Complicated Fun, or the fine art of being Real Cool

In the Summer of '78 I was slaving away washing dishes at the Mr. Steak Restaurant on Riverside Avenue, trying to payoff my first electric guitar that was on layaway at one of our downtown music stores. It was an electric guitar that I HAD to have, having just seen KISS at the St. Paul Civic Center in December on their Alive 2 Tour. The loud guitars and flash pots blew me away, and I saw how much the chicks in the crowd were digging it. I need one of those guitars, I said to myself.

On July 28th, I decided to take a one day break from the guitar fund, cause Cheap Trick was playing at the State Theater on their Heaven Tonight Tour. They mentioned KISS in their song Surrender, so I had to go! For the life of me, I can't remember if there was one or two warm up bands. All I remember was being fucking BLOWN AWAY by The Suicide Commandos. No explosions, no fire breathing, no levitating drum riser adorned with kitty cat statues. Just fast, catchy, stripped down, in your face, punk and roll. Most of the crowd that was there for the power pop of Cheap Trick were unimpressed with the musical stylings of the Commandos, and they were showered with boos. I became a fan for life. At that time, there was no such thing as an all ages show. There were arena shows, and there were bar shows. That meant that a 16 year old fan would have to be content with listening to their album, and missing out on all the live shows. ( sad face )

Fast forward 38 years, and I find out they're playing at First Ave with Husker Du axe man Bob Mould's band! I get my ticket 2 months ahead of time, and wait, wait, wait for show day. Show day arrives and I am super psyched! Before their set, I met the guys at the merchandise table, and they signed my album for me. The album that I bought 38 years ago, that survived 5 moves and countless house parties has FINALLY been signed! So they go backstage to get ready for the show, and I go to get a spot on the dance floor. Curtain goes up, stage lights come up, and I'm seeing The Suicide Commandos live for the first time since 1978. They ROCKED the fucking house, playing an AWESOME set, and there weren't any dickheads booing this time.