No Cause for Concern? Issue #3 | June 1982 | Page 4 | Attention Span

The Night I Went to See

ATTENTION SPAN

at Laurentian High

by Peter Botman

When a friend of Rand's asked if the RandyPeters wanted to play with another band on a Thursday night at Laurentian, I phoned up the Angry Raisins who gave me Attention Span's number. Then the RandyPeters' drummer would rather have played baseball so we kicked him out. Thus, the stage was set for Attention Span's first headlining get...

It was Thursday, May 6. The Laurentian High School Senior Band was on exchange with a high school band from Boston. They wanted a "different" band (different and cheap) to celebrate the Bostonians' arrival in "Ottawa" (Ottawa-West suburbia -- Yech!). Attention Span brought in all their equipment for a small gym equalling the size of two Paradise Rooms on top of each other.

The crowd was looking forward to the occasion. The Bostonians were clad in the latest in Prom-style garb: suits, ties, and long frilly dresses. The Laurentian High kids, knowing what was coming, were clad in "neat-o punk clothes". Everyone was in awe of Eliza's leopard spots, Marion's mohawk, Nick's legs, Sebastian's smile and David's grunginess.

People were already pogoing to the taped music so when Attention Span started a "sound check" dancing erupted. THEN...two fuses blew in Attention Spans' "mixing board". After a long interlude and much panicking by David, Sebastian and yours truly, some intelligent rockers saved the day by contributing tinfoil cigarette papers to make the fuses. The show goes on...

Attention Span made it clear that they were not like other bands, as Nick was in the process of saying, when some obnoxiousiod yelled "SHUT UP AND PLAY SOME FUCKING POGO MUSIC". So the band played (Nick was finished speaking anyway) and we danced.

There was marked ferocity among the audience in that they SLAMMED and outdid all Restless Virgins gigs. This was the impression that punk rock (sorry Virgins) give to others: that you've got to KILL each other. Hence the new blood that springs up are always the ones that slam the hardest. Please, people, SLAMMING TO KILL IS STUPID. Sorry for moralizing...

The evening was a success in my mind. Other kids were exposed to a new band. Attention Span suffered through a trying evening i.e. blown fuses and held their chins up. They even played better than at the Spring Beaver. The west-end played host to the Ottawa subculture and Attention Span did this gig without Y.C.P. -- see what initiative they've got? Too bad you weren't there. Watch them play next time.