Sunday With Black Flag, Adolescents & Subhumans

Yesterday was one for the books! I headed to Williamsburg around 2pm or so to check out some of the Northside action. After grabbing a slice at Vinnie's Pizza on Bedford, where I overheard French tourists complaining that there wasn't any mayo to put on their pizza (WTF?), I went over to Muchmore's for The Teen Age. Bill from Gunfight is in the band and they signed to my buddies label, Papercup Music, so I figured I'd swing by.

Of course the show was running late but that was nothing a few warmish beers couldn't help. The band on when I arrived was Bugs In The Dark, who I've heard of many times but don't think I've ever seen; they were good. The Teen Age came on next and I thought they were pretty solid. The singer's vocal style kinda threw me at first though. He was really bassy during the first song but as the set went on he found his groove and actually has a pretty interesting voice and a wide range. The Teen Age were pretty damn solid, check them out if you can.

After that I headed over to the Jameson Lounge with my buddy Malcolm for some free drinks and some grub. The Beets were going on when we got there. I dig the Beets so it was a nice surprise to see that they were playing.

After the set we decided to head over to Music Hall of Williamsburg for Adolescents and Subhumans. They were allowing 75 badges in so we wanted to get there early and get stamped so we could come back later. The idea was to go over to Grand Victory and see if we could get into the secret Black Flag show. Well, as it turns out, while I was walking over there I got a message saying I was on the list! I was pretty excited about the idea of seeing Black Flag in a venue that only fits 100 people (if that).

We hung around outside of Grand Victory chatting for a bit when Ron Reyes (Black Flag vocals) comes out. Malcolm starts chatting with him and he asks us what else we're doing. We tell him we were thinking about going back to see Adolescents and Subhumans. He says, "I wanna go!" and asks us how far away it is. After we tell him it's less than 10 minutes away he runs inside to check what time he needs to be back. He comes out and says, "let's go!"

My night went from not knowing if I could even get into the Black Flag show to not only getting in but hanging around with Ron Reyes and actually going to see the Adolescents with him - crazy! We got to Music Hall and talked to the door man who let Ron right in and then headed over to the merch table. We told the merch dude (who ended up being one of the guitarists for Adolescents) Ron was here and five minutes later Tony from Adolescents is downstairs with us. So now it's me Ron Reyes, Tony Cadena and my pal Malcolm just hanging out. It was pretty surreal for a dude who grew up on punk.

After awhile people started realizing what was going on and started swarming for photos. At some point Ron snuck out of there and probably headed backstage. The Adolescents went on around 9:30pm and the place was packed. It was a really fun show, people were stage diving, dancing on stage and singing along with Tony. At one point an overly excited fan wiped out and took down Tony. He took a pretty hard fall and it took him a minute to get back on his feet. He stopped the song and told everyone they could do whatever they wanted as long as they don't knock him on his ass.

Around 10:30pm or so I started getting a little nervous about Black Flag. I knew they weren't going on until after 11pm but I was worried the venue might fill up and I wouldn't be able to get back in. So I left while the Adolescents were still on stage and skipped out on Subhumans. I felt terrible because I absolutely love Subhumans and think they are one of the best live punk bands around.

I got back to Grand Victory and of course I walked right in. I considered heading back to Music Hall but I saw a few friends and decided to stick around thinking that Greg Ginn's other band, who were on stage, would be wrapping it up soon. I sure was wrong about that. I think they played for another hour after I arrived and by the time that Black Flag went on the Subhumans show was already over. Not only could I have stuck around but I could have caught the entire set! Damn it.

Anyhow, Black Flag eventually came on and the room filled up with people coming over from the Adolescents/Subhumans show. Black Flag played almost exactly the same set as Friday night, which is fine by me because it includes most of my favorite Black Flag tunes. The pit was a lot tamer than I expected but I that's because the goon faction wasn't really in attendance. It was actually a pretty mellow and fun pit, not violent at all. I jumped in for "TV Party" and "Six Pack" but I was drenched in sweat after just two songs so I got the hell out of there and headed to the bar for a beer.

