Screaming For Change

I know it's been a while and there are like 3 shows I didn't talk about. SFU Showcase, some Wilbraham house show, and the Step Forward/Rampage show at Rad Skate Park. I'll do those a bit later because I just got back from Vermont last night and it was one of the most awesome weekends I've had this year. It was the 2nd Screaming For Change fest in Bristol, VT. My band Alert played it last year, but this year we couldn't get it together, but me and Mike decided to go anyway.

We left Saturday morning. Kara came from Worcester to get me and then we headed out to Westfield to get Mike. We get Mike and before leaving we all buy our tickets to the DYS reunion that's happening in late August. Then we head out to Evolution cafe for some overpriced, yet delicious vegan food and then head to Vermont. I fall asleep most of the way as usual and we finally arrive. We get there around 4ish and we miss some bands already including Sacred Love and Crucial Times, which I am kinda bummed about. But we meet up with tons of friends there. Dan and Justin Gonyea, Kimberly, Karl and the Montreal Crew, and tons of others. So we hang out and watch some bands, skate and do all sorts of stuff. The venue is at a place called the Hub which is like a community center kind of deal. Right next to it is a skatepark so tons of kids were skating and BMXing which was cool. We hang out all day and eventually Bane arrives because they are headlining day 1. They play an awesome set and even play In Pieces after I yell it out a could of times. After they play everyone hangs out in front of the huge bonfire. Outlast finally shows up after having a ton of van problems on the way up. I decide to sleep outside in my sleeping bag end end up being attacked by mosquitoes but fall asleep anyway.

The next day I wake up around 8 because the sun is beaming and preventing me from going back to sleep. The Vermont dudes, the Gonyeas, and I decide to walk down the street for breakfast and we go to this cafe and I get some bagel breakfast sandwich with some nasty ass tempeh but it was a meal so I didn't complain too much. After that we all head out to that water spot everyone's been talking about. It's a sweet water hole spot with some cliffs and a waterfall. The water was way too cold for me though so I didn't jump off of anything, but it was still a good time. Pretty much everyone from the fest was there. After that we head back, get some Moxie and hang out a bit more. Then bands start to play. I didn't watch a lot of bands this day but some honorable mentions were No Love Lost, Coughing Fit, Outlast, The Effort, and My Revenge! All great bands. My Revenge's set was ridiculous and it included Spencer wearing two electric fans around himself (one ended up being smashed and destroyed), the throwing of couches, couch seats, and a blow up alligator. There were also throwing of water bottles, coat stands, and just utter chaos. It was awesome and I haven't had that much fun in a long time! After that set we said our goodbyes and headed home. I am bummed the weekend went this fast, but next year will be just as awesome, if not more.

Awesome weekend 2010

So the next day after the Anchors Up show, Mike, Kyle, and I decided to drive down to Force Fed’s last show in MA because we had a show in Brooklyn the next day and it wasn’t too far away from that. We all meet at Kara’s house around noon and pack up and head out. We stopped at Shandal’s in CT along the way for some tasty vegan Jamaican cuisine and it ruled, though as usual Kyle wasn’t into it. Or he was afraid to try the stuff, it seemed. But anyway after that we journey to Quakertown, PA and show up right before the first band plays. The show was pretty much a Chicago/Kansas City takeover with Force Fed and a recently added Time’s Up, since Poison Planet had to drop the show. My friend Garrett was roadieing for Sorry Excuse so it was a pleasant surprise to see him there.

The first band that place was the dudes in Force Fed’s new band, whose name slipped my mind. They were pretty cool though.

Next band was Razor Fade. They were awesome, fast, pissed, and covered Inside Out. Everything I love about a band!

After that was Kicked In and they sounded like a Lockin Out style band and opened with Intro Bust which ruled. I hope to see this band again soon in the future.

Next was Sorry Excuse and they were probably my favorite band of the night. They opened with a Stop & Think song and the singer wore a hockey mask for most of the set. Kids went off and I scored a demo tape, 7”, and t-shirt. Yes, superfan right here!

After that was Time’s Up and they were a local youth crew style band and they were really cool. Like the Anchors Up show the day before, there were a ton of super young kids at this show… a lot more than Anchors Up and it fucking ruled. They all sang along and moved to Time’s Up and that was cool. Time’s Up also ended with a Floorpunch cover, which I couldn’t help but sing along to.

Next was the Rival Mob. They killed it as usual, though Brendan broke his hand which sucked.

Lastly was Force Fed and this band fucking killed it. I’ve seen them before but not many people moved around or anything, but this was different. Kids were going nuts, especially to the DYS and Judge covers they did. Awesome fucking night.

After the show we stood outside talking to a bunch of people from the bands and my friend Joey who came out to the show. After that we went to some Diner and all ate, then Alert crew stayed at this dude Justin’s house who was awesome enough to put us up. I guess he’s in that band Stick Together, who’s tape I got from Joey. So we went to bed and got up around 9:30/10 am the next day.

After thanking Justin and his family for letting us crash in their basement, we headed out to Manhattan to hang out. We took a scenic route too and saw lots of trees and shit, which was cool because once we got into NYC it wouldn’t be that way. Eventually we got into the city, moshing to Anton Rough in the car a few times, and we headed to Red Bamboo. None of us had been there except Kara and Brendan, so me and Puffer were pretty stoked. Literally everything on the menu looked appealing so we kind of just randomly picked something and I got something called Creole Soul Chicken and it was pretty good. I also had a piece of Kyle’s chocolate chip cheesecake which ruled. After that we headed to Generations record store where I bought two Paintbox LPs. After that we walked around a bit then decided to head to the venue. On the way Mike was looking for some secret skate spot under the Brooklyn Bridge and we almost didn’t find it as we drove over the bridge like 3 times and finally found it, but it was time to go to the venue so we went there instead. We got there and met up with the Outlast dudes, then Razor Fade, then Caught In A Crowd. Bloodtype showed up a bit later.

Outlast went on first and it appeared Dave was stuck in London as his flight got delayed so Kyle The Mosher Delaney took up the mic for Outlast and did a fairly good job. I sang along to the songs I knew and it was a fun set.

Next was Bloodtype who had just showed up. Band ripped though through the entire night the crowd seemed kinda dead. Bloodtype played early 80s fast ass hardcore and I loved it but no one did anything. They covered Black Flag, too.

Next was my boyz in Caught In A Crowd. This was their first out of state show and they sounded ill. I loved the new songs, especially the first song they played. Stoked to play more shows with those dudes in the future!

Then we played and my bass broke which sucked so I used Colin In A Crowd’s bass. Like I said before Brendan broke his hand and iced it the night before so he was kinda nervous going into this. We played the usual set and it turned out way better than we all expected. I couldn’t really hear the bass so I hope I didn’t fuck it up (I’m constantly worried about fucking shit up) but I guess I didn’t. We did like 3 covers haha.

Brendan had to get to the bus station for 11 and Puffer had work at 6:30am so we had to miss Razor Fade, which was a bummer because I really REALLY like that band, but shit happens and we saw them the night before anyway. They opened with Fed Up by Judge so I quijcly ran in to sing along, then peaced.

We drove back to MA, stopping at Mamoun’s in CT along the way. When we got there the waitress goes, “So what edge band is that?” referring to Mike’s Chain Of Strength shit. We tell her and she goes “Oh I never heard them.” She continues to tell us she saw Youth Of Today, Judge, Underdog, Sick Of It All, and Wide Awake back in the day. Keep in mind she does not look very old at all. Maybe 25-30 range. That ruled.

We get to Kara’s and spend the night. Wake up and head home. BOOM! What a wonderful weekend!

Think Again show

So Friday May 22^nd Anchors Up had a pretty sweet show I wanted to attend. Think Again, Stand By Me, Road Rage, Unrestrained, Stereo State, and Crucial Times. I really wanted to go so I asked my friend Andrew and he was good friends with the dudes from Stand By Me so I got him to go and bring me. We get there and Crucial Times had already played which was a bummer cause those dudes are cool. Stand By Me was playing and they ended with a Gorilla Biscuits cover which was unexpected, but cool. Next was Bastardswine because they got added when Stereo State dropped/couldn’t play. Bastardswine is cool though because they sound like Crossed Out and I like that. I wonder if their name is Bastard Swine or Bastard’s wine though. Anyway the next band after that was Road Rage who were fast and fun as usual. Then was Unrestrained. This band was really fucking good and the vocalist was crazy jumping all over the place but he had a lot of cool things to talk about in between songs. I guess this band was doing a bicycle tour so they rode bikes from Vermont to the show and used all money from merch or “gas” money to donate to help people in Haiti and other places which was really cool. Last was Think Again and man that band got so good since the first time I saw them. I’d also like to point out that there were a bunch of younger kids there and I loved it. It’s good to see new kids coming to shows supporting bands and these kids seem to always be at shows there no matter what.

