I don't know what to say about the opening Neg-Heist set. Neg-Heist consisted of Dez on drums, new BF drummer Bill Stevenson (form the Descendants) and an MTV reject (with a Black Flag tatoo) on guitar and bass, and a silly character called Mugger (with a dreadlocked wig) on vocals. Half of me was saying it was sort of stupid, sexist, etc., and the other half is still laughing like hell, when thinking about it. The entire subject matter was pure, raw, unadulterated sex. Mugger's pants were ripped at the crotch, which enabled him to exhibit his genitals at will. He got a little help, around mid-set, when he was relieved of his pants altogether. The supermarket "MEAT" stickers, which were being plastered everywhere, were now finding their way to all areas of his body. Many in the front of the crowd responded to Nig-Heist's rock-sounding set by screaming, shaking their index fingers upwards, and holding the obligatory mini-torches with lighters and matches. The Minutemen were next. These guys sounded like the Meat Puppets merged with the Freeze. It wasn't as visual as Nig-Heist, but they did a' good set. Black Flag began with a bang. There was a stage invasion during the first song and the bouncers immediately went crazy. Roughing it with the smallest males and females, while throwing them into the crowd, these guys learned how to make enemies very quickly. The front was packed and some people had little choice but to be on the edge of the stage. These thugs didn't take too kindly to anybody getting on the stage and decided to play macho cop-clones for the night. Early in the set many people loudly chanted "East Side Sucks" which was repeated regularly throughout the rest of the show, because of this bull shit. People yelled to Black Flag about it but got no response. Their set had its moments, but did not match previous Philly gigs. It was quite lengthy, which was good, and included plenty of new songs. The response to the band was good, but was marred by the conditions that went with it. This scene needs a fucking hall!!

by Ronald Thatcher, pics by Al D.