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SydArthur Festival 2018
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The Seth Man
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SydArthur Festival Day 10: July 16th 2016 – Death of Alan Vega
Jul 16, 2018, 18:43
I only ever saw Alan Vega perform once. On June 28, 1983, sandwiched between Nash The Slash and Echo & The Bunnymen at the Roseland Ballroom, New York City, when I only knew him as the guy from Suicide. I was confused by his set, which seemed more like rockabilly than anything else.

It was rare when they came up in conversation, but when they did, Suicide seemed to really divide people -- as I discovered three years later when I finally heard "Frankie Teardrop" in a NYC record store. It was shocking to hear -- even then, a mere nine years after its release. Barry, a good customer, was silent along with the rest of the shop until he broke the silence with something along the lines of "I don't care what anyone thinks about this band but this is completely fucked up and lacking in any social or moral conscience" and walked out. Barry's reaction always stuck with me, because he was always such a composed and cosmopolitan guy.

When I finally heard the rest of their records, I loved the first side of both their first 2 records and "1/2 Alive" and marveled at how melodic they could get. And Vega was extreme with every emotion as much as his shorthand lyrics seemed quickly cribbed from the edge of an existence only he knew about that was just about to be snuffed out.

I was shocked when I heard he died, and kind of more so when I discovered how old he was. He always appeared to be far younger than he was, and had a fracturing energy that was simple to relate to, easy to dance to, and hard to forget.
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