0 [WATCH OR DIE! #3] Bad Brains: Live at CBGB 1982

Words by Jerry Howard

The super bad ass punk band Bad Brains taught me a lesson that has stuck over the years. As a teen, I blasted punk/metal/thrash and finally a wise soul introduced me to Quickness via a second generation tape that my ghetto blaster punished unmercifully until obliterating the worn tape into pieces - a sad day indeed.

Finally, I purchased I Against I and found that I needed to pick myself up from my backside after witnessing the cover and liner notes from the album. The dudes in the band were African-American! Preconceived notion led me to believe all bands, at least most of the bands I listened to within the genre, were Caucasian. Not only were the Bad Brains African-American, but they were Rastafarians who cut reggae jams along with crazy punk rock. Right there, the Bad Brains destroyed stereotypes for me.

Thank you Bad Brains!

Not as much but with such intensity.
I'd like to be what they would not want me to be.
I like to cram their chivalry inside their guts.
I'd like to leave it all behind with the rest of the nuts.
I, I.
------"I" by the Bad Brains.

But the lessons didn't stop there because the Bad Brains proceeded to school me in the art of punk, hardcore - whatever! The Bad Brains had IT and I had never, ever heard anything as powerful and hardcore. These cats could not be touched and the thing I admired the most (still do) is their independent spirit and true punk rock attitude that screams, "Fuck you! We're doin' things the way we want to!" No thought seems wasted when it comes to their music. They play what they want to play sending negativity associated with labels/stereotypes out where it belongs: on its ass!

The ferocity and sheer greatness of the Bad Brains have been captured with the DVD release of Bad Brains: Live at CBGB 1982. Some smart analog heads taped the band's performance at the CBGB's Hardcore Festival that spanned three-days starting on Christmas Eve. The DVD wastes no time as the mighty Bad Brains launch into a relentless, punk rock assault with their classic "Big Take Over." The crowd erupts. A bulky guy with a mohawk starts thrashing around on stage and it's on. Stage divers materialize from another place, wild-eyed, ready to thrash, but the wildest of them all proves to be H.R.: the Bad Brains' enigmatic front man who exhibits amounts of energy that must be witnessed in order to comprehend.

All the classics reside on this DVD: "Banned in DC," "Pay to Cum," "Riot Squad," (which proves to be another onslaught of madness), and "At the Movies." Audiences are treated with excellent footage of H.R., Dr. Know, and Earl Hudson, but Darryl Jennifer is noticeably absent. Obviously, the filmmakers had to station themselves to stay out of the scrum and Darryl unfortunately is the odd man out. In fact, Jack Rabid, editor and publisher of Big Takeover magazine, infers he, "must not have signed his release, the camerapeople film him so rarely." That is from the liner notes of the DVD. Too bad, Darryl is a bad ass mofo whose unfaltering bass style keeps up the Bad Brains' savage pace along with Earl on drums.

However, having said that, Bad Brains: Live at CBGB 1982 is a masterpiece. Criticism comes due to selfish reasons and the guerrilla footage absolutely parades the Bad Brains in peak form when they could not be touched by anyone - nobody! It's an important primary resource document revealing the talent of one of the most important bands in rock and roll history. Watch or die - or just maybe miss out! Life improves just knowing this gem exists!

A clip from the DVD: