This show was at the Knitting Factory, in The Tap Bar. I decided to give driving another shot, I hadn't driven to the KF since I got a parking ticket in August for parking in a bus stop. I got a sweet spot around the corner and we got in around 7ish.
The first band was Probable Cause, I hadn't heard them before this show but had read somewhere that they were straight up NYHC or something. They started and immediatly dumb mosh started. The music wasn't anything that hadn't been done already. After the singer called whoever wasn't moshing "faggots" and kids starting moshing w/ intention to hurt people, we went outside.
Reclaim the Crowd played second, but I really don't like them, so I didn't bother going in to watch. However, big ups to them to being probably the only kids booking shows in Brooklyn right now.
Next were the Carrier, who just signed with Deathwish. They are awesome because they are heavy, with out being just all mosh parts. I enjoyed watching them play, but at times I found myself losing attention and focusing on other random things. Maybe it was because I still haven't fully recovered from United Blood. They played a new song off their upcoming 7", and it was really fucking good.
So, I just want to say that Verse rules. Simple as that, but for some reason everytime I see Verse I forget the fucking words. Anyway, they played great as always. I really liked the singers(Sean) speech about how bands have to push the limits of hardcore and make new music. Otherwise we will be just listening to the same thing over and over and it will get old, causing nobody to care. He used the new Blacklisted record as an example. This was the 3rd time seeing Verse play new songs, if the rest of the album is like that, fuck its going to rule so much. There was some kind of scuffle during their set, which i didnt notice until i saw Sean almost stop singing and staring into the crowd. I think it was between 2 girls, but it got broken up quick.
Headlining were BLACKLISTED, whose new record "Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God" came out today. They played a bunch of stuff off of it, and since I really haven't listened to it yet I didn't know them. But I can say I really liked what I heard. The did play Eye for and Eye though. George opened the song by talking about how the song wasn't about violence. And then, ironically, a fight broke out just before george screams "EYE FOR AN EYE". I don't know what it was about or who was involved, but Blacklisted stopped playing and everyone turned around to watch. It ended pretty fast, and Blacklisted continued the song from where they had left off. Guest vox by Greg of the Mongoloids in the song also, good shit. They closed with 2 songs off POEWOS, which is probably one of my favorite Blacklisted releases.
Overall it was a good show, worth the traffic-less drive into the city.
Showing posts with label NYC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYC. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
3/1 - Paint it Black Double Feature
So I was really excited for this day since the first show got announced, I love PAINT IT BLACK. And when I heard about 2 shows in one day, there was no way I could pass that up! The first show was to be at Generation Records in the village. To get in you had to be one of the first 50 people to buy their new cd at the store a few weeks prior. And the second show was them with STRIKE ANYWHERE and some other bands at the Knitting Factory. With me for this was Rob, Rob is a very good sport with me because I make him go to countless shows, and I constantly talk about reunions and other cool things that would never happen.
We got to Generation Records around 1:45 and after giving our names to the guy w/ the pad, and went downstairs. PAINT IT BLACK was setting up in the t-shirt area, and surprisingly there was enough room, I really didn't know how it was gonna work out before I got there so I was glad to see there was actually room to breathe. There was a decent amount of kids already there, and everyone was browsing the records and used cd's. Eventually they started to play, it wasn't on time of course, but this is hardcore so who the fuck cares. It was obvious that the band was super happy to play, and that at least half the kids there were really excited. They ripped through about 10 songs, making time for jokes and shit. At one point Andy Nelson, the bassist, started saying how much the Knitting Factory stage sucks to play on, and that he wanted everyone to do whatever they could to fuck the place up. I found it funny, but I figured nobody is actually going to do anything. Kids were trying to do the push mosh a few times, and some even crowd climbed, kicking out a light at one point. But thankfully no real damage was done!
