- Sunday, Hardcore Sunday
- You wanna complain about the heat? Go somewhere else. This is hardcore.
- H20 Still Energetic
- Fresh and Brutal: Young Widows
- Hardcore Goes to the Opera
- Paint it Black Abandon LP's.
- Dillinger Escape Plan Rerelease
- Paint It Black
- This Is Hardcore Fest: Day 1 Preview
- This is Hardcore Fest: Day 2 Preview
- This is Hardcore Fest: Day 3 Preview
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H20 Still Energetic
Certain bands walk the line of many genres and H2O is a prime example of that band. While coming up and maintaining a following in the hardcore scene, the New York City legends have enough melody to be loved by fans of pop-punk as well. Earlier this year H2O released their first album in 7 years, Nothing to Prove and played a record release show at the Trocadero, a venue they’ve played many times before. H2O loves this city and it was never more apparent than on Saturday with Bane, Cruel Hand, Energy and My Turn to Win at the First Unitarian Church.
Local heroes My Turn to Win opened the show in grand fashion bringing their special brand of hardcore to the Church once again. MTTW has opened for H2O, Kill Your Idols and countless others in this room and they always bring everything they have for their hometown friends. A real hardcore band in every sense of the word the crowd moved for My Turn To Win, even though they started their set immediately after doors opened.
Western Massachusetts’ Energy took the stage to a crowd mixed with fans and people who had no idea who they were, but after the first song, the crowd started moving and those people who were unaware of the band were new fans. Singer Tank looks like AFI’s Davey Havok if he stayed with punk rock instead of trying to be David Bowie and sings like him as well. If AFI and Bane were stuck in a van together, Energy would be the product of that tour. Alternately experimental and moshable, the band was well received, even amazing a few kids in the crowd. The high point of their set was a cover of the Misfits’ “Halloween.” When any band covers the Misfits a crowd will move, but choosing “Halloween” on All Saints Day? Awesome.
Cruel Hand was probably the most metallic band on the lineup this day but they fit right in with every other band. The pit moved just as much as it had for any other band so far. Cruel Hand’s first album Prying Eyes was released a little less than a month ago on Bridge 9 (the label 3 of the 4 bands on this tour share) and the songs are presented more intense live with the participation from the crowd. All around, a good band and a great set to warm the crowd up for the two legends who would follow them.
Boston’s Bane is not a band who tours very often. From 1998 to 2001, they released 3 full lengths and a split EP but have not put out a record since 2005. Their return to Philadelphia caused almost as much of a riot as the World Series did. Imagine every kid in the basement of the First Unitarian Church piling on top of each other to scream “Just like this X on the back of my hand, I’m not going anywhere” with Aaron Bedard. That continued throughout Bane’s half hour-long set. “Speechless” from their 2001 album Give Blood was more intense live, which is a pretty big accomplishment considering how hard the album is.
As H2O’s crew prepared for the band to play, the audience prepared for H2O. After a short setup, the band came out with all guns blazing with the title track off their new record Nothing to Prove inciting a ruckus like no other. They went into tracks off every one of their albums except 2001’s major label Go! with great intensity. Has there ever been a more positive singer than Toby Morse? How genuinely positive this man is never ceases to amaze. H2O’s tour manager joined the band on stage for “Guilty by Association,” which wouldn’t have been noteworthy if their tour manager wasn’t Brian Mitts from Madball.
In one of the coolest “mash-ups” in punk rock history, H2O started into what sounded like Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” playing the whole intro before going into their signature “5 Year Plan,” singing “My friends look out for me like family” to the same cadence that Ozzy sang “Generals gathered in their masses.” Stage dives and pile-ons littered the band’s early evening set until the last song when Toby gave an impassioned speech. He talked about how in hardcore today there’s a certain sect who are defined by the Nikes on their feet, and how in New York in the late 80’s the hardcore kids wore Nikes cause they were canvas. He went on to say that the song they would be playing gets a bad rap because new fans think the band is condemning today’s hardcore scene, but they’re not, they’re just telling a story of years past. H2O then launched into “What Happened?”, the last track on their new album and their most intense performance of the night.
They may have been gone as long as it takes someone to become a doctor, but H2O really never went away. Just as positive and energetic as they were 13 years ago, these living legends really do have nothing to prove.
Local heroes My Turn to Win opened the show in grand fashion bringing their special brand of hardcore to the Church once again. MTTW has opened for H2O, Kill Your Idols and countless others in this room and they always bring everything they have for their hometown friends. A real hardcore band in every sense of the word the crowd moved for My Turn To Win, even though they started their set immediately after doors opened.
Western Massachusetts’ Energy took the stage to a crowd mixed with fans and people who had no idea who they were, but after the first song, the crowd started moving and those people who were unaware of the band were new fans. Singer Tank looks like AFI’s Davey Havok if he stayed with punk rock instead of trying to be David Bowie and sings like him as well. If AFI and Bane were stuck in a van together, Energy would be the product of that tour. Alternately experimental and moshable, the band was well received, even amazing a few kids in the crowd. The high point of their set was a cover of the Misfits’ “Halloween.” When any band covers the Misfits a crowd will move, but choosing “Halloween” on All Saints Day? Awesome.
Cruel Hand was probably the most metallic band on the lineup this day but they fit right in with every other band. The pit moved just as much as it had for any other band so far. Cruel Hand’s first album Prying Eyes was released a little less than a month ago on Bridge 9 (the label 3 of the 4 bands on this tour share) and the songs are presented more intense live with the participation from the crowd. All around, a good band and a great set to warm the crowd up for the two legends who would follow them.
Boston’s Bane is not a band who tours very often. From 1998 to 2001, they released 3 full lengths and a split EP but have not put out a record since 2005. Their return to Philadelphia caused almost as much of a riot as the World Series did. Imagine every kid in the basement of the First Unitarian Church piling on top of each other to scream “Just like this X on the back of my hand, I’m not going anywhere” with Aaron Bedard. That continued throughout Bane’s half hour-long set. “Speechless” from their 2001 album Give Blood was more intense live, which is a pretty big accomplishment considering how hard the album is.
As H2O’s crew prepared for the band to play, the audience prepared for H2O. After a short setup, the band came out with all guns blazing with the title track off their new record Nothing to Prove inciting a ruckus like no other. They went into tracks off every one of their albums except 2001’s major label Go! with great intensity. Has there ever been a more positive singer than Toby Morse? How genuinely positive this man is never ceases to amaze. H2O’s tour manager joined the band on stage for “Guilty by Association,” which wouldn’t have been noteworthy if their tour manager wasn’t Brian Mitts from Madball.
In one of the coolest “mash-ups” in punk rock history, H2O started into what sounded like Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” playing the whole intro before going into their signature “5 Year Plan,” singing “My friends look out for me like family” to the same cadence that Ozzy sang “Generals gathered in their masses.” Stage dives and pile-ons littered the band’s early evening set until the last song when Toby gave an impassioned speech. He talked about how in hardcore today there’s a certain sect who are defined by the Nikes on their feet, and how in New York in the late 80’s the hardcore kids wore Nikes cause they were canvas. He went on to say that the song they would be playing gets a bad rap because new fans think the band is condemning today’s hardcore scene, but they’re not, they’re just telling a story of years past. H2O then launched into “What Happened?”, the last track on their new album and their most intense performance of the night.
They may have been gone as long as it takes someone to become a doctor, but H2O really never went away. Just as positive and energetic as they were 13 years ago, these living legends really do have nothing to prove.
