You know me. Well, you don’t really know me. But you’ve seen me at plenty of shows. I mostly keep to myself. I am dressed appropriately with either a jean jacket with patches or some band’s t-shirt.
I might be in the back with the old folks or down in the bowels of the pit with the young. I don’t look completely out of place.
Still…
You might talk to me about the upcoming show while we’re in line and both trying to contain our excitement. Heck, you might even stand next to me while we’re both headbanging to a particularly good riff by the band. Yeah, you know me…Well, sort of.
I’m “The One Black Guy”. No reason to feel some need to be politically correct. You know it, I know it. I am one of maybe two, three tops, at the show… four if Suffocation or God Forbid are playing.
It’s okay, I get that a lot. I am not uncomfortable, trying to be “different”, or ashamed of my status. In fact, there are a great many of us — just not usually at the same show.
It turns out, I am fairly knowledgeable about all things metal. Raised in the suburbs, I have the music my family listened to and my friends’: a little jazz/blues/reggae and a little punk/new wave/metal.
It’s perfectly ok to say “hi”. In fact, I would like that. Music, contrary to popular belief, is in fact colorless. It is a conduit of attitude and culture, sure, but there are more differences within a race/culture than between races/cultures. (Psst! Don’t tell some black metallers… it might upset their applecart of division.)
So, I’ll be putting pen to paper (mostly fingers to laptop) to give you my take on metal. It might disagree with yours, but that’s fine. I’ll be in the pit with invisible oranges outstretched to the metal gods to bring down a bit of truth from the mountain top. You can expect this, after all. You know me. I am just like you, but I am…
Hey, it’s that guy!
Hi TOBG -
I saw you at the Pantera show at Palmer Auditorium in Davenport in Feb. 1995, and again for the Melvins/White Zombie show at the same place a few months later. I was the kid with the mohawk. We talked about Sepultura and Iowa football, and made fun of a fat kid. Good times!
I can’t wait to hear the take on metal by the one Asian guy.
classic
Can we have a column by that one really drunk guy who is always at shows you know the one who is always so drunk but somehow manages to dance through the entire gig regardless of style or genre.
I went to high school with this guy. Studded leather jacket, Slayer shirt, Jheri curl.
I want live reviews by the one guy that is always thrown out of the venue before the first song is over.
I want post show reports from the one guy who always goes home with one less shoe than he came with.
That would be Lung, not ung.
I’ve seen you featured prominently in D.R.I.’s “Live at the Ritz” video. I think you might have even been a bouncer at that show.
man this is long overdue. I’ve always been fascinated by the one black dude at the metal show. can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
I also want to hear from that one burly/angry/skinhead/tough guy that hangs near the back of the crowd and always looks like he 2 seconds from blowing up and killing someone. I want to get inside his head and find out why he’s so mad.
Well, I saw Napalm Death live in Marseille (France, Provence) back in 2003: there were 2 black guys in the audience (and some French-Arabs, too).
Last week, Obituary played in Paris, and there were 2 black guys (and there weren’t the same guys, I’m sure).
Yesterday, I went to Paris Extreme Fest (Arch Enemy, Entombed, Samael among others). The first band to play (the French band As They Burn)has a black singer, a black bassist and an asian guitarist.
Just to say.
I love it when I see this guy at shows and we give each other that look of solidarity seeing as I’m that one black girl hah.
Kevin Stewart-Panko started writing for IO too?
Yeah, you were at the Wolves in the Throne Room/Weedeater/Earth/Sunn O))) show.
That rocked, didn’t it? Well, I mean, as much as you can say Earth and Sunn “rock”, but you know what I mean.
Um, black people come to metal shows here all the time. As a matter of fact, some of them even book metal shows every now and then. Even though the crowds here are pretty diverse, it’s mostly Mexicans that you would usually run into the shows the most.
I saw you at an Anal Cunt show, and for the record, I felt really uncomfortable knowing you were there when Seth was saying all those awful things.
Jason – FTW.
i met you at the troc a few times.you destroyed the air bass. i believe your name is steve..and im glad youre doing well
Hey Max, we should arrange to go to a show together. Then we’d be the only TWO black girls at a show…..Ha! Hey Hellbound, Kevin still holds the title as the only black Canadian at metal shows. And he’s a precious one, at that.