After they played, we have a few hours to kill. Which consisted of walking around the village, going to 3 record stores, and eating at 5 guys burgers and fries. That place has the best burgers out of any chain. If I ever do food reviews, expect that to be in there. Eventually we met up with Brian, and the three of us headed to Soho for the Knitting Factory show.
We arrived before any band started playing. And did what we usually do for the first band, hung out in the merch area. They were called PITCH BLACK BLONDE and I didn't really pay attention at all, sorry. Next up were the RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS, I only watched a few songs by them, and by this point Erin had come so I was hanging out with her. They were entertaining to watch though, the singer LOVES to throw the mic in the air, just like the lead singer of TAKING BACK SUNDAY. They played a forgettable kind of rock'n'roll punk I guess. I didn't really like it, you might.
Next were fucking PAINT IT BLACK, they got such a good reaction. Kids were going nuts the entire set. Every time I see them Dan Yemin always has some positive things to say. Tonight he talked about how he hates organised religion, how this was all for us, and he encouraged stagedives and for kids to come on stage. And Dan always looks so mad when he sings, then once the song ends he will immediately have a smile on his face. Tonight's show was EASILY the best reaction I have seen PAINT IT BLACK get. They definitely bring a different crowd of hardcore kids, this was obvious because of the push mosh pit, which is pretty annoying. But that is the only negative thing I have to say. Another funny thing was that Andy called out CHICKEN MAN, who didnt make it because he is broke, then called him a poser for not coming, if you don't know CM then it sucks for you. They didn't close with Memorial Day, but they did play it second to last. And they did a good job of not making both sets the exact same set!(Robs biggest worry). If you missed this show, or don't like PAINT IT BLACK, well then I feel sorry for you.
Headlining were STRIKE ANYWHERE, this was my first time seeing them but I'm not all that familiar with their stuff. We watched from the balcony, and once again all the kids exploded with energy. The singer was full of it too, jumping all over stage with his really fucking long dreadlocks flying everywhere. They sounded pretty tight, but the his voice cracks and squeaks when he is trying to shout his loudest. They played the few songs I know by them and then we decided to leave early.
Plenty of people were taking pictures at both shows, im sure they will surface soon, I just cant find them yet.
Paint it Black @ Generation Records
We got to Generation Records around 1:45 and after giving our names to the guy w/ the pad, and went downstairs. PAINT IT BLACK was setting up in the t-shirt area, and surprisingly there was enough room, I really didn't know how it was gonna work out before I got there so I was glad to see there was actually room to breathe. There was a decent amount of kids already there, and everyone was browsing the records and used cd's. Eventually they started to play, it wasn't on time of course, but this is hardcore so who the fuck cares. It was obvious that the band was super happy to play, and that at least half the kids there were really excited. They ripped through about 10 songs, making time for jokes and shit. At one point Andy Nelson, the bassist, started saying how much the Knitting Factory stage sucks to play on, and that he wanted everyone to do whatever they could to fuck the place up. I found it funny, but I figured nobody is actually going to do anything. Kids were trying to do the push mosh a few times, and some even crowd climbed, kicking out a light at one point. But thankfully no real damage was done!
After they played, we have a few hours to kill. Which consisted of walking around the village, going to 3 record stores, and eating at 5 guys burgers and fries. That place has the best burgers out of any chain. If I ever do food reviews, expect that to be in there. Eventually we met up with Brian, and the three of us headed to Soho for the Knitting Factory show.
We arrived before any band started playing. And did what we usually do for the first band, hung out in the merch area. They were called PITCH BLACK BLONDE and I didn't really pay attention at all, sorry. Next up were the RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS, I only watched a few songs by them, and by this point Erin had come so I was hanging out with her. They were entertaining to watch though, the singer LOVES to throw the mic in the air, just like the lead singer of TAKING BACK SUNDAY. They played a forgettable kind of rock'n'roll punk I guess. I didn't really like it, you might.