So after the show we all talked outside about things and then Andrew and I headed to taco bell to meet up with Shaun, Dan, and the singer of Unrestrained. We all go there and order food (which was also hilarious since Shaun’s car got into somewhat of an argument with the lady at the window) and we eat and talk about a bunch of stuff. Then Andrew and I head out back to Western Mass and that was that. Fun times!

Luigi's Mansion

So Western Mass finally has a new venue in Hadley, MA called Luigi’s Mansion. The first show was a couple Saturdays ago and seeing that I only worked 8-4 that day, Trey and I decided to check it out. The line up was Sobriety High, No Love Lost, Colony, Revenge, and one other band whose name I forgot (my bad). I kinda missed the first band and got in when No Love Lost had just started. Cool dudes. Alert played with them before and I talk to their guitarist, Bill, kinda often so it was cool to see these dudes in Western Mass again. They sounded cool and I ended up copping a shirt. Next was the band whose name I forgot. They sounded really good though and I was into it. That’s all I really remember. Next was Colony and man that band was intense. I guess they just got signed to FDR which is good for them. Seriously this band was intense.. the singer was crawling and rolling all over the place and the music was fast, heavy, and chaotic. Last but not least was Revenge and as usual they killed it, though not a lot of kids were there.

That was pretty much it. Hopefully this venue lasts a while because it seriously is a nice venue.

SNAPCASE

I know it's been a while but I guess you could say I've been a bit busy being done with school and everything. Well this post is gonna be about a Snapcase/Sick Of It All show I went to like 2 weeks ago. My friend Brian drove us since everyone else that was supposed to go bailed. We almost didn't go though because the show had sold out and I bought a ticket in advance, but Brian didn't... or he did but for some reason the payment didn't go through.

Well anyway he came to Western Mass and got me around 11 or so if I remember right and we headed to Buffalo. The GPS said 6 1/2 hours which wasn't too bad. Eventually we got there, stopping here and there for fuel and snacks. We decided to hit up this vegan restaurant that looked appealing when we googled it. We walk in and it just so happens Craig Ahead and Sick Of It All's drummer are eating with what looks like Craig's son. Kinda awkward but whatever. We both order overpriced lasagna and it wasn't very good at all. Then we ordered some dry ass nasty chocolate cake. Worst restaurant ever. We leave pretty disappointed. One cool thing, however, was that they give you a piece of paper to draw on while waiting for food.

So we head to the show and meet up with some girl who sold Brian her ticket insuring him a way in. We walk into the venue and it's pretty packed already with Snapcase's and Sick Of It All's merch table being flooded. We buy Snapcase merch and put it in the coat check which was like 6 bucks altogether. My friend Eric shows up. We'd be staying at his house later on. Then the bands started to play.

Walter Shcnejenienifnls (I can't spell his last name) of Gorilla Biscuits and a ton of other bands did an acoustic thing. It was pretty cool I though and he even covered Sick Of It All and Gorilla Biscuits, among others.

Next was Cancer Bats. Brian and I decided to chat it up with my German friend, Tim Sheer during their entire set since it wasn't appealing at all. They covered Beastie Boys we noticed but that wasn't very good either.

Next was Sick Of It All. Keep in mind that this band is probably one of if not my favorite NYHC band and I haven’t seen them before. I was extremely pumped, despite the barriers and security in front of the stage. I was finally gonna see Sick Of It All! So they start playing and kids go off. Their singer is easily one of the best current frontmen. He seemed so stoked on everything and the band as a whole sounded awesome. A lot of push pitting and singing along which was cool I guess. The only bummer was that they only played 3 songs from Blood, Sweat And No Tears which was It’s Clobberin’ Time, Friends Like You and My Life. I mean they’ve been a band for a long ass time and have many albums so its understandable, but that album is my favorite.

