Media Culture

This is hardcore - The importance of (sub)culture in music.

Last night I travelled to Leeds to see a triple bill of Polar Bear Club, Shook Ones, and The Title Fight play in a small dingy side room at the Cockpit (which itself is small and dingy).

I went to shows like this all the way through my formative years, and never thought anything of it, but now, a good few years since I last went to such an event, standing at the bar feeling decidedly 'too old for this shit' (Glover, 1987), I could think about the subculture that I know as 'Hardcore kids'.

The first thing that struck me that evening was the huge mix of ages, both on stage and in the crowd, and how young and old appeared to be 'as one' with no divide.

And by 'as one' I mean they were ALL going "fucking mental".

If you have never witnessed a mosh pit at a hardcore show then it is a bizarre mix of violence, anger and camaraderie. Arms are flailing and fists are clenched, with all the intent that suggests, but if somebody hits the deck they are immediately picked up and offered a consolidatory arm around the shoulder and quick singalong before festivities resume.

It's the closest you'll ever get to a real life fight club, set to fast punk rock music.

Violence at gigs isn't really my thing, but I get it. It's loud angry and incendiary music that is made for the kids, by the kids. No matter how old those kids get. The Title Fight and Shook Ones looked like they'd entered some sort of elaborate 'father and son band competition', with the former band making me feel decidedly old as their youth was only overshadowed by their brilliance. However, once Shook Ones burst into life onstage they were ageless. The power that music has means that you never need to grow up, not if you don't want to.

The sense of equality and togetherness did not end with the blurring of age gaps. Each band on the bill talked of the role that the crowd plays in not only the show, but their careers and also the scene as a whole. 
The Title Fight appealed from the stage for somewhere to sleep that night, and by the time Shook Ones made their plea, the request had already been answered. Fans flocked to the merch stand knowing that their purchase would keep the bands, and the scene, alive for a bit longer.

In this scene it is not 'us and them' it is not 'the band and the crowd' it is not 'old and young'. It is 'us', it is 'we'. The whole of the room that night was a gang.

For me, it is 'they', as I was only ever on the peripheries of this culture when I was younger, and have only moved further away from it as I have grown up. 

But I still love the music, and there is a huge part of me that wishes I was fully immersed in the culture of the hardcore kid, because then I would simply never have to grow up. 

For now I will leave you with Neck Deep from the awesome Title Fight