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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 1996)
I I By Cliff Hicks Generations identify with movmg events There is a proverb (or a curse,' depending on who you talk to): May you live in interesting times. As of today, I have lived through two full decades, an estimated fourth of my life, and yes, they have been interesting times. The world is on high speed, fly ing by almost too fast for us to com prehend. Events thought inpossible happen daily. Most people have one event that they can attach to their lives where they know where they were. My parents’ generation has the John F. Kennedy assassination. Our genera tion has several such incidents. The one that everyone can iden tify with is the Challenger explo sion. 1 was in the third grade, and thev called us across the hall to watch the replay of it. I remember. This single event set the space race (and the arms race) back fur ther than anyone thought possible. Expansionist America stopped ex panding for a time. We were too afraid to iry and: leave the planet, let alone start a war with anyone. An entire decade was defined by this event, which happened in Janu ary 1986. Then, in November 1989, while I was planning out my 13 th birth day party, the Berlin Wall was dis mantled and Germany reunified. I remember. Everyone had thought that Ger many would remain divided be tween East and West forever, and wfi&i ffie"waU dSfiiS cfewvh; the world ' " shook as millions stood in awe struck silence. In January 1991, the world shifted again; this time, at the sound of our bombs. It was the beginning of Operation Desert Storm and the Persian Gulf War. i was uuiung wiui a menu of mine on the telephone, who was terrified the conflict would become another Vietnam. I remember. Later that same year, the Soviet Union collapsed. Because of the gradual decline before the total col lapse, the exact time and place are unclear to me, but 1 remember the change’s subtle effects. In Bellevue, Strategic Air Com t' mand and the people working there relaxed. America breathed a sigh of relief. The enemies were, for the most part, gone. Communism had fallen. The music changed from the loud rock of the late ?70s to the new wave of the early ’ 80s to the grunge of the’90s. And today, on my 20th birthday, I am in Minnesota laying my grand father to rest. He passed away last Thursday. These are 20 years, yet they have passed in an instant. I have seen countries fall, wars fought and the world change. May you live in interesting times —I know I do. Hicks is a sophomore aews ^ editorial and English major aid a Daily Nebraskan staff reporter. Legendary punk band pleases fans By Bret Schulte and Pat Miner Music Critics OMAHA—You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to take notes in a mosh pit, but it can be done. At Sunday night’s Descendents concert at the Ranch Bowl, the capac ity crowd of local youth gathered to pay tribute to one of the country’s most leg endary living punk bands. The Swingin’ Utters ware the first to take the stage, and the crowd ex ploded at the sound of the first chord. Although the band played too long, its frantic, bouncing energy proved to be an excellent prelude to the slightly ska tinted punk show. rsexi to iaxe me stage were me sui cide Machines. The band opened with [ the song “Our altnprjbft its debut al bum “Destruction by Definition.” Lead man Jay Navarro periodically swung from the rafters while he spit out lyrics with constant fury. Bassist Royce Nunley, though in dicating had the flu, still thrilled the crowd as he was quite active, especially during the latter portion of the show. The highlight of the performance had to have been the band’s rendition of “I Don’t Wanna Hear It,” a song by Minor Threat. The tune got the mosh pit going at a furious pace as the gui tarist ripped through chords. After the initial chorus, the Suicide Machines started hopping around and the song was suddenly ska. A half hour and several audience injuries later, the band finished its set with the song “Break the Glass.” l ne catcny cnorus aian t satisiy tne crowds however. As the Suicide Ma chines were getting ready to leave, the crowd yelled for more, anticipating the song “New Girl.” The band, obviously worn out, did not oblige and exited. Their performance definitely set a stan dard that the Descendents would have to live up to. After a grueling wait as the stage was set up for the Descendents, vocal ist Milo Aukerman suddenly ran onto the empty stage. The band followed and they immediately broke into the frantic “I’m a Loser.” Several popular cuts immediately followed, including “Everything Sux” and “I’m the One.” The pit swirled in a manifestation of punk-rock chaos as Aukerman generously shared the mi crophone with the screams emerging from die floor. After an hour of incessant move ment, rock and giddiness, the show abruptly ended. The band muttered ‘Thanks’ and exited. The crowd quickly mobilized and began chanting “Milo...Milo” at the empty stage. He graciously burst forth once again, with the band on his heels. The Descendents strapped into their hard ware and the show took off once more. Aukerman, who has obviously been spending too much time in the biology Please see PUNK on 14