The Nigheist, Minutemen, Black Flag @ Paradiso, Amsterdam 12 February 1983

The crowd was split up on the left skinheads/boneheads and on the right punx. Whenever someone gets mixed up in a different group, you’d get beaten up. A rather lost hippie couple (were they there fort he Nigheist?) ended up in the skinhead side and got beat up while the woman got stripped off her clothes. During the first songs of The Nigheist, roadies of Black Flag and looked like hippies, some skins climbed the stage and set the drumkit on fire. Needless to say, the band didn’t return to finish their set. Before Black Flag started, a fuming Chuck Dukowski walks around the stage staring into the crowd. Black Flag delivered a raging set where even the slow, boring songs were wild! Very memorable.

Mike Watt (bassist, Minutemen): The first time Minutemen went overseas, Black Flag brought us over on tour. We’re playing the Paradiso [in Amsterdam] in February 1983. These guys are all wearing green jackets and big boots and baldhead haircuts. With the sieg-heiling and the saluting. There must have been 20 of ’em… They started giving us the cheers and synchronized maneuvers. And we just kept playing. The way the Minutemen played was just like one big song, so they didn’t really get stuff in there. We were kind of answering them with our songs.

The Nigheist (California, USA)
Minutemen (San Pedro, USA)
Black Flag (California, USA)