Flyers

Here's a great photo of three punks hanging out in the Haga neighborhood in Göteborg, circa 1983. Notice the poster hanging in the window.

Serious fans of Skitslickers and Anti-Cimex may already know that there were at least four bands that included Tomas Jonsson before the classic bands were formed. These bands were Kloak, Bombhot, Avfall, and Bohmann Brinner. But only recently, to my knowledge, has any documentation of the existence of the first two—Kloak and Bombhot—circulated among collectors.

Here is a flyer for what must have been one of the greatest gigs of 1986, at Birkagården, with Anti-Cimex, Mob 47, Agoni, and Disarm. Just pause and savor that line-up for a moment. Mob 47 were blazingly fast then; recordings from around this time appear on their 2xCD, reviewed elsewhere on this site. Disarm may have been somewhat less great than earlier in their career but probably still awesome. The short-lived Agoni were likely at their peak, before shifting directions and becoming a metal band. And Anti-Cimex in 1986 were brutal, drunk, and in the process of inventing metallic käng, which would become a dominant style of Swedish hardcore in the ensuing years. 

I previously posted about a gig in Naantali, Finland, where Anti-Cimex played with Vaurio (October 6, 1984). I had reported that this gig was the only one the band played in Finland in the early years. But I seem to have forgotten that this other poster was in my files. It lists two other gigs: one on the 5th in Turku and one on the 7th in Saari (I think), near the aptly named Punkaharju. Does anyone remember these gigs? Totally killer line-up here: Crude SS, Varaus, and Bedrövlerz, among others. The depressive brutality of these bands' take on hardcore combined with gallons of Finnish homebrew makes me think the punks must've experienced legendary hangovers when, or if, they ever sobered up. Hey, while we're at it: is it true Bedrövlerz recorded a cassette after their split with Asocial?

Here's a tour poster from the 1986 Anti-Cimex / Agoni tour of the UK. It's in the classic style of tour posters sent to promoters for them to fill in the local details. Funny (meaning "not so funny") that this simple device is probably going the way of the dodo due to the Internet. Perhaps unsurprisingly it seems Anti-Cimex were fans of horror films.

The internet's bounty overfloweth.

Go here for some photos of Discharge and a gig poster for Discharge and Anti-Cimex in Göteborg in 1982. Photos of Anti-Cimex from these gigs have been circulated widely by Distortion Records and bootleggers.

But is there a live tape?

I should be embarrassed to post something that looks as poor as this, but I'm feeling shameless today. I can't remember where I found this tiny scan. It appears to be a listing of a week's worth of Swedish hardcore gigs at Cafe Ceasar (yes, that's how it's spelled). My guess is it was in April 1984. What a week: Rattus, SOD, Anti-Cimex, Existenz, TA.S.K., etc.! Punk not Rasism forever!

Flyers from early '80s Anti-Cimex gigs are tough to find for some reason. I have a few actual flyers, but I found a miniature reproduction of this one in Obituary zine #7, from England, in an interview with Arroganta Agitatorer. The zine was published in November 1984. The print quality wasn't so hot, but you can see all the relevant information. Maybe Cimex flyers are rare because they had boring artwork, so no one kept them! If you have a flyer to contribute, please get in touch.

This is one of a series of "tribute" posts for Kawakami of Disclose, who died June 5, 2007. As you likely know, Kawakami was one of the greatest fans of Anti-Cimex and Skitslickers, and his music itself was a perpetual tribute to the these bands' method of using Discharge's template but "extreming" it. Kawakami shared with me a great deal of memorabilia that he had collected. I don't think he ever saw this archive, as I never sent him the URL. It pains me to no end that he will never see the progress of this project, which owes so much to him.

Janne from Selfish was a nephew, I believe, to the singer of Vaurio, who died a few years ago. Janne inherited his collection, including a flyer and newspaper clipping from Anti-Cimex's first gig in Finland. Vaurio was the only Finnish band that played with four Swedish bands at the gig in Naantali--known as Finland's most popular holiday destination! I talked to Vote Vasko about this gig, and he did not remember it having happened. He thought the first Cimex gig in Finland came much later. But here's the proof (anyway, Vote lived in a different town, hundreds of miles away). My Finnish is a little rusty, but I think the newspaper clipping expresses revulsion at these hellions' music and behavior. Killer line-up at this gig, no? Thanks very much to Janne for this material.