It’s funny (in a sad way) how black folks react to each other at metal shows. There is either the smile and the head-nod (but not so obvious so white folks don’t get nervous) or the silent glare and immediate dismissal, i.e “I thought I was special!!! The whole thing is pretty stupid, either way, but I’m still looking forward to reading your posts.
@Lainad
Haha name the time and place, I’m down.
And I wholeheartedly agree with your second paragraph.
Max, hit me up on my blog (Listed on IO sidebar)
Great – welcome. There are many people I know who are metal through and through and belong to communities of color. I know I came to metal and the small community at my small town high school because as one of the few Indian/Asian kids in the school, I was the oddball out in most circles, but never that one. I felt welcomed – despite some of the dumb shit that kids will always have – and I even felt protected.
I remember watching the film *afropunk and thinking “we need something like this for metal!” Looking forward to your posts and thoughts.
Great comments!
(I am the actual “the one black guy” by the way…)I’m glad that[some of] you folks got the joke in all of this…I hope to have posts that will generate this much discussion in the future…
-TOBG-
Is that Zodiac Lung up there? Like your work on the swamp my friend.
I live in NYC, so it’s very rare that I’m the ONLY black person there, except for possibly the Williamsburg “hipster bm” shows. Black girls however, seem to be exceedingly rare..
I echo what the last person said, except I live near Philly. At that last show I went to, there were like a half-dozen of me.
Totally agree with Dead_Letters. Black males aren’t so rare at metal shows these days, but so far I’ve never seen another black girl at any I’ve been to.
didn’t i see you standing next to the guy who was wearing the shirt of the band playing that night? you know, That Guy?
@Gaia: It’s me. Thank you!
Isn’t Cosmo already “That Asian Guy” ?
hey I like some metal (Pearl Jam/Motley Crew/Daughtry) but mostly go to hip hop concerts… we should get together and “chill”! I’ll have an OE 40 and you can have an apple martini, ha ha! (Hope you don’t mind that I occasionally drop the “N” word though!) Peace out!
lainad said :
? In montreal there’s a small tribe of us. We’re usually not all together at the same show but I can picture about 6 black guys or so. 3 of them are friends or acquaintances. For the black girls I can picture maybe 3, 1 of whom is an acquaintance. There are probably a few more but some of those black folks are much younger than i am so I don’t necessarily know them. The black folks tend to stick to the deathmetal scene but I and a couple of others dig blackmetal the most.
… Hey Hellbound, Kevin still holds the title as the only black Canadian at metal shows. And he’s a precious one, at that…
—
Do they eally have just ONE black guy at shows in toronto
The 3 black guys and I will often hang out together at shows but we don’t have to. It’s a spontaneous thing.I never felt that hanging out together made us threatening to anyone.
—
Jason
Posted March 29, 2010 at 2:38 PM
I saw you at an Anal Cunt show, and for the record, I felt really uncomfortable knowing you were there when Seth was saying all those awful things.
—
I will always remember that black metal show where I was in 1st row and the singer at some point had a few lines about “la race aryenne” (the aryan race). Damn that felt strange lol. I guess I should have expected it since that band was known as NS and I still went to the show. LOL.
I probably wouldn’t go to an AC show. Not because of the racism but because AC is just too braindead, ghey and the shows are dumb and violent.
—
Dead_Letters
Posted March 30, 2010 at 11:15 AM
I live in NYC, so it’s very rare that I’m the ONLY black person there, except for possibly the Williamsburg “hipster bm” shows. Black girls however, seem to be exceedingly rare..
—
Things might be different among bm hipsters but one thing extreme metal is known for is the lack of girls, compared to punk, hardcore or emo. Metal is also know for its lack of black people. YOu’re multiplying 2 very low probabilities and you get an even lower one.It’s thus not surprising that black women are damn rare at metal shows.
What about williamsburg shows make them so nonblack ? One would think such “progressive” types would manage some “diversity” at their shows
Hey, it’s the other black guy I usually run into who usually says “Thank God I’m not the only black guy here!” XD
Hahaha I’m that guy as well. Usually the only black person not wearing a “security” jacket. It’s weird cause at a hiphop show there are sometimes more non black people than black and no one bats an eye but a black dude at a metal show still causes some raised eyebrows. No matter. I throw up the horns and rock out!