When I got back to the bar I see Dick (singer) from Subhumans hanging around. I didn't say anything to him because it was just too damn loud for conversation unless you were all the way by the door. Black Flag fucking killed it, which is no surprise. I really have to commend Ron for sounding great, his voice was still on point even after three consecutive nights of shows. It was truly amazing to see legends perform in a room that small. I really had an awesome time last night. Robert from Scenic did a hell of a job putting it together and keeping it under wraps.

After the gig everyone poured out into the street for some fresh air (did I mention it was really hot?). That's when I said hello to Dick from Subhumans. He was heading across the street for drinks. I had actually agreed to meet my buddy Marty over there anyway. A couple of minutes after I get to the bar the Subhumans bust in and start shooting pool and drinking. I talked to the guitar player for awhile, very nice guy, and then said hello again to Dick. One funny thing that happened was the bartender had a Def Leppard album playing straight through and all these crusty old punk dudes were all singing along. It was hilarious since, you know, punks are supposed to hate bands like Def Leppard.

We hung out for awhile, we were both hammered at that point so I have no clue what we talked about. At some point he goes, "I like you. I'm gonna buy you a drink." He asked me what we were drinking so I tell him whiskey and he orders up some shots. So now I'm slamming whiskey shots with Dick from Subhumans. He's a real nice dude and it was super cool hanging out with him although I'm still bummed I missed their set.

I don't know what time it was when I left but when I walked outside the Subhumans were out there drinking and singing in the street. I think they had a car parked on the curb with the stereo blasting. Everything was a blur at this point but I said my goodbyes and went home.

So to recap I hung out with Ron Reyes from Black Flag and even took him over to an Adolescents show. Then I hung for a bit with Tony from Adolescents and Ron from Black Flag. And later in the night I'm doing shots with Dick from Subhumans. Quite the fucking night, if I do say so myself.

 

w/ Dick from Subhumans

 

Black Flag

Video: Vision Of Disorder "Set To Fail"

I don't listen to much post-1992 hardcore anymore but I used to be way into it. VOD was one of the first hardcore bands I ever heard. I was a metal head and they signed to Roadrunner Records, along with Madball. I got some comp that had both bands on it and it blew my mind. From that day forward I dove head first into hardcore, from the roots to the metal infused 90's stuff. Hardcore was my life for quite a few years.

It's nice to see VOD back in action but frankly this is a little too metal. Granted, they always leaned pretty far into metal territory but it would have been cool to hear a return to early 90's style shit. So many metal bands are using HxC breakdowns and riffs that it would have been rad to hear some straight hardcore. Anyway, it's still good and has some interesting things going on.

Youth Of Today Playing Santos Party House, Really?

I just got an email informing me that Youth Of Today is playing Santos Party House with Kylesa, Mouthpiece, Trash Talk & more. Fucking Youth Of Today? I was never a big fan but these dudes are legendary and this show is going to be fucking apeshit nutso.

Link:

RSVP for Youth Of Today

Black N' Blue Bowl With Gorilla Biscuits, Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All

I'm old and tired and just can't deal with hardcore shows anymore but if there was ever one I would go to it would be this one. The legends of NYHC - Gorilla Biscuits, Agnostic Front and Sick Of It All are headlining this year's Black N' Blue Bowl. Unfortunately, I'm out of town that weekend so I'm going to miss it but if you're around I highly suggest going. Gorilla Biscuits are fucking amazing live and would be worth the price of admission on their own.

Link:

Black N' Blue Bowl

CMJ Day #2: STRIFE!

Yesterday's CMJ festivities started with the press mixer at the Rivington Hotel. They had a 3-hour open bar and finger foods. Needless to say I left drunk and full. I was actually surprised by how few people I bumped into. I mean, the place was packed but very few of the NYC crowd was there. Anyway, it was a nice way to kick off the night.

After that I ran over to Webster Hall for the Orchard party. Surfer Blood and The Drums were playing upstairs but I just wasn't feeling it. Especially knowing that one of my all-time favorite hardcore bands was playing a free show at Mercury Lounge. All I could think about was how much I would hate myself if I didn't get in. So I had a couple of drinks and split.

