under the merch table

without a doubt, this scummy bar should be closed / burned without prejudice
condemned as the investigation to this night’s crime scene / of the most unholy sins

my crusade / has taken me into this den
with no choice / the small gathering of the disturbed surround me

dimly lit bodies ricochet, spreading some disease / buzzing sideways, viral
too many drug cocktails pulsing under the skin / amidst subcutaneous tattoos

deep in the back corner / smoky denizens in their own haze
scanning the crowd for the next conquest / the next victim

the third band starts sound check / the bass plucks a single note over and over,
reverberates through the spine / this temple shakes

a waitress – slash – actress swings the door open / an airborne beer can hits her ass
red light escapes the green room / the headlining band’s inner sanctum

further, the ninth circle of hell lies / under the merch table
no light escapes this abyss / dark devils talk further treachery

the sullen girl, with fat ear plugs / probably signalling some kind of sexual fetish
at the ready to sell t-shirts, hoodies, cds, and stickers / but not really

she shakes her plaid miniskirt / over those diabolical fishnet tights
thigh high boots / fuck-me boots

a heinous gathering of paraphernalia / under the merch table
two grubby duffel bags, with band t-shirts / a fat black dildo, the smallest bit of cocaine

scraps of a latex condom…not the whole thing / no protection
sticky dirty lozenge / grimy scum, the floor of 20,000 stale beers

deft hands flowing in and out, secret exchanges / black commerce
larger men attend to their desires / access to small evils

the merch table rattles and shakes / its own epileptic dance
the hardcore band, those miscreants / spitting hate over the audience

a haven for clouded spirits / at last call, spill out
into this puritanical city / leaving a crumpled receipt of sins

 

Photography © Allison Goldin

Photography © Allison Goldin

 

Born in Boston, Jake Tringali has lived up and down the East Coast, then up and down the West Coast, now back in his home city and runs rad restaurants. He is currently dating a mohawk punk rocker who is studying for a Masters in Physics, once worked for the CDC, toured with Motorhead and used to be a professional wrestler. So there.

Allison Goldin is an artist living in California. Her work is a collection of spontaneous drawings from the imagination. The most common link throughout her art are the semi-recognizable creatures scattered amongst and bringing together the surrounding doodles.