GG Allin: The Final Show and Life of the Original Shock-Rocker

GG ALLIN: LIVE AT THE GAS STATION (JUNE 27TH, 1993)

SCORE: 70/100

"Live At The Gas Station" marked Allin's final show on the night he succumbed to a heroin overdose - and it was the end of one of the most iconically disgusting careers in all of punk music, showcasing the raw, violent artistry of Allin that was spawned from an early age. 

The show was cut short after a melee was broken out only three songs in to Allin's set at The Gas Station - a punk venue that was hosted in what used to be a gas station. The cutting of the show led to Allin leading a hoard of fans outside and through the streets, where they wandered the neighborhood for over an hour before Allin settled at the apartment of Johnny Puke, where he would party and do drugs throughout the night before overdosing and succumbing to the toxicity in his system at the age of 36 years old; this put an end to one of the most notorious careers in the history of punk, which was slowly created through the childhood Allin had endured.

Before changing his name, Allin was born as Jesus Christ Allin - the name he got from a father who was a religious psychotic. His father had believed that GG would go on to be a great man in the spirit of the Messiah, believing that Jesus had visited him and that his son would be a savior. Both GG and his mother were put through captivity, with his father Merle being unstable and deeply into religious psychosis. The family had no running water or electricity in the small, secluded log cabin they resided in. The household consisted of Merle Sr., GG, his brother (Merle Jr.), and his mother. His eventual stage name was brought on by his brother, who could not properly pronounce "Jesus", which meant that "Jeje" turned into "GG" over time - thus, the opposite of a savior was created. 

Merle Sr. would often threaten the family, and he has been widely described as a religious fanatic who was highly abusive to everyone in the household, leading to a dark, twisted childhood for Allin that continued into his adulthood and leeched into his performances. Allin has always been notorious moreso for his on-stage antics than the music itself that he created, and it's no wonder to see why with the energy of performances like this one. 

Despite his jagged childhood, Allin had stated he was happy with the life that he was given as a child, as he believed it made him a strong "warrior" from a very young age. After fleeing with his mother when he was still very young, he settled with his mother and stepfather in 1966, where he was considered to be a poor student. His poor studies required him to repeat the third grade, and he was placed into special education classes from a very early age. He experienced bullying for being different than his peers, and he would attend high school cross-dressed, stating that he was influenced by the New York Dolls in the way that he dressed. It was clear that he was odd from the beginning, and his dramatic upbringing led to the path he continued down for the remainder of his lifetime. Allin had said that his childhood was "very chaotic. Full of chances and dangers. We sold drugs, stole, broke into houses, cars. Did whatever we wanted to for the most part – including all the bands we played in. People even hated us back then.".

In the 1970's, Allin had become influenced heavily by Alice Cooper, and he would make musical ventures primarily as a drummer before becoming the artist he would go on to grow into. Both Allin and his brother were highly interested in the punk scene, and they would go on to form a short-lived band, with Merle Jr. on bass and Allin on drums. The band would cover songs by various rock and punk acts, and proto-punk bands like the Stooges would go on to become massive influences for Allin. For the music he would write before he would become the violent shock-rocker he grew into, he would work with an acoustic guitar to write various songs - although his recorded efforts were with him on drums. 

He would go on to form another band alongside his brother before releasing his first solo album, where he did both the vocal and drum work for the LP. It remains his most "tame" project, and it leans more into pop territories with its sonic elements and structure. As time went on, Allin's personality shifted and became more unpredictable - he was described as vicious as tensions with one of his other bands continued to carry out, and The Jabbers would soon disband, which led to the soloist period Allin would gain notoriety for following harsh stage antics and multiple arrests. 

Allin had few belongings and would live life wandering and traveling while performing shows at various different venues, and his last show was one of his most important recorded works. 

This short live EP showcases an incredibly grungy, grimy show that was cut very short - and the energy portrays exactly the kind of show fans were getting into when they saw Allin performing. It's grimy and low-down, and the quality of this recording is very high quality considering the circumstances and low-quality equipment all of Allin's music was recorded with, with this show being considered one of his most high-quality audio recordings. 

Each song is something unique and enjoyable, and it's a selection of songs that could've been amplified to an even greater degree had the show not been cut short. Allin has a very unique, recognizable voice that was incredibly drowned out throughout the performances on the EP, and the instrumental sound is where the music truly shines; with incredibly fast-paced and coherent punk instrumentals that reign in the sounds of the scene incredibly well. 

Despite his life being much more well known than his songs, The Last Show is an incredible showcase of what his musical direction was like throughout all of the wild stage antics he displayed in his career, with this project being one of his most essential live recordings, and the one with the most backstory before his passing. 

It's without a doubt that Allin is one of the most sickening individuals to ever walk the music scene - and it's an incredible thing to know how much more tame the punk scene has become now. Instead of violent performers, we get heavy energy full of fun and kind people - where everyone wants to protect each other. The era of shock-rock is something that has been put behind society for a long time, and the ending of Allin's career was an important mark in stopping a more violent era of music. 

Punk is synonymous with nice, protective people - and it's nearly impossible to consider Allin to be a real punk with his violent antics and vile behaviour, he may be an important figure in punk music, but he was never a follower of the politics that make the punk scene one of the most important and safe communities in all of music.