Alternative Rock Isn't Really Alternative – Show Review
I went and saw a concert called “WreX the Halls 2009” with a handful of bands, notable: 30 Seconds to Mars, Rise Against, and AFI. I was disappointed with 30 Seconds to Mars because they played a song called “Kings and Queens” and they claimed it was “about you” which it clearly wasn’t as it was enforcing a gender binary. The show was filled with heteronormalivity and the crowd was eating it up. It probably all went unnoticed by the people in the audience who claimed to be alternative. They’d go to a show about being against the establishment but work and live within the system with being the servant not the master. How do they expect anything to change?
30 Seconds to Mars released a new album called, “This is War” and the title track talking about battle and believing in nothing but the truth of themselves. I don’t think they can even begin to know “truths” being so caught up in illusions, gender roles, and maintaining social order. It was like going to a show filled of Hot Topic punks. It was corporate punk with corporate sponsorship trying to pass itself off at alternative. You can’t fool me.
Rise Against is a good band and I appreciate their music but the show seemed almost as a joke. At $39 dollars a ticket – it wasn’t a diverse audience with it being mostly white males in their 20’s and 30’s with their girlfriends. It was white men playing for white men. Rise Against is a bit political but I was surprise they had a song for the soldiers called “Hero of War” which is pretty violent and sounds almost patriotic of supporting war and not being given the support back home. They sing of the hungry and the poor to the middle class which will never do anything to change things. The show was full of a bunch of liberals who are useless.
I was wearing my sweatshirt with sheeps being abducted by a UFO and I had a pretty good response to it. However, one girl came up to me and was like, “That sweatshirt is gay.” I was like, “No, it’s not.” She was like,”Yeah, it is. I mean gay like absurd.” I just kind of stared at her blankly and was like, “I got to go.” It was neither the time or place to explain to her that gay doesn’t mean absurd. It either means homosexual or happy. The sweatshirt was silly but wasn’t gay. It might have been queer because I was wearing it but it was odd that the girl felt the need to stop me and use the wrong words to explain things. I also had a moment of gender confusing the ticket lady, “Ma’am… Sir…” I was tempted to say “Call me ze” but it really wasn’t a genderqueer safe space in the middle of lots of straight males who are angry at the establishment but are mere sheeps and pawns.
So, the reason I went to the show to begin with was AFI. They were amazing and put on a great show. I know, I know, AFI isn’t punk rock anymore but I am still a fan. One of my favorite albums of all time is The Art of Drowning. I go to hear their old music. Their new music isn’t bad but not as good as their old music. I rocked out the entire time.
I just wished the alternative scene was really alternative with radical politics instead of supporting a liberal agenda and pushing faith in the system. The system was and is working for the angry people at the show who are just angry at their own banality. They are boring. Going to shows and having to drink to have fun. It’s like dude, you are at a show, you should be able to have fun without alcohol.
I was surprised at how much the music was about being broken inside with no solution how to fix it or make it better. Or how they didn’t want to make it better. Like being broken is okay and feeling nothing or pain is the way life should be. Experience, learning, is painful but life is joyous if you find the beauty in small and large. There was just a lot of hollowed shells of people, like the living dead, it was almost overwhelming.
I know I’m not perfect – but I am working on healing myself from past hurts so that I can be as productive in the world and help society. In order to heal the world, you first need to heal yourself.