I got to Mercury Lounge around 10:30 (I think) and had to wait a few minutes to get in but there wasn't a line. The joint was packed and Iron Age was just getting started when I got there. I've heard their albums and thought they were good but holy shit, they're fucking killer live. Next up was Disembodied and well, it's pretty generic hardcore - nothing special.

After Disembodied finished up the place kinda cleared out. I don't know why because Strife was due up next. I was so friggin' excited to see Strife. I think I may have seem them in the 90's but I can't say for sure. Those days are a blur now.

Strife took the stage and upon the first strike of a chord the crowd busted open and the middle of the room cleared out. The familiar circle of a mosh pit took shape, I can't say I've ever seen that at the Merc before. The crowd was a nice mix of hipsters, CMJ music nerds, beardo metal-heads and only a handful of hardcore goons. The pit was the fun kind where you don't have to worry about ending up in the hospital.

Rick, the vocalist, was pretty much on the floor in the pit the entire show. He's still got his trademark shaved head but nowadays he's sporting a monster beard to go with it. He was fucking shit up the whole time down there and passing the mic off to damn near everyone who wanted to get in on the action. It was an old-school hardcore show, the kind that simply don't exist anymore.

I was singing along to all the words that I could remember, which were fewer than I expected. Despite a busted knee I was right up front, standing around the edge of the pit, hoping someone wouldn't roll over my knee (almost happened - from Rick!).

I can't even express the sense of nostalgia that came over me. This was the type of show that made me love music and I felt like a fucking kid again. Sure, it's cliche but it's totally true. I miss these types of shows. Hell, every show used to be like this but that scene is dead now and these shows are gone.

But I digress - Strife fucking ruled! When I say one of the best shows I've been to in years I'm not exaggerating. Go see them tonight in Brooklyn at DBA, it's $10 and worth every penny. DBA is a DIY venue so it'll be pretty nutso.

Long live Strife!

***Sorry about the pic quality, didn't have time to edit.

Tonight: FREE Strife Show @ Mercury Lounge

CMJ is all about randomly discovering new bands but every once in awhile an older well established band will play a couple shows. In this case the legendary hardcore band Strife is playing two shows. The first is tonight at Mercury Lounge and it's free with RSVP. The second is tomorrow at DBA in Brooklyn. You should get fuckin' hyped up because Strife is one of the best goddamn hardcore bands ever. Sure, there's gonna be a bunch of goons beating on each other but it's fucking Strife! Who cares? You get to see motherfucking Strife, live!

Link:

RSVP & Venue Location for tonight

DBA Show Info

Tonight: Gogol Bordello & Dillinger Escape Plan @ Webster Hall

Two of the best live bands you'll ever see playing together. This will be intense to put it mildly.

Gogol Bordello & Dillinger Escape Plan

8PM
@ Webster Hall
$35

NO FRIENDS (Municipal Waste Side Project) Album Streaming

A bunch of dudes from a bunch of bands joined forces to form No Friends. One of those rad dudes is Tony Foresta, singer of Municipal Waste. Brooklyn Ski Club fucking loves Municipal Waste so check this shit out immediately.

I'm listening to it right now and it is exactly what it claims to be - old school hardcore punk! Very much in the style of Gorilla Biscuits and later Minor Threat. There's a wee bit of the late 80's punk style (Bad Religion, NOFX) thrown in there too. Anyway, the shit is awesome and this might be my favorite style of music so I'm super fucking happy and can't wait for these punks to roll through town.

The album is streaming on PunkNews so go give it a spin before they take it down.

Link:
No Friends Streaming

Tony Foresta (singer of Municipal Waste) has joined on for vocal duties in a new hardcore super union featuring members of the now defunct New Mexican Disaster Squad. Calling themselves NO FRIENDS, they play 80's style hardcore in the vein of Dag Nasty, Descendents, and Gorilla Biscuits.

The band just wrapped up recording their self-titled album at Crescendo Sound Studios and is shooting for a July release date on No Idea Records.

Oh, and if No Friends ever reads this get in touch, let's put together a rager in Brooklyn!

