Kind of Fonda Henry: A Punk Epiphany (and the Law of the West) - Page 3

Are we are moving out of the fire and into the frying pan, we wonder, as Marigold and I arrive at the Mercury Theater door? We are confused about the guest list thing and can't remember the band's name who invited us. She has no ID. Our feverish punk enthusiasm wanes with every step on these rain-slicked city streets. Once more around the block and then, we spy the legendary Jello fellow, secluded in the band's van, waiting for the rise of the evening's tide. Once Marigold spots Jello, we step into a new dimension. In her past life, she was a minder for this 'Now Happening Punk Phenomenon'. Jello introduces us to his entourage and we are pinned with honorary DK buttons. Huzzah! Our niche in the evening's punk pantheon now secured, we are ushered into the Mercury Hall, courtesy of this guest list thing.

Henry, are you still out there? Your patriarchal spirit is all that guides us now as we enter this teeming cabaret, filled with the rebels, rockers and the would-be conscience of tomorrow's America. You must have seen this coming, eh? Your grandchildren told you perhaps? Imagine our surprise old man. The lead band playing in the Mercury is Susan and God and they are screaming punk cacophonies behind the rhythmic back-beat of Gary's drumming and the wailing guitar of a sixteen-year-old kid named Lousie. Lousie had worked that restaurant gig with Gary and I. He liked to wear a studded poodle collar while washing dishes. Today, his band plays the opening act. Marigold and I press for seclusion towards a bar away from the madding crowd.

For the next hour, we are glued to our seats, unmoving, deafened and stoic in the onslaught of amplified electrical noise. From a distance, we watch as Jello threads through the crowd unnoticed, sipping a beer. Now hear the truth old man! I stopped this Now Happening Punk Phenomenon and told him to dedicate a song to you. And you know what he said, old man? "He wouldn't like any of the DK music! This crowd has come to see the Dead Kennedys, not Henry Fonda."