ORIANS: Young, wannabe punks ruin local band scene

There seems to be a fine line between music venue and fashion catwalk these days. And what's more ridiculous than the costumes kids are wearing these days is feeling old and outdated at the age of 21. Every show I go to now makes me feel like a babysitter for kids whose idea of punk rock is Green Day and Blink-182.

Are you 16 and angry at your parents? Well don't try to examine your feelings and figure out what's going on in your head. Instead, cake on some eyeliner, put on your fishnets and head out to the closest attempt at a punk show you can find. When you're there, don't support the local bands. Instead, hang out outside and bum cigarettes off the older kids. When your favorite band plays, make sure you tweet extra hard how much you <3 them. After its set, hit on the lead singer and buy the band's bracelets. Then leave immediately. Don't stay for the rest of the bill, they're not worth your time or money.

I've seen some great venues turn for the worst because of this "seen scene" phenomenon. It's not even worth playing at these places anymore simply because you have to deal with the baggage of the crowd. There is a hole in the scene, and we're trying desperately to fill it.

So what does a guy in a band do when playing local doesn't work out anymore? We get as far away from here as our vans will take us. As long as we can afford to be away from home, we'll stay out. There's very little difference between "touring" and "running away" at this point. At least I can say so much is true for me.

I've played shows where the local scene is more inviting to us than Nebraska has ever been. And it's almost heartbreaking to deal with. But we do what we can with what we've got. We hold out our day jobs until we can afford the gas to get us to New York and back.

There's also this sense of "paying your dues" that I can't get over. Whatever happened to just having fun and playing shows? When did politics come into play? Apparently in my year absence in 2008, everything changed. Or maybe nothing changed and I'm just oblivious to what's always been happening. Maybe there's always been a sense of entitlement among the older bands that have played more shows and kids have always tried as hard as they could to look cool.

Maybe I've just become cranky in my age. I know for certain I'm jaded and bitter. Maybe if I stop doubting and judging the scene so much, it'll become what is used to be. In the mean time, I'll continue being cranky, thank you.

neilorians@dailynebraskan.com