Next were fucking PAINT IT BLACK, they got such a good reaction. Kids were going nuts the entire set. Every time I see them Dan Yemin always has some positive things to say. Tonight he talked about how he hates organised religion, how this was all for us, and he encouraged stagedives and for kids to come on stage. And Dan always looks so mad when he sings, then once the song ends he will immediately have a smile on his face. Tonight's show was EASILY the best reaction I have seen PAINT IT BLACK get. They definitely bring a different crowd of hardcore kids, this was obvious because of the push mosh pit, which is pretty annoying. But that is the only negative thing I have to say. Another funny thing was that Andy called out CHICKEN MAN, who didnt make it because he is broke, then called him a poser for not coming, if you don't know CM then it sucks for you. They didn't close with Memorial Day, but they did play it second to last. And they did a good job of not making both sets the exact same set!(Robs biggest worry). If you missed this show, or don't like PAINT IT BLACK, well then I feel sorry for you.
Headlining were STRIKE ANYWHERE, this was my first time seeing them but I'm not all that familiar with their stuff. We watched from the balcony, and once again all the kids exploded with energy. The singer was full of it too, jumping all over stage with his really fucking long dreadlocks flying everywhere. They sounded pretty tight, but the his voice cracks and squeaks when he is trying to shout his loudest. They played the few songs I know by them and then we decided to leave early.
Plenty of people were taking pictures at both shows, im sure they will surface soon, I just cant find them yet.
Paint it Black @ Generation Records
Saturday, February 23, 2008
2/22 - The Loved Ones, The Gaslight Anthem, The Ergs!, Lagrecia, Higher Giant
So, my friends and I were all really looking forward to this show. And with due reason, because there were so many good things about this show, that even if it sucked it would still be great. We got to the Knitting Factory a little after 6:45, and still no band had played yet. So Joe and I went over to New Fancy Food Deli around the block. Got 2 cliff bars and a Naked smoothie(dinner) and went back to the show. Once inside it was obvious that this was a sold out show, people were everywhere. Surprising, because most sold out Knitting Factory shows dont fill up until the end, but for this one it seemed like everyone was there before the first band played...
So on to the first band, HIGHER GIANT. None of us knew who they were, so we were just hanging out in the bar/merch area. Eventually I mentioned to someone "hey this kinda sounds like GREY AREA", and not too shortly after that I went into the main area and low and behold, Ernie Parada (TOKEN ENTRY, GREY AREA, KID DYNAMITE) was on handling lead guitar/vox. And then i saw that Dave Wagenschutz (LIFETIME, KID DYNAMITE, PAINT IT BLACK) was on the drums! And apparently somebody who had filled in or was in KILL YOUR IDOLS. Well, thats pretty promising. So I watched them for the last of their songs, and they were not bad at all. They definatley gave me a GREY AREA vibe, but that could be just because of Ernie's voice. They were a little more poppy than that, but still very good. Ernie was hittin all his signature high notes and not missing a chord, and the rest of the band looked like they were all having a great time. They had no demos for sale, but this is a band to check out.
Now, at the Knitting Factory they set a half hour between bands for them to set up(on the main stage). But pretty much for any punk/hardcore, this is too much time. 15 minutes is more than enough, this lead to bands kinda standing on stage trying to make it look like they were doing something all night. I find this really fucking annoying. I dont want to watch you dilly dally on stage, and wait for you to start, the venue needs to stop doing this.
On next were LAGRECIA, which is KID DYNAMITE frontman Jason Shevchuk's new band. I was very excited for them, because I love'd NONE MORE BLACK, and KID DYNAMITE and basically Jason Shevchuk cant make bad music. So the three of them took the stage and well, were fucking awesome. They are like NONE MORE BLACK, but maybe with a little more of the western feel. They played extremely tight, and they were definatley having a blast. I think this was about their 4th show, and it was obvious people were definatley there for them, I had never heard such a loud applause after the first song of a openeing band. LAGRECIA is great, and they are from Brooklyn so expect to be seeing them play a lot soon!
