(Some of) the kids are alright
By Todd Stadler · Tuesday, January 30, 2001 6:59pm
I saw the Mates of State for the first time this past weekend. They were very good, of course. It's hard not to like a pair of lovebugs playing drums and a wacky old keyboard while making bubblegum little harmonies. Actually, that description doesn't do them justice. Which is why I'll never make it writing for the local alt.weekly.
In addition to the music, the crowd itself was rather entertaining. In particular, there was a crew of maybe twenty kids bent on dancing and screaming and singing and flopping about and generally having a good time. This is somewhat unheard of at a Portland show, much less at an indiepop one.
It was interesting to see these kids clash with the more staid scenesters. One fellow in particular stood just off to my left. He had his arms crossed the whole time and did not move. He was probably enjoying the music, but maybe he was trying to keep it secret.
Anyway, he was clearly getting annoyed by the raucous kids dancing mere inches away from him, often bumping into him. Perhaps they weren't taking the music seriously enough.
They picked up on his little snit and began antagonizing him deliberately. Admittedly, this wasn't very nice of them, but it was funny. They would dance in his face while he resolutely remained all the more motionless. It was a clear contest of wills. They were going to have their fun, and he wasn't going to move. He didn't seem to be having much fun at this point, but you know how contests of wills can be.
At some point, it turned into a shoving match, which was unfortunate. The raucous kids attempted to point out to that there was any number of places he could stand and not be near the dancing people, while standing near the stage was probably not the best place for placidity.
But he held his position. This was his scene, and he'd likely been a part of it for longer than these wet behind the ears kids singing along with each tune quite enthusiastically.
Oh, it made me laugh. It brought all the catharsis of watching the crusty old dean, counselor, or CEO getting a pail of water dumped on him by those underachieving but loveable scamp kids, campers, or SEC agents, respectively. And while the behavior of both parties wasn't perfect, I couldn't help but sympathize with the kids having fun.
After all, who wants to fight for people's rights to be pretentious and boring? That's what's so wrong with Portland's music scene in the first place - it's choked by scenesters who could care less about good music innovation but want their indie cred props for those dope threads. Sigh.
It's enough to make me want to dance at every concert, whether it's called for or not. People usually clear a spot when a 6'2" sweaty guy is jumping around, and I could use the exercise. It's not exactly finding my life's purpose, but it's a start.