Hard Core Logo: hard-hitting and head slamming
Hard Core Logo (presented as part of this year's PuSh Festival at the Rickshaw) has a lot going for it. Not least is that it’s the first musical I’ve ever seen that sparked nostalgia for my younger days of drinking myself stupid on cheap draft at the Royal Albert Hotel, watching the hardest-cranking punk bands of the era.
With a plot tracking the head-slamming conflicts of a Vancouver punk band on an ill-fated reunion tour, the music is at the heart of the story. Hard-driving drum beats, hot guitar licks and wailing song lyrics about getting high, getting laid and sticking it to the man are at the heart of the performance.
If you’re a punk fan, you’ll enjoy it. If Justin Bieber gets you going… well, go screw yourself, corporate pansy-assed douchebag. At least, that’s what the band’s frontman, Joe Dick, would tell you.
The tale of Hard Core Logo’s cross-Canada punk tour is told through the eyes of a strong ensemble cast. Michael Scholar, Jr. (also the playwright) plays Joe, the cocaine and hooker-addicted leader of the band, who gets his way with a combination of roguish charm and lizard-brained manipulation. Telly James capably plays Billy Tallent, Joe’s partner in crime who seems to be on the verge of finally making it as a true rock star, if only he can stop Joe from sabotaging his future. Toby Berner plays Pipefitter, providing comic relief as an aging punk drummer destined for the opposite of greatness. Clinton Carew rounds out the crew as John Oxenberger, the crazy yet philosophical bassist who acts as a foil for the rest of the group’s frantic chaos. And Rachel Johnston alternately provides comic relief, therapy and rocking-out backup vocals playing an ever-expanding list of roles, from Nardwuar the Human Serviette and assorted groupie chicks to a British punk icon retired on a Saskatchewan farm.
It’s a hard-hitting story pulled together by strong characters with the synergy to deliver a powerful and memorable performance. Maybe this show could spark a full-fledged punk revival on the west coast. This town could use some more hard core.