SATURDAY, MAY 5 Vice Squad at the Whisky a Go Go The conventional punk wisdom dictates that Brit hardcore pioneers Vice Squad are irrelevant because they've gone too metal, but that really only means that the current lineup plays with more power and dexterity than earlier ones, as on a surprisingly successful remake of the epic early-'80s classic "Last Rockers" from Resurrection. Some of their most insidiously rocking songs, in fact, appear on another recent CD, Get a Life. "Westend Stars," a boisterous shout-out to glam queens and other so-called freaks, revels in the glorious punk/pub-rock connection, and "You Can't Buy Back the Dead" could almost be a hard-rock radio hit, until you realize that diehard anti-fascist radical Beki Bondage is singing unladylike stuff like "the war machine rumbles on" during the anthemic chorus. Bondage gets hilariously territorial with her rapid-fire (and catchy) string of insults about ravers on "Take Too Many E's," while the yes-it's-metal "Maid To Measure" remains utterly diabolical. A lost generation of little boys and girls worship Beki B., not just because she's punk rock's unrivaled Marilyn Monroe equivalent or made history as the first woman singer in a scene dominated by macho thugs like GBH. We also love her because, just like Linda McCartney and Wendy O. Williams, she's a friend to animals everywhere. (Falling James) back to News