Black Rebel Motorcycle Club & Deap Vally (Terminal 5)

Terminal 5 | New York, NY | November 8, 2016 | Photos & Words: Cortney Armitage |

There we were at “The last rock ‘n’ roll show before the end of the world.” It seemed that Robert Bean echoed mosts feelings of anxiety in New York City’s Terminal 5 on election night (at one point he even asked what the election was shaping up to look like and it may have been the first time a BRMC crowd balked at answering immediately). The election was impossible to ignore, and the setlist seemed to have been chosen with care as song “US Government” came out of hiatus, but everyone stopped checking cell phones down during songs and let the music keep them in the moment. “Hate the Taste” and “Berlin” nearly shook Hell’s Kitchen off its foundation; some lyrics were more relevant then ever and when sung along to, and on that night perhaps sung with just a bit more emotion then ever. It was cathartic for some, just rock to others, but all were happy to be there and have the best escape from the outside world – on that or any night – that one could have come up with.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

“Before taking the stage in New York on November 8th, tensions were high but still hopes were higher. We played as if there was no tomorrow, as we always do. When we walked off stage however, we found a country shattered and its people torn apart.

There are no adequate words right now, and even though life may appear to be going on as business as usual, beware of the normalization of this election in the days and months ahead. Right-wing movements are gaining unimagined momentum all over the globe, and we are now at the front lines.

Do not refill your prescriptions, do not tune out, do not move to Canada just yet, and don’t think it’s enough tweeting and re-posting all your thoughts/frustrations to friends and family. This is real. We brought it on ourselves, it’s now our responsibility to oppose right-wing populist movements here and everywhere.”

– Robert L. Been (Source: Facebook)