~6/25/02-The Krays, NY REL-X, The Escaped, Backwash, Point Blank. [The Domino Room, Bend]

June 21st, 2002 saw two great bands touring from New York make an appearance in Bend. The Krays, and The New York REL-X were due to play a show with Virus 9, The Escaped, and local boys Backwash. Virus 9 was forced to cancel and were replaced with another Bend band: Point Blank. I really like the Rel-x, and was looking forwards to this show quite a bit. My official show buddy for this gig was Amber from Wembley productions, and when we first arrived the place was empty with no bands playing so we wandered around downtown for a bit putting up flyers for both her upcoming show and the one I'm helping with. This meant that I missed the opening band, Point Blank. This is the second show in a row that I've missed the opening bands. I'm a damn late slacker. We made it back to catch Backwashes set and they put on a good one as usual. I think I like these guys more each and every time I hear them. When one stops to consider that the average age of these kids is about 17 it's an even bigger accomplishment. Backwashes old-school influenced set ended and they tore down their gear, kids went outside to smoke, and things were calm. You know that phrase about the "calm before the storm"...?

What I saw:

I was sitting and talking to some friends when I noticed a string of people heading towards the door to the Domino Room. I didn't pay much attention as I assumed it was just a basic fight and generally stupid high school fights don't really interest me. Most kids don't bite off ears like a proper fighter would. Pretty soon damn near everyone in the club had gathered in the doorway so I made my way over to see what was up. From my limited viewpoint all I could see was the tops of peoples heads and hear yelling. I could tell that the "nazis" who made an appearance at a few shows in the past had showed up at this one and were being kept out by a crowd of people. At this point no blows were being exchanged but plenty of words were. Assorted Bend kids and band members were shouting the usual range of "fuck off" and "nazis suck", while the bass player from the NY REL-X chimed in with "if you don't like Jews, Japanese, or Puerto Ricans then why do you want to hear them play music?" The bonehead in question replied with (and this is a direct quote) "I don't' have a problem with black people, I'd drink a beer with a black guy, I don't like jews who are junkies." What the fuck that means I have no clue. Everyone around me got quiet and gave each other confused looks after that one. The Bend kids who were yelling would work their mouth then run back inside the venue, as if the targets of their words would bust through a crowd of 20 people to get to them. Eventually things calmed down and I wandered back inside in the hopes that the bands would start up again, getting the kids who weren't involved in the mess back inside. A good half hour had passed by this point and most of the people that were there to hear some music began to get a wee bit pissed. Next thing I know there was an outbreak of shouting, loud banging, and a guy running across the room with a folding chair! WWF look out! After this people seemed to be running back and forth between the front door and the back door of the Domino Room to barricade it with their assorted bats and chairs. Eventually frantic punk rockers came running in shouting that the cops were there, and everyone who was drinking needed to run, and lo! 3 cops did come into the show, but none came in close enough to check for drinkers. They seemed to be more concerned with the blood splattered all over the entryway and the bathroom. Eventually things seemed to calm down, and an hour after Backwash tore down their gear The Escaped finally set up to play. 

What actually happened (from what I can tell by talking to assorted people):

So as far as I can tell the 'nazis' showed up and started making racist remarks about one of the assorted band members at the show. Words began to be exchanged, and eventually it came to blows, with the 'nazis' taking the brunt of the damage. Shirts were torn off, kicking ensued, and supposedly at least one guy got smashed in the face/head with a fire extinguisher. Eventually the police showed up, and at least one of the guys who got beat down was taken away in an ambulance. I've heard several conflicting stories on what the police did at this point, from taking all of the 'nazis' away, to taking just one of them and asking the others to leave the scene. At this point everyone went back inside, and the music resumed. 

The Escaped set up their gear and proceeded to put on a great show. These boys know how to rock. This is the second time I've caught them live and they kick ass. This 6 piece band (2 on Vocals, Drums, Lead Guitar, Guitar/Vocals, and Bass) puts out a killer street punk sound and the crowd ate it up. Only detracting point was the assorted comments from the singers about THEM coming down to protect OUR scene. Oh well, they still play some great punk. Next up was the band that I was most interested in seeing: The New York Rel-X. This female fronted foursome put on the performance of the evening in my opinion. The lead vocalists incredible voice, with just the right bit of punk rock angst combined with an oh-so-feminine melodic sound, was a welcome change to the never-ending stream of male bands we hear in Bend. (Side note here, why do we not see more female bands coming through town? It seems like this is only the 3rd female fronted band I've seen in town for 10 months.) The Rel-X gave it everything they had, and made the extreme wait while the beatings ensued worth the time. The Krays were up next, and unknown to me the two male members of the Rel-X are also members of the Krays. Lead singer/Guitarist Jon plays drums for the Rel-X, while Murat plays guitar for both. Having never heard the Krays before I was interested in seeing what they sounded like. I wasn't let down, as they performed well together. Old school punk, street punk, crust punk, call it what you will. They rocked, they rolled, and the crowd got into it.  I'm very impressed to see the Lead and guitarist still putting soo much into their playing, minutes after finishing up their first set with the Rel-X. Truly some excellent performers. 

Overall the music at this latest Bend show was great. Big thanks go out to all of the bands that played, and the guys that brought them to town. The scuffle that broke out could have been handled better, but it's good to see that it didn't escalate as much as it could of, nor did it stop the show in it's tracks. I really don't want to see this sort of thing break out at every show in town, and with any luck the presence of people causing problems will stop after their treatment at this show. I for one don't want to advocate violence towards anyone. I think there's always a way to get rid of a problem without it coming to blows. If fighting continues to happen at our shows we'll stop seeing them. Venues will not want to rent out their space to a group that they think will cause problems, hurt people, and wreck the place. I've seen it happen before. It'll get to the point where the only punk bands in town will be at bars, and the kids will once again be screwed out of seeing any good live music. Think about that next time you want to bust out the brass knuckles.