It's been awhile.

My initial motivation for having a blogger is to inevitably write more and to follow friends I don't see on a daily basis. I've been slacking, like most do with these things.

Let's begin here.

I saw Gang of Four at Metro last night, whom I've admittedly been drooling over seeing since I bought tickets in November. Metro opened in 1982 and has become a hallmark venue for housing early punk and alternative artists such as Big Black, Sonic Youth, Ramones, and Butthole Surfers. Metro's collaboration with Jam Productions has allowed the independent music scene to flourish--but not so much anymore. Metro used to house bands before they blew up, which still holds true, but now they fill the place to the brim for sold-out shows, causing everyone to smash together on their tiptoes to catch glimpses of the performing band.

Metro is known to be particularly punctual, so I made sure to arrive a half hour before the scheduled set time. I scurried my way to the front right of the stage as quickly as I could, probably annoying everyone I passed while doing so. Overall, the show was pretty impressive--for a band that has existed since 1977, their on-stage presence and popularity prevail. Jon King and Andy Gill have hardly aged, but the apparent tension between the two was obvious. Gill played his guitar steadily with a pissed-off look on his face throughout the performance, while King threw his arms around, pelvic-thrusting around the stage, stopping occasionally to playfully abuse and flirt with their current bassist. I'm surprised that the two are still able to collaborate on and off stage, as their relationship is portrayed as being far from friendly.