Fang and South Florida Friends Destroyed Churchill's Pub, December 22

Photo by Abel Folgar

Sammymotherfuckingtown!

Fang
With No Fraud, Powerhouse, To Be Hated, Out of Sorts, and FWA
Presented by Idle Hands
Churchill's Pub, Miami
Saturday, December 22, 2012

Better Than: An Xmas weekend spent with anything besides loud abrasive music and old friends, reminiscing about those who are no longer here, in a sea of cold suds and an actual wintry evening in South Florida.

The man formerly known as Sam McBride has paid his due to society, spending six years in prison for strangling his girlfriend Dixie Lee Carney to death in August 1989 while high on heroin.

There is such a thing as rehabilitation. And while he'll never escape that dark moment in the past, Sammytown (as he's known to Fang fans) forges along with the one thing that ever made sense to him -- punk rock.

See also:
-Concert Review: Pig Destroyer Laid Siege to Churchill's Pub
-Concert Review: Holly Hunt's Year One Release Show With Torche at Churchill's Pub
-Sam McBride: Between Punk Rock and a Hard Place

This is not a story of his past. This is actually more a tale of our past here in South Florida, and how punk rock does get better with age. The proof: Saturday night at Churchill's Pub.

It is a well-known fact that Fang was formed in 1980. But over the weekend, the real blast from the past was witnessing not one, not two, but three classic South Florida punk bands reuniting on the same stage for perhaps the first time in 20-odd years.

Photo by Abel Folgar

El Gran Papa-U-Pa, Jesse Alvare de FWA!

The fine folks behind Idle Hands did everything right this night, from a food drive to assist in feeding the homeless during the holiday season to booking a legendary and pioneering punk band to grace Churchill's stage after fourteen years (and the relatively small hike of $4 on the price of admission), and then the Idle crew went even further by bringing in two old-school hardcore acts, Powerhouse and FWA, to set the mood for Venice Beach's renowned No Fraud, who'd be calibrating the night for Fang.

Still not satisfied, the promoters jumped at the opportunity of hosting a short, completely unpracticed set by Miami's famous 1980s house party/backyard punk band Genetic Mistake in memory and honor of fallen member Eric "Puke" Rivers, who passed away this year in a Minneapolis workplace shooting that claimed four dead victims and four injured. In his honor, a few Misfits' songs were performed as Ren Acosta, Juan Montoya, and Fausto Figueredo did right by their friend.

Powerhouse, helmed by the always charismatic Tim Pryce, opened the night. And at this point, Churchill's audience members were mostly in the low- to mid-40s range, and the few youngins who straggled around were clearly toddlers back when this band's crucial seven-inch was repressed by New Age Records.

Oh well ... Genetic Mistake followed and it should also be noted, for those in the know, that while they did not perform, the first official photograph of Misguided Children, a sister act of sorts, was snapped at the show, 24 years after the group disbanded; another old-timey Juan Montoya venture!

Photo by Melissa Billingsley

Misguided Children.

There is a great expression in Cuban slang that goes: (A) Raise your hand; (B) Bring down hard on some fool's head; and (C) Yell fuácata as you land the hit. Make it a little more hardcore by Anglicizing it to "fwá" and make it straight up hardcore by putting it all in caps and dropping the accent: FWA.

These days, Jesse Alvare might look like an accountant. But once his guitar gently kills and his vocals are let loose from the most dismal abysses of Hell, you know you're in for a treat.

Fuácata!!!