Shawna’s Blog

In general, I am against band reunion shows (though I admit to going to a few of them). It’s like a relationship—there must be a reason you broke up in the first place, so why beat a dead horse? Last night I went to see Scream, a harDCore band I’d seen many times in the 80s, and I’ve gotta say—it was awesome! Part of the excitement was the music. I surprised myself with all of the lyrics I remembered. But much of the night’s happiness, for me, was seeing old faces in the crowd and reconnecting with people. Before Facebook, before the Internet, before Twitter, the only way for me to see many of the people I shared this love of punk music with was to just show up at a show. There were faces I’d see over and over again, people that I never even talked to but who felt like family just because I always knew they’d be there. We’d acknowledge one another with a nod or a smile. There was a real sense of community. With moving and age and career pursuits and venue closings my horizons have expanded, but I’d also forgotten that feeling of instant familiarity. Last night, it came back.  I was a part of this scene and it was a part of me. It nurtured the writer and the rebel in me. For the first time in a year since moving back to DC, I felt like this was my home. Hello, again, old friends. And thanks.