Recap – Memorial Benefit Show for SGT Sean T. Callahan
The show was fucking amazing. It was the best show I’ve ever been to. 4 bands rallied together and filled Fat Tuesday’s to the brim. It was a show dedicated to the memory of SGT Sean T. Callahan, my friend, the Marine, the fighter and musician who was KIA earlier this year while on a convoy in the Helmand province of Afghanistan earlier this year. There were people there that I haven’t seen in ages. There’s so much to say about this show, and everyone coming together to make this show one we will never forget. After stewing on this all weekend, I have decided to start by talking about the music.
Going to Daycare Swindlers shows in high school is how I got to know Sean, and his older brother Dan. It was hard to find establishments who would host Punk Rock shows, and allow those who were under 18 to come and enjoy it. After all, we were fuckin’ rowdy! Also, we weren’t able to purchase alcoholic beverages at the bar, so the venues did not profit much from the arrangement. But somehow the DC Swindlers were able to put the shows together and show everyone a good time, and this event was no different – but better. Nothing gets the crowd more involved than Punk. OK, now to the bands…
Brother Bill, from Warrenton, VA really impressed me. The last time I saw them they were playing mostly covers, and it was at a small bar/community center outside the community of Lake Manassas in Gainesville, VA. Between covers I didn’t care for (DC 101 plays those same songs OVER AND OVER), and really annoying bartenders who make weak drinks and try to get tips out of you, I wasn’t impressed. I left after 30 minutes. The way they played at this show was a total turnaround from that experience, and I really want to see them again. They were energetic, fun to watch, and played one hell of a show. I will definitely be back to see them.
After Brother Bill, I was outside talking to a guy about how I remembered DC Swindlers shows back in the day, and he asked me if I had seen the next band, Walk the Plank. When I said no, his eyed widened, and he said, “You’ll like their frontman” with a casual grin. In the first 2 seconds of them playing I was like, “HOLY FUCK!” They took the current energy level, beat it in the fucking face with a meat hammer, shoved it up Fat Tuesday’s ass and screamed, “Fuck You!” That was what I was there to see. That’s the way Sean would have wanted it. Get in their face or go the fuck home!
[edit: (By the way, Fat Tuesday's bar and staff were pretty chill for the most part, and I didn't have to wait long at the bar).]
Outside, the Daycare Swindlers were selling T-shirts and CD’s of which all the proceeds are going to Guitars 4 Troops, which I will get to in a minute.
Inside, anticipation was high, and the bar was busy. Personally, I had been waiting on this moment, literally since early 2000, the last time that Sean’s band at the time, Township Rebellion, played with DC Swindlers. Shortly after high school, I enlisted in the Army, and after half a year in training I was shipped out to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was just as the first iPod had been released, and a 20GB iPod was well above my budget. I still remember flying into Iraq from Kuwait, listening to two of my favorite songs on a cheap yellow (and supposedly durable) portable CD Player – Anti-Flag’s “Die For The Government”, and Daycare Swindlers’ “Captivity”. As I was stepping off a C-130 onto a dark runway with over a hundred extra pounds on my person, the Daycare Swindlers were stepping on a black stage, supposedly playing their last show back in the states. Words cannot describe what I was feeling last Friday night. This was a long time coming, and even better than I remembered.
The DC Swindlers came in, and the sold out crowd flooded the stage. It was then that I took a look around and noticed all the familiar faces and styles, and remembered how badly I missed this.
The pictures I took do not do their set justice. It was so tough to get any decent shots and impossible to get up to the front. I’m not complaining. On the contrary, I was in heaven – and St. Peter was sporting a Mohawk and flipped me the bird before telling me to “Fuck Off” and kicking me into the mosh pit. Luckily, I brought my video camera. There was this guy, Brian, who made a recording of the show with spiffy high-speed mics, who helped me tremendously throughout the show, with extra equipment like tripods, flashlights, and a defense barrier (his elbow) for my girlfriend from the pit. He was letting use his feed to plug into the mic jack in my camera, but my poor old POS camcorder wasn’t having it. So I decided to take the camcorder and get a more, up-close and personal view of the action. There were chicks coming up on stage, flying off to crowd surf. There were elbows flying, middle fingers in the air, superfluous beers being drunk, and lyrics being screamed at the top of their fucking lungs.
Let’s not forget, however, those who are fighting for us, right now overseas. There are so many over there, who are not able to see these shows, or even play or listen to live music at all.
Dan Callahan, Sean’s brother, is one of those Marines. The two of them played together often. In the video below, he talks about what it was like to be on the front lines, under stress most of us can’t even fathom, and what it was like to receive a guitar from Guitars 4 Troops. The thing about music, is that it’s universal. It soothes the soul of even the hardest warrior, and allows him to function like a human again. When he was giving his speech, and describing how he felt upon receiving that guitar while fighting for his country, it reminded me about stepping off that plane, onto the dark runway filled with anxiety and uncertainty. It reminded me of that first night in Mosul, Iraq, and the mortars that were going off throughout the night. If I could have turned my CD player up to “11″, I would have. It was the only way I could sleep.
Music isn’t completely overlooked in the military. I remember how during the most Spartan time of enlistment (boot camp), cadence was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. Dozens of young men screaming about how much life sucks, killing people, and “what the recruiter said to me”… it’s memorizing in a way many movies try to duplicate, and military personnel can’t describe. Why? Music is therapeutic.
“Sedative music may be used to reduce signs of stress or perceptions of pain related to a medical procedure. Music improvisation may foster the emergence of communication for those with limited speaking capabilities. Song writing may allow for self-expression in times of psychological distress. Song and reminiscence may help patients to maintain recent or distant memories. Music-based leisure skills may be taught to enhance a person’s re-entry into the community.” – Shenandoah University Website. Acessed 9/25/2011.
Guitars 4 Troops is an organization “that is completely overlooked” says Callahan. They are backed up so far with requests for guitars, that they can’t even take any more requests at this time. All they want to do is provide an ounce of comfort to those who truly need it. All the bands played for free, just to support the cause. Thousands of dollars were raised. $1000 of it was donated straight from the Callahan family. To read more or donate to Guitars 4 Troops, follow this link.
This was the message of Dan Callahan, while surrounded by “Pops” and his brothers-in-arms on stage.
And finally, the Pietasters finished the night out with a bang. It was so crazy that more and more people felt the urge to jump up on stage and crowd surf, knocking a mic cable out temporarily.
Ska was how I started to grow an affection for Punk. These guys’ brass section brought some added flavor to the sound of freedom.
Unfortunately, I had to leave before the show ended, because I had four and a half hours to unload my memory stick, format it, and get to bed before waking up and driving 2 hours to a wedding in Glen Burnie, MD by 7:00am. But the Pietasters fucking rocked!