Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978-1991
September 15, 2020
A photographic document of a critical pocket of the American punk scene in all its brash and seedy glory. Boston--home turf for photographer Grecco, whose work from the late 1970s through mid-'80s is showcased here--was an underrated punk and new wave epicenter. It boasted its own top-tier acts--most prominently, the Cars and 'Til Tuesday--and was often where U.S. and U.K. acts kicked off their tours. So one pleasure of this collection is that it spotlights a host of major artists in the early stages of their careers: Elvis Costello, the Plasmatics, New Order, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Devo, and more. Because most of the venues they played were smaller clubs, Grecco captures a distinctly uninhibited, before-they-were-famous vibe, shooting his subjects goofing off in grimy dressing rooms, snorting cocaine, or lounging in radio stations. The concert photos show Grecco's knack for making his subjects look larger than life; shots of the Ramones and the Dead Kennedys have a live-wire energy, and Public Image Ltd's John Lydon looks at once manic and imposing. Somewhat oddly, Grecco chooses to arrange his photos by venue, which gives a sense of the size and relative sleaziness of each club but little other information. (Frustratingly, captions are largely absent, though presumably any interested reader would recognize most performers on sight.) In the later pages, Grecco captures the Clash at the height of their fame and David Bowie at Foxboro Stadium ("It was the only time I saw him, but it was still magical"). Introductory essays by the B-52s' Fred Schneider and longtime journalist Jim Sullivan set the scene well, convincingly positioning Boston as "a microcosm for a youthquake that was happening in cities across America, England, and Europe." A ramshackle set of rock portraits, charming though stingy with context.
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