E. Town Concrete: The Return

On February 21st I trekked down to Central Jersey for the return of E. Town Concrete. Two years ago they played their last show and disappeared. Then a few months back their MySpace page had a new image that said "The Return". As soon as the show was announced I bought my tickets.

Lots of people don't get ETC and I understand why. If you're only glancing at them and hear a song or two then you might get the wrong impression. The thing is they are uniquely Jersey, and I'm from Jersey and no band better represents all that is Jersey then ETC. They are my generations Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Which is why they can sell out two consecutive nights at Starland - that's about 2,000 people!

For this reason I was willing to make the trek down to Sayreville, which is a bastard to get too from NYC. On the train ride down I met a dude named Ross who flew in from fucking Chicago just to ETC! That's serious fucking dedication. Anyway, he joined our crew for the night and we got to the show as the first band was on.

We walked in as they walked off stage so I'm not sure who it was or how they were. Then One 4 One came on. If you don't know NJHC then let me tell you these dudes are legends and I was excited to finally see them. Unfortunately I seemed to be the only one. The crowd was oddly young and most had no idea what they were seeing. Granted the sound was awful (way trebly) but booing fucking One 4 One? That would have got your as beat down ten years ago.

Then For The Love Of came on and, holy shit, those dudes are good. Honestly I never really gave them a chance but aside from ETC they blew everyone else off the stage. Agents Of Man, another Jersey favorite, came on next and were pretty damn good. I never really dug their albums but they killed it live.

Once they finished up I grabbed a beer and headed down to the floor area for ETC. I was so fucking excited to see what was my favorite band from ages 18 to 25. Once they took the stage all fucking hell broke loose. The entire floor was a massive pit, one of the biggest I've ever seen.

They played a ton of classics - "Guaranteed", "Time2Shine", and even old shit like "Ashes 2 Ashes". It was funny because everyone knew every word to every song - except "Ashes 2 Ashes." That one was for the real old schoolers.

The show was amazing and aside from getting flipped over a guardrail and almost smashing my face on the mixing console I had a great time. It was just awesome to see so many people come out for ETC. I think they should keep playing but only in the Jersey/NY/CT area. They're the kings around here but outside of the area nobody gets it - so fuck em.

Hopefully I get to see them again sometime soon, let's just make it another venue next time. I'm sick of having to leave during the encore to catch the last train.


I wasn't able to take pics but this guy did: ETC Flickr

Tonight: Skarhead Playing Secret Show In Greenpoint

I went to the E Town Concrete reunion show last night. It was the second of two reunion shows. The first show on Friday had NYHC legends Skarhead open up and apparently they put on one hell of a show - despite only playing five songs. I just got word that Skarhead is the "special guest" at the Danny Diablo show tonight at Redstar Bar in Greenpoint. I'd be there but I'm battling a bout of travelers sickness from last nights trek into Jersey.

Shai Hulud Touring With New Found Glory!

Before I even start let it be known that I hate New Found Glory. Not only are they a shitty pop-punk band but they're responsible for ruining one of my favorite bands when I was a teenager - that band was Shai Hulud.

You see when Shai started they had a young whipper snapper on the mic named Chad Gilbert. Dude was beyond amazing - he had deep poetic lyrics and a monster of a voice. Then something awful happened, he quit Shai and decided to play guitar in New Found Glory.

The hardcore world lost a great talent that day and Shai Hulud was never the same after that. Now, all these years later, Shai Hulud and New Found Glory are touring together. That means there's a small glimmer of hope that Chad Gilbert might take the stage with Shai Hulud and perform a few songs from "Hearts Once Nourished..." and that makes me very happy.

The audio sucks on this but apparently Chad re-joining Shai has happened before!

VOD Reunion Show In, Wait For It.... Long Island.

The kings of Long Island hardcore are back for one more show. Not surprisingly the show is going down out on LI. While I won't be going to the show it is cool to see these guys back together. I never loved this band but they were good and my friends from Long island worshipped them. It was also funny how EVERY person I ever met from LI had some story about how they know, and/or are related to, Tim from VOD.

American Hardcore (Video)

I finally got around to watching the American Hardcore documentary today. It's pretty good and does a great job of telling the story of hardcore across the country. Anyway, I just wanted to share it with you. The only bummer is you'll need to install the Veoh player.

