I went to Denton Fest this past Saturday. The idea of spending all day hanging around in a different town, meeting punks from other cities, and hearing Sarge, Sweep the Leg Johnny, 100 Watt Clock, and Braid all in one day had me all glowy and happy the entire 4 hour drive up to Denton. I was feeling great until the curse of the wimpy kid came over me and I started to feel the inevitable, familiar onset of heat sickness. I've lived in Texas for most of my life, and when I wasn't here, I was living in a tropical third world country, so I should be used to the damn heat, but I'm not. A few hours in temperatures above 90¡ and I get nauseated, dizzy, and my head begins to feel like a pressure cooker. So I spent much of the day as an irritable, unsociable ball of misery curled up on the sidewalk in front of the club.

I didn't want to miss out so I went inside for most of the bands despite the thick hot air in the Argo. The heat was really getting to me so I decided to just sit on the floor during Sweep the Leg Johnny. My head-ache made the dissonant squeals of the saxophone all the more painful, and the polyphony and rhythmic complexities just pushed me over the edge...why pay for drugs, I stumbled on the best mind altering combination around. After that good old Erin and James came to my rescue by snaking some ibuprofen from the corner store for me. I swallowed the pills and went out to the back yard of the club and slept for a while. I woke up around 8:30 feeling alot better.

One thing I keep thinking about is this one moment when I was standing by a boy I had met before. I don't remember if it was during Compound Red, Quixote, or what but that kid I mentioned turned to me and said "I don't know why, but I feel like crying." That blew me away, but I think maybe that's what I like about this kind of music and this type of crowd. Three years ago, most of my friends were the kind of punk boys that would have called that kid a pussy or a faggot. They probably would have made that moment into a long running inside joke that they could use to reassure everyone of their masculinity. It's sad that there are so many kids out there that feel like the current social, political, and cultural mainstream are fucked up, yet they reflect many of the most negative aspects of it in thier own subculture.

We're all human beings, and we all have the same emotional capabilities...an emotion can feel the same to a male as it does to a female, but a male is told by mainstream culture that understanding and talking about his emotions is a sign of weakness. It's just as wrong to expect a male to hide his emotional reactions as it is to expect a female to stay out of an intellectual discourse.

I like the social atmosphere in this segment of the scene. It's been good to see that lots of punks aren't into random destruction, agression,and self-loathing. I've met lots of kids in Austin this past year who are using their energy in positive ways like setting up all ages shows, volunteering, putting out zines, playing music, traveling, etc.

Thoughts on the use of the term "punk"

Go Home, Punk!