Poison Idea - Young Lords |

Young Lords: Live at the Metropolis 1982 is a perfect snapshot of a band at the start of their career (most of whom were teens at the time, hence the name of the album) which will satisfy both Poison Idea fans as well as those with a love for vintage early ‘80s US hardcore punk. The first thing you’re likely to notice is how good this record sounds, especially for a 40 year old live recording. The second thing you’ll hear is that this is Poison Idea on the brink of becoming the nihilistic hardcore machine that you know and love.

They were already a potent musical force, and the core was in place. Tom “Pig Champion” Roberts’ guitar chops are solid throughout, and a young Jerry “A” Lang’s raspy howl was already in place. Some of the songs on Young Lords would end up on Pick Your King. (“Thin Twice”, “Underage”, “In My Headache”, “Castration”, “Reggae” and “Give It Up”.) Many others were from the 1980 demo that would finally see the light of day as Darby Crash Rides Again (1989). For the PI completist, a few songs are exclusive to this record.

The interaction with the local audience is priceless, and the Ronald Reagan references alone are worth the price of admission. Jerry knew how to work the (likely small) crowd, and he was consistently rewarded with a smattering of applause! There were two covers in the 20 song set. The first was the JFA (Jodie Foster’s Army) classic “Beach Blanket Bongout”, which was dedicated to the skateboarders in the crowd. The other was “Public Defender” by SOA (State of Alert), the Washington DC hardcore band fronted by a young Henry Garfield.