Link:
American Hardcore

Tonight: Earth Crisis, Shai Hulud, Terror, Sworn Enemy

Earth Crisis, Shai Hulud, Sworn Enemy, & Terror @ Gramercy!

Holy fuck! This is one of the most badass lineups I've ever seen. First of all the reunited legends, Earth Crisis, are headlining. Then we've got one of my personal favorites in Shai Hulud (also reunited). And then we've got Sworn Enemy and fucking Terror to round out the lineup. I haven't been this excited about a show in a long ass time.

I just bought a ticket and it cost $32 after processing. That's way more then I've ever spend for a hardcore show but I do not mind at all. Ahh! I can barely contain my excitement!

Earth Crisis
w/ Shai Hulud, Sworn Enemy, Terror, Down To Nothing, Recon
@ Blender Gramercy Theatre
March 1st
5PM






MP3:
Keep Your Mouth Shut - Terror

Original Biohazard To Reunite And Tour

When I was a teenager growing up in the 90'2 I fucking loved Biohazard. The band brought hardcore music to MTV which was the only place a kid from South Jersey could find it. Granted they were more metal then hardcore but when I heard Biohazard for the first time I immediately realized I was hearing something I never heard before. Eventually Biohazard got kinda corny but to this day I will still stand by Urban Discipline being one of the greatest albums ever made - it's amazing. And that's why I pumped about this reunion, it's the Urban Discipline line-up, once this line-up split the band got progressively bad... this is good Biohazard. Tour dates have not been announced but I will be at the NYC show no matter what.

Link:
Biohazard Reunite





Speaking of old school Biohazard check out this shit from 1988! Kinda sounds like Join The Army era Suicidal Tendencies.

Former Victory Employee Reveals All

Tony from Victory is world renowned for being one of the most down and out dirtiest dudes in the record business. Everyone knows this about him who works in the biz on any level. He fucks bands over on a level that makes the major labels look like saints. But it wasn't until this very awesome blog post by a former employee that we knew just how bad this guy really is. It's very long so make sure you have some free time, I'm only halfway through. Seriously though you gotta read this, especially if you're in band.

Royalties were payable quarterly and, before each quarter ended, I’d get the amounts, totaling into millions of dollars, that were to be dumped into bogus marketing programs to prevent the band from getting a royalty. It was nothing short of malicious. “Fuck those guys, they’re not entitled to that money,” was his quarterly lament.

Link:
Area 43 - Victory

Sob (Merauder) Memorial Show!

If you like NYHC then this is going to be a fucking classic. The late Sob Carpio will be honored with a sick fucking hardcore show in Brooklyn on September 1st. Here is the line-up:

MAXIMUM PENALTY
HARLEY'S WAR
MERAUDER
SUBZERO
INHUMAN
CONFUSION
DARKSIDE NYC
MURDERERS ROW
EVERYDAY DOLLARS

This shit is going to be fucking brutal. It's going to be fun with it being in Williamsburg. I feel sorry for the hipster that randomly shows up to Luna Lounge that night.

via Blabbermouth

No Warning - Merauder

Superbowl Of Hardcore

Cold As Life @ Studio B, Brooklyn NY (Featuring Freddy Madball)
Originally uploaded by Hardcore Shutterbug.

Last Saturday the yearly Superbowl Of Hardcore went down at Studio B in Greenpoint. Unfortunately I didn't go this year, despite living 5 minutes away, so I can't tell you how it was. However, Hardcore Shutterbug was there and he took some killer pics.

Superbowl Of Hardcore

The lineup for this years Superbowl Of Hardcore was just announced. Highlights include Negative Approach, All Out War, H2O, and One 4 One. The best part is it's right down the street at Studio B - although it would have been better at the Warsaw. I'm very excited to see One 4 One since I've never had the pleasure. Aside from them I've seen most of the bands playing. Hopefully they add a few more big names to the lineup - Madball or Turmoil would be nice. At this point I'm not sure it's worth the $25 cover.

MP3's:
Said And Done - Negative Approach