Dead center of the show were THE ERGS!. It took me a while to get into THE ERGS!, but I am glad I did because they put on a great show. The first time i saw them I was so surprised that the lead vocals were done by the drummer! That takes some serious skill to be able to drum and sing at the same time. Very impressing. They played a great set and kids were jumping around and havin fun for them. It was my third time seeing them and I was hoping for more MINOR THREAT covers. I think ive seen them cover THE DESCENDENTS also, but I cant remember. They play pop-punk the way it should be, and they are always on point, so dont be lame like I was and think "pop punk sucks" because this band proves it does not suck. I still cant stand the ramones though.
Next up were my most anticipated band of the night, THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM. This band sounds as if BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN started a melodic punk band. Once again, I cant remember what songs they played, sorry. I can say that there was a lot of energy during their set, from the band and the kids. Kids were dancing around and jumping and crowdsurfing for them. Generally just having a blast. It was obvious that THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM were surprised that so many kids were into them, and they were definitely happy about it, you could tell by the huge smiles on the singers face. At one point they started to talk about how it was some girl's birthday, and then went into a cover of TOM PETTY's "American Girl". Holy shit it sounded perfect, just like the original. Actually, their entire set sounded just like the LP, perhaps even better. They are definatley a great live band, if you have the chance to see them go for it, you will have a great fucking time.
Last up were THE LOVED ONES, touring supporting their new LP "Build and Burn". I dont know much by them, but they were definitely well received by the crowd. They have come a long way from when i saw them in Bellmore, to about 20 kids. And that show wasnt even a full band, just Dave Hause playing because the rest of them couldnt make it. They played very solid, besides the fact that Dave looked really drunk, there were some mic troubles later in the set but it fixed itself somehow. At one point Dave said they had a surprise, and then started talking about Ernie Parada. This of course made me think they were going to do some kind of GREY AREA or TOKEN ENTRY cover. No luck tho, the surprise was some guy from the hold steady playing guitar during "Louisiana", also during that song Dave jumped out and sang with the crowd a few times. I like that. They played for almost a hour, if not a full hour. By the end of it I got bored and tried to buy tickets to Blacklisted on April 1st, but the box office was already closed, oh well. Oh yea, during their set kids kept on ending up on stage, and then not knowing what to do. This led to them just standing there, one girl grabbing the mic and singing along(which is cool). But they all overstayed their welcome and Dave kept yelling DIVE. Seriously kids, when you end up on stage, you FUCKING DIVE. Nobody wants to see you up there, and you look like an idiot. dont end up on stage if you are too afraid to stagedive.
"I want to see 17 stagedives during this song, no more no less"- Scott Vogel.
On the subway back to penn, there was a homeless dude sleepin on the train. so everyone on the subway car was on the opposite side of him. seeing homeless people always reminds me how lucky I am, but it always makes me feel bad for them. Once back in Penn we got some pizza from Rose's and caught the 11:45 train home.
So on to the first band, HIGHER GIANT. None of us knew who they were, so we were just hanging out in the bar/merch area. Eventually I mentioned to someone "hey this kinda sounds like GREY AREA", and not too shortly after that I went into the main area and low and behold, Ernie Parada (TOKEN ENTRY, GREY AREA, KID DYNAMITE) was on handling lead guitar/vox. And then i saw that Dave Wagenschutz (LIFETIME, KID DYNAMITE, PAINT IT BLACK) was on the drums! And apparently somebody who had filled in or was in KILL YOUR IDOLS. Well, thats pretty promising. So I watched them for the last of their songs, and they were not bad at all. They definatley gave me a GREY AREA vibe, but that could be just because of Ernie's voice. They were a little more poppy than that, but still very good. Ernie was hittin all his signature high notes and not missing a chord, and the rest of the band looked like they were all having a great time. They had no demos for sale, but this is a band to check out.
