Friday night's Scorgie's Reunion at The German House Theatre saw hundreds of people linked by the three things that tie a scene together. Virtually everyone you saw in the place was related to you in one of three ways: you had either slept together, played in a band together, or owed the other money. It was like a high school reunion for the cool kids, something that blossomed not only out of nostalgia, but as a reminder that the Rochester scene was actually cool long before anyone had the balls to brag. It was a time when terms like "local" and "national" were purely geographic; where bands were still accessible to their fans. Where it seemed that every show you went to spawned more bands.

Three prominent bands from that era headlined the event: the Press Tones, New Math, and Personal Effects. All three still exist in one way or another. Remnants of The Press Tones hit the stage every now and then as The Chinchillas. Most of New Math is now The Atomic Swindlers, and Personal Effects morphed into The Margaret Explosion.

The place was packed. The place was jumpin.' Scenesters like Rock 'n' Roll Joel, Tom Kohn, Dick Storms, Stan The Man, and of course Don Scorgie himself bopped and bounced around the joint like pinballs.

The Press Tones played a great set, including stuff off the band's new record. And they were loud, baby. New Math followed and gave me the biggest shot of déjà vu of the night. The opening number "They Walk Among You" knocked me back almost 30 years. This was one of the first Rochester bands I ever saw when they opened up for The B-52's at The Dome Arena in 1982 (at least, I think it was 82).

None of the bands sounded dated or the least bit throwback, but it occurred to me - as I watched the band become The Margaret Explosion in reverse - that Personal Effects not only possesses contemporary relevance but this town's signature, left-of-center pioneer spirit. It's a rock music base, for sure, but the odd time signatures and effects, the cool with the odd, were what made this a fantastic concert to remember, not just to remind.