Last night, I dropped by a CD Release party a friend was putting together for Upchuck, Gone but Not Forgiven.
The CD is a posthumous release honoring Upchuck, a Seattle punk icon from way back.  He was cut down by AIDS in 1991, a tragic loss to the Seattle punk scene.  Gay, known for wild punk-glamour costumes, and generally over the top, it was apparent he was very much loved by the crowd that attended.  While I never saw Upchuck play, as I was in a different place back then, I attended the party as my friend was the nephew of Upchuck. We arrived in time for a performance by The Nasty Habits, a friends band.  They did a pretty good set from my position, although Rachel, the guitar player, said they played a bit too fast.  Great covers of all sorts of 80’s music. Then, we saw a performance by the Fags, the inheritors of Upchucks legacy.  It was punk.  Punk like I remember from the 80’s.  Loud, strong, a very enjoyable performance. So here’s the surreal part.  Most, if not all, of the band was over 40.  And there was a lot of gray hair in the crowd.  All of these 40-50 something folk rocking out to hard core punk.  Wild stuff. Anyway, it was a great experience.  And I now have a fresh Upchuck CD to enjoy. Oi oi oi.
Oh, I should add.  They had a guest.  Stone Gossard of Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam.  Stone grabbed an acoustic guitar, and played a little song as Barb Ireland of The Fags proceeded to cut his t-shirt from him with a pair of scissors.  She dropped his pants, took off his shoes, and then dressed him in an awful strappy dress.  Was a lot of fun.