Asking For It

Part 2

No one loves music more than Dr. Filth, and he was already a fan of AFI. They were playing the following month at the East Coast Skate Terminal. There wasn’t much in Binghamton for the punk kids to do, so I was going to go to the show whether I liked the band or not.

The East Coast Terminal in Johnson City, NY, was the largest indoor skate park on this flank of the nation. Ramps and pipes were arranged throughout the work floor of an abandoned factory. The back half of the building had collapsed in on itself, but children were still allowed to play inside and in the basement. The upper floors were warped, little plumbing worked, and paint peeled off the walls. We knew better than to eat it. There was almost certainly asbestos on every single surface.

Every punk band in the area got their start in the basement of ECT. There has always been a close association between skaters and punks, and ECT did their community service providing space for all-ages shows. You couldn’t drink inside, but there were no streetlights in the dirt parking lot. We showed up drunk and then drank in our cars all night. Naturally, this led to problems.

The police station was on the other side of the block, but cops rarely disturbed us. No one legally lived in the neighborhood, so there was no complaints, and no one could hear the music outside the building. The cops, instead, let the chaos boil itself over. As more door money was stolen at each show, and more damage was done to the building, ECT was reluctant to continue. By the time AFI played, the venue had already closed permanently, reopening for this special show only. The skate park closed a few years later, and AFI was the last band to ever play there.

The show was $15! I was young, punk, angry, and I rarely have a spare fifteen bucks now, let alone then. That money was better spent on beer anyway.  The opening bands were this local band and that local band that I’d seen twenty times already, so I didn’t go until late. I hung out in the parking lot chatting and checking out how people were being marked at the door.

Blue marker. One single check in blue marker, and nothing else. Fifteen dollar cover, and not even a bracelet. I walked down the street to CVS and bought a blue marker for a dollar. Not a bad show for a dollar. AFI changed my mind that night. Their rock was unstoppable. I bought “Black Sails on the Sunset” the next day.

Continued tomorrow