Straight Edge instead of Downfall?

"Concerts that changed lives"
 

(The European tour of Youth of Today and Lethal Aggression; concert evening on February 9, 1989 at the venue Alte Meierei Kiel)

Just now Youth of Today and Lethal Aggression were scheduled to play at the Alte Meierei. Although these two US bands went on a European tour together, a band composition for one evening could not be more contradictory. While Youth of Today were considered a straight edge band, meaning they said no to alcohol and drugs, the exact opposite was the case with Lethal Aggression. This constellation was apparently so wanted, so that this tour was discussed as controversially as possible and raised the greatest possible contradictions. So we thought. But later it turned out that there were very hard commercial reasons behind it. We also discussed intensively and came back to this concert evening even years later. The matter of Straight Edge had been on our minds for a long time, especially since Minor Threat made the topic public and we had all had alcohol problems in the past, some of which had gotten out of hand, but only marginal drug problems. Two of the clique had to go through alcohol therapy, which was only successful in one case, but still not to the hoped-for goal. After all, what good is an alcohol or drug therapy if you vegetate around unemployed or without prospects afterwards?

Now the tour organizers had thrown these two absolutely opposite bands together. Youth of Today advertised Straight Edge and propagated vegetarianism. The band reformed the Straight Edge movement. Lethal Aggression, on the other hand, understood their music not as hardcore but as drugcore. They were pretty much the opposite of Youth of Today in their approach to life. One band lived disciplined, the other let off steam, with as much partying and drug excesses as possible. In the break between the two bands, we stood puzzled outside the venue. The contrasts were now really clear to us, they were oppressive and liberating at the same time. We discussed for a few minutes in the cold in front of the main entrance of the concert hall, but we were still aggressive. We wondered why, of all things, these opposing bands were put in the same bag.The punkzine Trust called the two-band tour "the most impossible package ever." In the punkzine Kabeljau it was said: "The compilation was already quite dubious. "Almost everyone saw the topic Straight Edge differently. For some, drinking breaks were considered a straight edge phase. So according to that, you could live Straight Edge for two weeks and then start bozing again. I understood Straight Edge to mean total abstinence from alcohol and drugs. Smoking would be acceptable, and so would meat.

But others defined straight edge much more radically, so that even smoking and meat were unacceptable.
Only the topic of sex did not divide the spirits, because there all factions were allowed to give everything. Slowly but surely, the topic of straight edge became an ongoing issue, and we were dependent on these discussions. Temporarily it was all about straight edge discussions and scolding others who drank too much or used drugs. Some questions were on the agenda at every meeting: "Are you straight edge now or what?" or "Is H... still straight edge or is he drinking again?" We couldn't help but discuss. However, accusations could also be voiced from the other side. And the people who drank the most countered most radically: "Dude, do you want to convert us? Just stop preaching." "You'll isolate yourself completely if you refuse to drink." "He's sobered up beyond recognition." Lately, it was immediately noticeable when people practiced renunciation, but they were no longer so blatantly harassed and called weak men, just because they left the alcohol. After all, there was now a punk genre where alcohol didn't play a role. Whenever we talked about Straight Edge, it was in principle already too late, because soon the first one soon reached for the bottle again out of frustration with the reason: "You can't stand all this sober anyway." The concert of Youth of Today and Lethal Aggression was probably the last concert where we had something in common with our little booze clique.

After that, we argued again and again about trivialities and pretty much drifted apart. That was the time when decisions had to be made, such as refusing to join the army, do community service - yes or no, finishing school, studying, taking up a profession. It was a period of radical upheaval. Some started with alternative civilian service or studies, others failed. When finally the last one was through with his civil service, military service or whatever, we had pretty much drifted apart, just in time for the end of the 80s. For most 82s punks, straight edge was not an issue. More so for people on the periphery of the punk scene who were doing something creative or playing sports. The concert was the downfall of hardcore as we knew it. It wasn't just a headbutt, it was actually a bomb that went off. The performance of these two bands was my hardest Meierei concert to date, although we had experienced quite a bit there. Also in Hamburg in places like Fabrik, Markthalle, Molotow or Knopf's Music Hall nothing comes for free. We were never again to discuss a concert evening so intensively in the run-up to and in the aftermath of a concert. Because finally the topics of abstaining from alcohol, abstaining from drugs, straight edge, fasting, vegetarianism and healthy living were on the agenda, which was almost terra incognita for us before. Sure, there were many concerts that were unforgettable.

But this concert was about the attitude to life and the pros and cons to drugs and the yes or no to Straight Edge and a healthier life than the previous one, which couldn't go on like this anyway. However, it rang neatly in the cash register of the tour organizer and the record labels. That was the contradiction. Fortunately, most of my immediate environment was granted the mercy of the absence of serious drug addiction. We saw the junkies die like flies. We saw the drunkies brutalize and fall into disrepair. We saw people become right-wing radicals after addiction problems. We saw the super criminals take off and largely fall flat on their faces. We learned to hate the unscrupulous dealers. We learned avoid the brutalos elegantly. Soon the first ones realized that the heroes on drugs were not heroes at all. Almost everyone tried to live straight edge for a while. Some were "here a lill bit straight edge" and "there a lill bit straight edge". Others feared that Straight Edge had something to do with social isolation and loneliness and would only lead to unnecessary quarrels in drinking domains. Those who found a middle ground, i.e., stayed with little alcohol and knew their limits, seemed happy. That seemed to be a good compromise. 

But that was almost impossible and only settled down when enough negative experiences had been collected - or not - and the living conditions were stable. At that time, we didn't know of any people from the punk scene who stayed straight edge for the long term. But the genre was still comparatively young. Later a video of this tour came out, on which mysteriously only concert clips of Youth of Today were to be seen, but not of Lethal Aggression. Both bands had gone on tour with equal status. That was even more to discuss.