Algernon Cadwallader at Higher Ground

Peter Helmis the frontman said it’s been 17 years since they were in burlington. And after that show then, the b-town cops hassled them for sleeping on the beach on a mattress of beer bottles. The internet disagrees with the timing, saying it’s been 13 years, when they came with Joyce Manor at the now defunt Memorial Auditorium (never got to see a show there.) Either way, we’re glad to have them back. I don’t doubt the beach police part though.

A.C. was good. They deserved more of a turnout on this 21° December day.

The showcase lounge had a good spread of ages. A few heads back from center state was a gangly gang of sweaty youths with black Xs on their hands, kick-dancing like days of ole. I’d say the younger crowd had us olds beat. Nah, emo ain’t dead.

After the rock show, my car kicked on the audiobook I had had on; Technofeudalism. It’s about the economy but written by a leftist. It jogged to mind the political themes in their newest album, Trying Not to Have a Thought.

Pitchfork described this pivot for the band well:

Helmis may sing with a goofy cadence, but he’s serious when critiquing wealth disparity, TV brainrot, and American colonialism. In “Million Dollars,” he satirizes the so-called logic of anti-homeless architecture in Portland.

On “Attn MOVE,” he turns his attention to Philadelphia’s infamous 1985 MOVE bombing, when police dropped explosives on a local Black activist group, killing 11. “Some black clouds never go away,” he reflects. “Just hover in place and change their shape right in front of your face.” The band has expressed regret over its past disengagement from political issues; now, they’ve found new commitment to push for change and collective understanding.

I love when bands widen the topics they cover. The music becomes more relatable because it now mirrors my complexities and varying interests. Zach De la o was and is my favorite professor. Though he’s pretty much disappeared post-RATM, five years ago his verse with Run the jewels about Toussaint Louverture leading the Hatian revolition hit me hard. That nugget got lodged pretty deep and didn’t dissolve. Earlier this year I picked it up and read a number of books on Haiti.

I already want to check out the documentary “Let the Fire Burn” about the 1985 bombing Algernon Cadwallader schooled me on.