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Two Legendary Punk Bands Hit the West Coast!

Music >

Many of us here at Brown Paper Tickets came up in the punk rock scene. The sense of community and DIY aspects of the punk scene still ring true in many of our company policies and you can often wander by any given desk here in our offices and hear punk music coming out of the computer speakers, see punk fliers on office walls and of course, catch many of our employees sporting a t-shirt of their favorite punk band.

So, while I was perusing upcoming events that we are ticketing, I was thrilled to see that we’re ticketing shows by two punk rock legends, UK street-punk band The Business and Northwest hardcore legends Poison Idea.

The Business formed in South London in 1979 and became associated with the Oi! Movement that was beginning to take the London punk scene by storm in the early 80s. The Oi! or “street punk” scene sparked controversy largely due to its predominantly skinhead fan-base and was wrongfully associated with racism and far right politics, despite many Oi! bands playing Rock Against Racism concerts. The Business took a stand against the far right and political extremism early on with their “Oi! Against Racism and Political Extremism…But Still Against the System” tour. Their debut 1981 single “Harry May” spent three months on the UK indie chart and is now considered an Oi! Classic. The band has gone through various line-up changes over the last 30 years and lead singer Micky Fitz is the only original member of the band left but they still deliver a blistering live show with lots of singing along and fists raised high. Any fan of early 80s UK punk should definitely check out The Business when they roll through your town. We are ticketing three shows on their current West Coast tour: the kick-off show in Bremerton, Washington this Thursday, October 13, their Sacramento show next Monday, October 17 and their San Diego show on Friday, October 21 at the Shakedown Bar.

** Warning! This Clip Contains Explicit Language. **

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToiBltWKlZc]

Poison Idea formed in 1980 in Portland, Oregon as part of the West Coast hardcore movement that bands like Black Flag and Dead Kennedys inspired. Poison Idea separated themselves from the other bands with a decidedly heavier sound reminiscent of the UK band Discharge. They also aligned themselves with LA band The Germ’s extremist punk philosophy, adopting the “no future” attitude of The Germ’s lead singer Darby Crash, who died of an intentional heroin overdose in 1980. Their debut EP “Pick Your King” is highly sought after by punk collectors and their 1986 LP “Kings of Punk” is notable for its establishment of Poison Idea’s trademark hardcore/hard rock fusion that would become their sound. Like The Business, Poison Idea has gone through multiple line-up changes with lead singer Jerry A and guitarist Pig Champion being the only consistent members but with Pig Champion’s death in 2006, Jerry A now stands alone as the sole original member. The current lineup, however, has been going strong since 2007 and still deliver the trademark hardcore sound that Poison Idea is known for. We are ticketing three Poison Idea shows: one happens this Sunday, October 16 in Canoga Park, California at the Cobalt Cafe, the next is on Friday, October 21 at Berkeley’s legendary punk venue 924 Gilman St. and finally, they’ll be gracing Seattle with their presence on Saturday, December 3rd at our favorite local punk haven, The Funhouse.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Oz0hf2nKZI&feature=related]

Just click on the dates above to purchase tickets for any of these shows. Looks like it’s going to be a great Fall/Winter for West Coast punk rockers! Oi! Oi! Oi! We’ll see you in the pit.

Image Courtesy of Photographer Ricky Adam’s Website