#9 The Clap+The Mad Mummies+The Gramps+Female Trouble+Growing Pains

What's inside a cult?? The concerts we couldn´t be at.

Feb 4 2023 at the Hope and Ruin ( downstairs)

Free entry ( big thanks to Stay Sick and the Bands)

Era 1990 y el viernes tocaban la Blues Brothers Band en Gares y los Cramps el domingo en Donosti. Para ser breve, me líe tanto el viernes que mis padres me castigaron el domingo sin ver a The Cramps. Viéndolo con perspectiva, era una fantasía total que me dejaran ir a un “concierto” a cien kilómetros de casa, un domingo por la noche. Así que con mucha pena tuve que vender mi entrada. Mi amigo Javier, con padres un poco más permisivos y acompañado de su maravillosa y rockera hermana Maria, sí que pudo ir. Al día siguiente, durante el recreo en el colegio y con restos de la raya de ojos, Javi me explicó la increible locura que fue ese concierto. Luego tuve la ocasión de ver a los Cramps en dos ocasiones, pero la verdad, yo había perdido la ilusión porque para mediados de los noventa se habian convertido en un fenómeno demasiado popular, tocando más en festivales grandes que en salas pequeñas, con lo que la energía de sus conciertos se transformó a pesar de los esfuerzos de Lux Interior por seguir fiel a si mismo. Lux Interior finalmente cruzó la puerta verde el cuatro de Febrero de 2009.

En Brighton, hay un pequeno colectivo llamado Stay Sick ( igual que el album de los Cramps editado en 1990), que ademas de conciertos, cada 4 de Febrero organiza fiestas donde se celebra el trabajo de Lux Interior y Poison Ivy. A esta celebracion fuí con Victoria, una amiga de las disidencias sexuales, trabajadora sexual activista y brillante academica. Lo pasamos genial y rapidamente nos infectamos del ambiente del Stay Sick. Un culto multigeneracional con eyeliner por doquier, un poco de punk crossdressing y mucho amor por Lux y Ivy. Los documentos graficos de este post dan una idea aproximada sobre lo que hay dentro de un culto a una banda como The Cramps. Abajo de todo esta el famoso concierto en el hospital psiquiatrico del condado de Napa en California. Mi momento favorito empieza en el minuto 3:18, un poco antes de tocar the Way I Walk.

Growing Pains + The Mad MummiesGrowing Pains + The Mad Mummies

Share 50 small gigs / 50 conciertos pequeños

Female Trouble

It was 1990 and that weekend, the Blues Brothers Band played on Friday in a town near our hometown Pamplona, and on Sunday, The Cramps would play in Donostia ( San Sebastian ). After Friday´s concert, I arrived home way beyond the agreed hour and following a very unsuccessful negotiation with my parents, I was "grounded" for the rest of the weekend. In hindsight, it would have been a total fantasy that my parents had allowed me to go to see The Cramps one hundred kilometres away from home on a Sunday night. It was with deep sorrow that I had to sell my ticket. My friend Javier, with slightly more permissive parents and accompanied by his wonderful rocker sister Maria, could make it to the gig. The next day, during recess at school and still with traces of the eyeliner, Javi told me how incredibly crazy that gig was. Some few years after, I had the chance to see the Cramps on two occasions, but to be honest, I had lost the illusion because by the mid-nineties The Cramps had become way too popular, and they were playing at large festivals more often than in small venues so that the energy of their concerts was transformed despite Lux Interior's efforts to remain true to itself.

#Lux Interior could finally cross the green door on February 4, 2009.

In Brighton, there is a small collective called Stay Sick (the same as the Cramps album released in 1990), which, in addition to concerts, every February 4th organizes parties where the work of Lux Interior and Poison Ivy are celebrated. I went to this celebration with Victoria, a friend from my sexual dissidence masters, (ex)sex-work(er) activist, and combative academic. We had a great time and got infected with the Stay Sick vibe. We were all a multi-generational cult prone to wear eyeliner, with punk- cross-dressing tendencies and a whole lotta love for Lux and Ivy. I think that the graphic documents of this post give an approximate idea of what is inside a cult of a band like The Cramps. Down below is the video of the infamous concert at the Napa State Mental Hospital. My favourite part begins at 3:18. But before:

Thanks for reading 50 small gigs / 50 conciertos pequeños! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

0 Comments
Authors
50 conciertos pequeños