Snapcase... oh Snapcase. This band killed it so much that I really wanna see them again. They kind of had a “rock star” attitude, though which was kind of weird. They opened with all the lights off and “We Will Rock You” playing in the background, which everyone stomped and clapped to. The spotlights hit and each member came out and everyone applauded. Overall it was awesome though. They sounded really tight and the vocalist sounded very good. They played a bunch of songs from different albums, though I was looking forward to my favorite records which were Lookinglasself, Steps EP, and Progression Through Unlearning and they actually played some material from all of these which ruled. Such an amazing band and the crowd was real cool too. No macho bullshit yet people were still aggressive and everyone had fun.

So after that Brian and I headed to Eric’s to go to bed. We got there and his apartment was pretty cool. He had a bunch of records sitting on the table which was cool and the first thing I noticed. Also he had a bunch of framed hardcore posters, covers, and art on the wall which ruled. We stood up talkiing about random hardcore things before finally falling asleep. The next morning we woke up, talked a bit more, said our goodbyes, and headed back to Massachusetts. What a fun day!

Boston weekend

So I admit I've been slacking with the posts, so here's a huge cluster.

My friend Bobby decided throw a pretty awesome show at his school, Tuft's, and it would be the last for a while since he's graduating from there this spring and he was practically the only one booking shows there. Well anyway, the line up was Step Forward, Rampage, Lion Of Judah, Give, Hostage Calm, and A Better Hope Foundation.

I had found out a little before hand that Texas thrash punks ANS would be playing Boston the friday/the day before so I thought I would attend that and make a weekend event out of the whole thing.

I took the peter pan bus into the city and got there around 7ish I believe and as usual none of the bands were ready. I decided to go into this mall thing and bought some food and ended up buying a Trap Them 7" from Newberry Comics and some manga from this anime/Japanese store nearby. Yes, I am a nerd.

So I get back to the venue and meet up with Bobby, Zach, and met this new dude named Jake. We all hung out and ended up leaving again to that mall area I had attended earlier. After that we went back to the venue and hung out outside with Claire and her friend who popped up until ANS went on. They were awesome in a sloppy kind of way and there was a fight during their set which I found hilarious especially because the fight started when some kids didn't approve of the way a kid was dancing. He wasn't being an asshole or anything he was just running from side to side into people and I guess in order to be there you can't do that? It was stupid. Otherwise the only other bands I saw was Bastardswine who were awesome and this band Fuckheads who also ruled a lot. Fun times.

I ended up staying at Bobby's for the night so we took the subway back and talked about Lockin Out and X-Men which ruled. Got to his house and re-met some of his roomates then called it a night.

The next day his roomates were throwing an all day party event in the backyard since they were all graduating soon. Tons of people I didn't know showed up and we all mingled (sorta) and then Bobby's friend Tim showed up who turned out to be a cool dude. Eventually a ton of us were there. Me, Bobby, Shaun, Chelsea, Zach, Jake, Tim and we all were hanging. Then we found out Bobby needed a PA and it was locked in some room no one had access to. Me, Bobby, and Shaun went on a mission to find it, eventually meeting up with Shana along the way and after all our efforts (mostly Shana and Bobby's) we didn't find one. We settled with using Bobby's roomate's guitar amp for an amp.

So we get back to the house and hang out some more. Bobby cuts a very bad X into the back of Jake's hair. Bobby and Shana leave to set up the show while everyone tries to give a Jake a complete buzzcut. Puffer, Kara, I think Kristin and this dude from NJ named Greg. Everyone decided they needed some clippers to cut Jake's hair because the one in the house ran out of power. So we all head out, meeting up with Marc along the way. So many people now that I think about it. I'm kind of tired so I'll speed it up. We bought clippers, went to Spike's went to some stores and eventually ended up at the venue. Tons of people were there and tons of friends. A Better Hope Foundation took a million years to get there so I'll review each band by who played first.

Hostage Calm was really cool. The PA wasn't the best in the world obviously so it muffled them a bit, but the new stuff was sweet. I wish they'd play Audible though!

Give ruled as well. Such a great band and everyone seemed into them.

Lion Of Judah was awesome as usual. Fun dancey parts.

A Better Hope Foundation I was outside and didn't really pat attention.

Step Forward ruled as usual.

