkout Girl" is brilliant!