Hair and Rock 'n' Roll

Last night I went to the Social Distortion show at the Starland Ballroom in Sayerville, N.J. It was sold out and totally packed. My friend and I decided we "wanted to be in the shit" so we stood in the middle back of the floor. I forgot that Social Distortion came out the late 1970's Orange County, California punk rock scene and that can mean there will be a "pit" with slam dancing!!! Luckily we were on the outer edge of the slam dancing pit but we got pushed around just enough to feel like we were at a rock and roll concert but not enough to get a black eye or lose a tooth. At some point during the show I notice there is a man with piercings, tattoos, and slicked back hair in a wheelchair getting passed up through the crowd on top of peoples hands! I was very impressed. This followed by two more fans in wheelchairs getting passed up through the crowd on top of peoples hands!!! The crowd cheered and the band turned up the volume. Even tough guy Mike Ness (singer and leader of the band) had a smile on his face.

Last week I went to Giant Stadium to catch the Bruce Springsteen concert. During "Hungry Heart" Bruce ran out into the crowd and sang the song from the middle of the general admission floor. As the song was winding down with an instrumental portion from the band Bruce climbed on top of the folks on the front half of the floor and asked if they would carry him back to the stage. Sure enough, Bruce got flat on his back and had the hands of the audience carry and pass him back to the stage. I have seen Bruce maybe 60 times live in concert and I had NEVER seen anything quite like this. Hard to believe that nobody grabbed Bruce's crotch or pinched his ass......A few years ago I saw Rick Springfield at the Nokia in Times Square. He came out into the crowd and I touched his hair to see if it was real. It was but it had a lot of hairspray. Iggy Pop came out into the crowd at a Stooges show in Roseland and I gently made an attempt at pulling a piece of his hair out but I failed. Johnny Thunders was in the crowd at the Continental Divide in NYC in the crowd waiting to get on stage with his pals "The Waldos" and as he was standing in front of me I stuck my nose in his hair and took a wiff. It was fucking awful. The worst thing I have ever smelled in my life.

-Brother Mike Cohen 10.08.2009