Now, at the Knitting Factory they set a half hour between bands for them to set up(on the main stage). But pretty much for any punk/hardcore, this is too much time. 15 minutes is more than enough, this lead to bands kinda standing on stage trying to make it look like they were doing something all night. I find this really fucking annoying. I dont want to watch you dilly dally on stage, and wait for you to start, the venue needs to stop doing this.
On next were LAGRECIA, which is KID DYNAMITE frontman Jason Shevchuk's new band. I was very excited for them, because I love'd NONE MORE BLACK, and KID DYNAMITE and basically Jason Shevchuk cant make bad music. So the three of them took the stage and well, were fucking awesome. They are like NONE MORE BLACK, but maybe with a little more of the western feel. They played extremely tight, and they were definatley having a blast. I think this was about their 4th show, and it was obvious people were definatley there for them, I had never heard such a loud applause after the first song of a openeing band. LAGRECIA is great, and they are from Brooklyn so expect to be seeing them play a lot soon!
Dead center of the show were THE ERGS!. It took me a while to get into THE ERGS!, but I am glad I did because they put on a great show. The first time i saw them I was so surprised that the lead vocals were done by the drummer! That takes some serious skill to be able to drum and sing at the same time. Very impressing. They played a great set and kids were jumping around and havin fun for them. It was my third time seeing them and I was hoping for more MINOR THREAT covers. I think ive seen them cover THE DESCENDENTS also, but I cant remember. They play pop-punk the way it should be, and they are always on point, so dont be lame like I was and think "pop punk sucks" because this band proves it does not suck. I still cant stand the ramones though.
Next up were my most anticipated band of the night, THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM. This band sounds as if BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN started a melodic punk band. Once again, I cant remember what songs they played, sorry. I can say that there was a lot of energy during their set, from the band and the kids. Kids were dancing around and jumping and crowdsurfing for them. Generally just having a blast. It was obvious that THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM were surprised that so many kids were into them, and they were definitely happy about it, you could tell by the huge smiles on the singers face. At one point they started to talk about how it was some girl's birthday, and then went into a cover of TOM PETTY's "American Girl". Holy shit it sounded perfect, just like the original. Actually, their entire set sounded just like the LP, perhaps even better. They are definatley a great live band, if you have the chance to see them go for it, you will have a great fucking time.
Last up were THE LOVED ONES, touring supporting their new LP "Build and Burn". I dont know much by them, but they were definitely well received by the crowd. They have come a long way from when i saw them in Bellmore, to about 20 kids. And that show wasnt even a full band, just Dave Hause playing because the rest of them couldnt make it. They played very solid, besides the fact that Dave looked really drunk, there were some mic troubles later in the set but it fixed itself somehow. At one point Dave said they had a surprise, and then started talking about Ernie Parada. This of course made me think they were going to do some kind of GREY AREA or TOKEN ENTRY cover. No luck tho, the surprise was some guy from the hold steady playing guitar during "Louisiana", also during that song Dave jumped out and sang with the crowd a few times. I like that. They played for almost a hour, if not a full hour. By the end of it I got bored and tried to buy tickets to Blacklisted on April 1st, but the box office was already closed, oh well. Oh yea, during their set kids kept on ending up on stage, and then not knowing what to do. This led to them just standing there, one girl grabbing the mic and singing along(which is cool). But they all overstayed their welcome and Dave kept yelling DIVE. Seriously kids, when you end up on stage, you FUCKING DIVE. Nobody wants to see you up there, and you look like an idiot. dont end up on stage if you are too afraid to stagedive.
"I want to see 17 stagedives during this song, no more no less"- Scott Vogel.
On the subway back to penn, there was a homeless dude sleepin on the train. so everyone on the subway car was on the opposite side of him. seeing homeless people always reminds me how lucky I am, but it always makes me feel bad for them. Once back in Penn we got some pizza from Rose's and caught the 11:45 train home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
