Aaron Terry

art, music, travel, adventure, food

04/16/2026

Here goes one of those, “I remember when” posts…I saw the singer-HR-of arguably my favorite band of all time last night: Bad Brains . I first saw them as a teen at Club Revival in Philly. I remember sweat, energy and a blur of bodies in an overcrowded, small space. My friend’s sister passed out from the heat.
I was surprised at the time that seemed to have passed since I last saw HR. Time doesn’t pause. The backing band was phenomenal, complimenting HR’s stillness.
The voice of HR and Bad Brains somehow took hold of my hardcore, angsty, youthful, chaotic, teenage energy and slipped/tricked in the soothing, but equally heavy and spiritually energetic, dubby heartbeat of reggae which provokes as physical and mental a reaction to hardcore and punk, but on a lower frequency.
HR seemed to be in a trance the entire night. I couldn’t tell if it was bliss, exhaustion, age, illness or wisdom, but I left feeling…bittersweet at my own age, experiences and relationship to time. That said, it all passes on to the next person, generation, musician, etc.

Adding photos over time of Bad Brains and HR solo at venues like Slims and Maritime Hall in SF and the Catalyst in
Santa Cruz…

RIP Maritime Hall…