At this point, there is loads of vintage footage of the golden age of hardcore punk (whichever years you care to categorize as such) out there on the interwebs … it’s usually just a matter of finding it. In my continuing search to track down evidence of a short-lived music venue on Bond Street off Broadway called Downtown (which I spoke of here), I stumbled across this mini-documentary about the then-percolating New York hardcore scene of the early 80’s that I thought, given this blog’s firmly established predilections, was worth sharing here.
It’s hard to put a date on this, but possibly `82 or `83? Harley Flanagan (then ex-drummer of the Stimulators and future founder/bassist of the Cro-Mags) looks so young here, that it seems well prior the more formalized era of the Cro-Mags. This seems more in line with the years that Drew Carolan was shooting his photos across the Bowery on the southwestern corner of Bowery and Bleecker (where that frankly incongruous Joey-Ramone-in-boxing-gloves mural is today). I’ll defer to more knowledgable heads on this one. There's one dude featured sporting the ol' Bad Brains How Much Can Da Youth Take? shirt that used to hang on the wall at Bleecker Bob's during that era.
Another tip-off that it’s early NYHC is the sort of sartorial/tonsorial punk rock hangover in effect. Later eras seemed to pair down the mohawks and such in favor of a more utilitarian aesthetic.
In any case, enjoy this fleeting trip back to the Bowery of the early `80s, when it was still considerably dingey, dicey and dangerous. There were no coffee bars, high-end bistros, bespoke haberdasheries or posh boutique hotels.
MORE...
Matinee Memories
Matinee Memories Deluxe
Matinee Memories Redux: Back to Drew's Studio
The Hardcore Kids
None the Worse for Wear: The Life & Times or RB Korbet
East Village `86 and 'NYHC'
Lacking Guidance on the Bowery in `83
Sucking Up Crumbs
Mohawk Night at Club Berlin: Scorsese's take on NYC Punk in 'After Hours'
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