Saturday, July 12, 2014

A study in a subculture of "alternative" american teenagers and young adults


Standing outside of one of South Carolina's most notorious underground music spot, The New Brookland Tavern, with weather in the mid-nineties waiting in a line for three bands you've never listened to before. A challenge accepted. Standing in the alley that sat between the tavern and their next door neighbors taking in the graffiti, that hundreds of people in the same place, at different times, had scrawled all over the walls. The judging eyes of angst-y youth glaring at me. As the place started to open up they allowed people who pre-paid tickets into the building (this included me and my friend) and the cool of the air of AC units hit me. The calm before the storm. We hunkered into the stage area and found a nice spot directly in front of the stage. The music being played out of the stereos consisted of similar pop-punk and emo melodies that began to vibrate throughout my whole body, the lights dimmed. The first band, "Dads", was about to take stage. As my eyes began to adjust to the low light and my body to the crammed heat of an overstuffed building my visioned worsened. I assumed it was just my eyes making up for the darkness. Things were going black. I ignored it again, but then it hit my hearing. Sound become muffled and I knew I needed to get out despite my death wish of being crushed by angry hyped fans. I dig my way out of the crowd and into a freshly cleaned bathroom. "Dads" starts playing.


- Dads -

After "Dads" played and left (immediately) and I recovered from almost passing out before the concert even began, I decided that maybe I'd leave the sanctuary of the small bathroom and see "Tigers Jaw" were now coming up on stage. Now the tavern is packed to the max waiting for these guys to play. I am hiding in the less crowded area of bar area. There was absolutely no point in even trying to hear the lead singer, Adam McIlwee, namely because the entire left half of the building was singing the lyrics to the song over the vocal and the stereos. Needing a breath and a break from the emotionally charged screaming vocals I go to the smoking area outside the main foundation. At last, I've found my people. The ones who don't know why they are at the concert or overpowered by the music. I was a bit of both. Out there I found more people I know. The entire youth alt community of the midlands seems to have come together to watch these guys. Meanwhile in the same bathroom where I almost passed out, the friend I came with was running while puking up her Spaghettios in her hands continuously tripping and knocking over people on her way to the toilet.


- eternally broken stall door of the tavern's bathroom -


- Tigers Jaw -

The last set shown at the concert was "Touché Amoré", the headliner out of all the bands. After having seen "Tigers Jaw" I knew Touché would come on and the crowd would truly go crazy. I had to see this. By now the air in the building is saturated with human sweat and heat. I find, yet again, more people I know. The amount of people in the building is packed. I'm ready this time. I am feeling good. I go into the crowd and stick on the outside of where I know the mosh pit will form (they are not allowed). The band comes up and the lead singer is spraying the audience with water bottles. I can feel the energy that's about to explode in the crowd. The first note of the song is played and the back of the room surges forward. Another friend is freaking out because she got stuck in the pit and I help her find the back of the "room". While the pit tears each other apart the people on the outside are pushing it forward increasing the excitement and tension, people are jumping onto the relatively small stage and successfully crowd surfing despite one girl ending up in some strange painful looking handstand. A shoe goes missing. My leg was bleeding and so was the persons whose blood was on me. All in all, a great show.


- Touché Amoré -

The real scene was the people after the shows. Namely all the smokers after the fans thinned out and left so that their mothers could have their sweat soaked clothes washed and cleaned. Everyone is tired and beat, sore. There are still people trying to chase around band members but the music had stopped and everyone could take a breath (of smoke) outside. The main show outside was the hula hoop. A toy from my childhood but made look amazing with the skillful hips of Christina Godwin, a fire/sword eater. Oh and yes, she can spin a fire hoop.


- Fire Hoop -

By the time the entire Tavern was empty the sweet hum of cicadas filled the thick night air and I waited another hour for my ride to get there on the empty streets of West Columbia, SC.


- "Fuck your mother" -


"The lucid dream, located as it is at a crossroads between worlds and states of consciousness, places the magician in an unique position to influence the delicate balance of consciousness and the interplay it has on matter in the waking state, and is thus an opportunity to test one’s ability in the art of adjusting the mutable fabric of Maya." - Zeena Schreck

My name is Olivia Hartman and I will be writing on Abraxas 365 Dokumentarci for a period of time writing exclusively in English. I'm a local of South Carolina, USA, which resides in the South Eastern chunk of the country. I am also a Buddhist, occult researcher, and persistent lucid dreamer. The Buddhist practices I follow link directly to my lucid dreams in a way that it haunts and enlightens me every day. The occult furthers my educational boundaries and pushes what I think I know out of my comfort zones and limits. I will not be writing only on lucid dreaming but also on topics related to the occult (and other organizations) providing pictures and sources for the topics discussed.

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