Rampage only got to play a few songs because the show went way past midnight and the police showed up and shut the place down. It was a bummer, but they are playing again soon so it's whatever.

Another highlight which was kinda asshole-ish was a projector behind the bands that was initially there to show the Celtics game (who lost by the way because they suck) but after the game many hilarious youtube videos were shown on there and I couldn't stop laughing.

Saturday night we hung out in Bobby's house for a while and eventually went to bed. Marc stayed over too. In the morning we went to Cambridge since Boston's water had been contaminated and Cambridge was fine. There was some huge fair deal going on and we ate some Indian food and Bobby bought some sneakers. We went to the tea shop where Doug Free works and got some bubble tea. I needed to head back to western mass because of a show happening at Holyoke. Set Your Goals, Comeback Kid, Title Fight, Make Do And Mend, and A Loss For Words. I was gonna take the bus but while I was on the laptop in the tea shop my friend Jake Miller facebook messaged me and I asked if he was in Boston. He said yes and that he thought about going to the show so I told him he should go and bring me. He agreed and I was stoked.

I parted with Bobby and Marc and headed to a McDonalds to meet with Jake. We met up and headed to the show which was packed. I got ice cream before heading in to see A Loss For Words. They were pretty good for what they do. There were so many people there I hadn't seen in a while and some Boston heads like Sweet Pete and Brian Murphy came out. It was cool.

I missed Make Do A Mend but heard their intro of Trial's Reflections but stayed outside.

Title Fight was great. I recently finally got their music and now listen to it quite often. Cool band and the singer is a really nice dude.

Comeback Kid was cool though I don't know a lot of their stuff. They played All In A Year and Wake The Dead so I was pumped.

I was outside talking to my friend Nick "VOD" Eckstein about hardcore and shit for most of Set Y0ur Goals. Then I headed in to hear the 2 songs I know/like by then and got a crowd surf in.

After that I headed home.

Not very detailed but I'm tired of typing. Peace!

Downpour

Even though this happened like last last Sunday I forgot to update. My other band Soul Train was supposed to play this show at Anchors Up but because they thought it was supposed to be the week before, we had to cancel because Dremus (our guitar player) had to go to this cancer benefit or something.

Anyway, the bill was originally Soul Train, Downpour, Road Rage, Roadrunner, and the Control. I'm pretty good friends with the drummer of Downpour, Jake and he offered to come to western Mass to pick me up and I had nothing to do so I was all for it. So he picked me up and me, him, and my friend Justin from CT all headed out. We went to Boston first to pick up Jake's other friend, Aaron and his girlfriend whose name I forgot (it might have been Ashley). We head to the show and find out Roadrunner or whatever dropped. I go right into the record store and buy a few 7"s and a Fucked Up live reel because they were 15 bucks. I think the 7"s were No For An Answer - You Laugh and I actually forgot the rest, haha.

Anyway for the band review.

First band, I'm assuming was the Control. Wasn't into it at all. Really bad chugga chugga.

Next band was Bastard Swine, who showed up unexpectingly. I was stoked because I've seen them before. They have like 3 or 4 songs and they aren't perfected but it's fast and sweet and I am into it. It's like Crossed Out kind of and that's good enough for me.

Then was Downpour and they are cool, but the highlight for me was them covering Strife - Blistered and them handing me the mic towards the end of the song. It ruled.

Roadrage also ruled. They were fast and there were even a couple circle pits.

Now for the aftershow. We left and headed to Boston to Aaron's apartment. He was invited over some dude's house for a get together and me, Jake, and Justin tagged along, getting pizza along the way. We get in and everyone is high or something and we just hang out for a few hours I guess. Aaron and his girlfriend get really drunk, like most of the people there and eventually we all leave. It's like 2am I think and Aaron grabs a fire extinguisher from the apartment and starts spraying it outside and I guess it gets on his girlfriend, who is also super drunk. So we're walking, me, Jake, Justin, Aaron, and this other dude I forgot who was also drunk, and Aaron's girlfriend goes "HEY AARON!" He turns around and BOOM she blasts him with the fire extinguisher right in the face at close range. We all run from the cloud and the drunk dudes start vomitting and shit. After that everyone was pissed. We went to Aaron's for a few then headed home. That's it in a nutshell! Fun times.