Panther City Prom and the Joys of Suspended Adolescence

Writing objectively about something you're closely attached to is a difficult task. Fortunately, I don't care much for objectivity when it comes to Fort Worth and the incredible music scene this fair city has fostered. I love this city, I love the bands, I love the venues, and I love the people. I am very definitely not alone in this love. The Panther City Prom at Lola's Saloon played out like a love letter to the scene that we all adore so well. Like any good music scene there's a certain amount of suspended adolescence to be expected. As I've written about before rock and roll is a great anti ageing medicine, so it's no surprise that things around town start to feel a bit like High School. This time around, however, we have a few advantages on our younger selves. We can drink legally, we have more discretionary income, and generally we don't have to ask permission to stay out all night and enjoy these facts. Panther City Pep Rally was an attempt to test the waters on this theory, and with the rousing success of that event, Panther City Prom was a chance to take a now proven concept to its logical conclusion. This conclusion turned out to be a glitter filled explosion of 90s era rock and roll abandon! Taking the stage in front a of a blindingly glorious gold flake and glitter backdrop every band on the bill came forth with all cylinders firing, bringing new life to well known songs. School of Rock opened the festivities and proved the future is in good hands before departing to their own proms. Really, not enough can be said for the good work School of Rock is doing for music education. The Branch Dividians played chameleon, effortlessly segueing through Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Tool and Pantera hits. The centerpiece for their set though was an absolutely rampaging performance of Rollins Band's "Liar". Seriously, that shit was epic. When the West Side Drunk punks hit the stage I was quite a few glasses of "punch" into the night and doing my best to fraternize with the ever growing numbers of friends that were flooding into the doors. Once the opening bass riff to Rancid's "Journey to the End of East Bay" hit my ears, however, I was instantly compelled to cut one of my friends off mid sentence and bulldoze my way to the front to skank and sing along like it was my job. After plowing though a legit primer of 90s punk they capped their set with a rendition of NOFX's "Linoleum" which, on it's own, may have been the best punk show I've ever been to. I feel like every time Babes in Boyland plays a set they show up with something very important to prove. We now live in a world where Gwen Stefani endorses perfume, Courtney Love thinks she's an actress (again), and Shirley Manson is picking fights over the internet with Kanye West. Babes in Boyland are having none of that shit. Every minute they're on stage is a giant middle finger to these fallen heroines, taking their music back and returning the sweat and grit it lost along the way to pop stardom. Then, for good measure, they throw in the likes of L7 to remind everyone that not all the grrrls forgot how to riot. I've seen Foo Fighters before. It was a giant stadium and I was a thousand feet away eating soggy nachos and drinking overpriced beer. Dave Grohl and company delivered a tight, high energy performance spanning a surprisingly long career considering their "side project" origins. I have no doubt that they put all of their heart into every show they play. That said, I cannot fathom them in and intimate setting like Lola's playing any better than The Foo. For all intents and purposes The Foo was the Foo Fighters that night, storming through an all killer, no filler set of what have become arena rock staples. What The Foo lack in multimillion dollar stage lights and video screens they more than made up for in sheer volume and energy. That energy washed over a crowd who wasn't ready to let the good times end just yet and, since we promised not to stop when they said when, The Foo's obliged with an encore of "Everlong". Though they had played it earlier in their set the song served as a perfect conclusion to the evening. Anytime you find yourself surrounded by hundreds of your best friends, asking if "anything could ever be this good again" you know you're in the right place.

#pcp15 #babesinboyland #thefoo #westsidedrunkpunks #schoolofrock #lolas #prom #thebranchdavidians