Pleasant surprise of the weekend #1

Last night we made a trip to High Wycombe to see The Mingers play. Talia, who sings, is my cousin -- I hadn't seen her for years, and punk isn't really my thing... so I was a bit unsure what to expect.

But she is lovely, and cool, and gorgeous, and she fronts the band (who are very very loud but very very tight so get away with it) like a demon. It was great. We didn't stay for the other bands, but then that wasn't why we went.

There was no bar, which I thought was a bit weird, though I knew that she didn't drink. I had thought that was a bit unusual, given that she's a student -- I am sure I have never known a student who didn't drink -- but then she told me about Straight Edge (which seems also to be known as sXe), a punk/hardcore movement which is essentially no drinking, no drugs, no shagging around. Vegetarianism / veganism seems to go with the territory also.

It's more philosophical and political than puritanical I think, about self control and avoiding dependency and exploitation, though at its extremes it can veer into weirdness, like anything else.

It also means you can play all ages gigs, and there were some pretty small people there having the time of their lives, as well as some splendidly Mohicaned very tall people (you can't get through doors very easily when you're over six foot with a Mohican, so points for effort. Though Talia told me they should really have put glue on the spikes to stop them fraying as the night wore on).

I loved the spirit of their music, even if I probably wouldn't put it on at home -- plenty of anger about the bad things in the world, plenty of energy to challenge them. And as we walked back to the car, avoiding the splatters of vomit and shrieking hordes that characterise the centre of High Wycombe (and most English towns) on a Saturday night, I thought it all had a hell of a lot going for it.

joella