Void live, perhaps from this show?
1980s hardcore was a wild, dangerous scene, and Void were one of its most wild and dangerous bands. Hailing from the seminal planned community of Columbia, Maryland, mostly known for its large shopping mall, Void were aptly named, and their anarchic style could be considered a violent reaction the manicured Columbia lifestyle. In contrast to the technical and precise style of hardcore punk played by contemporaries Minor Threat and Bad Brains, Void played with little regard for anything except energy (although they could be quite catchy, oddly enough), every instrumet flailing in a 100 directions at once, definitely prefiguring San Diego groups like Heroin and Antioch Arrow, although where those bands approached chaos intentionally, almost like a punk version of more adventurous forms of jazz, Void played chaotically because they simply knew no other way. As if that weren’t enough, Void would play with extended intros, pitch-shifting effects, and even the odd synthesizer in the studio, anyway. Void were a frenetic, naive, and oddly visionary band, and were really only active for a short time, a decent chunk of which they apparently moved closer to thrash metal. This video finds them towards the end of their career, with the original lineup still in place.
Void is seen playing “Who Are You?,” the opening cut to their side of Void’s split LP with Faith. “Who are You?” is a harrowing, sorrowful depiction of isolation and nuclear family dysfunction, and one of the most intensely personal songs in early hardcore. In the performance seen here, there are two cameras, according to the video, both under the control of one Charlie Towne (Mitch Parker is responsable for the sound recording). One is located slightly stage right in the back of the audience, while the other is located directly right of guitarist Bubba Dupree.
In this live performance, the studio trickery of the recorded version is simply not an option, and the band relies on pure passion, grit, and some guitar flash from Dupree, whose guitar is cut for a few seconds right as the song kicks in, though the performance is so ecstatic its barely noticable. Though the video is edited closely to the music, the filming and editing styles are closer to documentary than music video. This decision is most likely intentional and due to two factors; the first being a hardcore aversion to MTV and anything that might be thought similar to a music video, and this being 1983, not as much as a proliferation of music video techniques and style (fast editing, odd angles from above and below) in much of musical performance film at that time. Nonetheless, the cuts come at key points in the music, reflecting that the viewer is at least to feel some connection with the music, as opposed to simply observe it.
One of the most interesting aspects of this video is that we get more or less a closeup of each band member, albiet these are more intentional and long in duration when they focus on bassist Chris Stover and late drummer Sean Finnegan. We are offered glimpses into their personality through these shots. The rock-star looking Dupree is seen smiling, smirking and enjoying himself, perhaps with a degree of ironic distance from the intsne proceedings, and while we never see singer John Weiffenbach in any kind of remotely calm moment, his constant motion and wiry movements a testament to his devotion, conviction, and energy to the music. Finnegan’s close up, coming at the 0:52 mark, is by far the most striking, his muscular body pounding away at the drums while a sneer adorns his face. Stover, who for some reason is wearing a Ted Nugent t-shirt, appears lost, and somewhat in over his head during his close-up around the 1:27 mark. The video quality here is adiquate, and the sound quality is listenable and relatively distinct, although the bass sounds weak at points. It might help to familiarize yourself with the studio version if you find this to be an issue, though it really shouldn’t be. Ultimately, this recording is an engaging, energetic, and confrontational document of early 1980s hardcore punk.
0 Responses to “Void-”Who Are You?” Live July 1, 1983”