React! Records showcase weekend day 2

Day two was pretty fucking awesome. Colt and I first went and got some food at taco bell, then headed out to Davis, CA to meet up with Mike Resolve and 'Arkansas' crew who were staying with him, Kyle, Jimmie, and Blake. So we get there and hang for a few minutes and then head out to Berkeley which was only around an hour from Davis so it wasn't too, too bad. We get to the venue and we're pretty damn early so we all take one car and head to get vegan pizza nearby. The pizza place was pretty cool, but I've had better. Then we all head to a record store called Amoeba. It was 4 of us in a back seat which is pretty illegal and we started yelling out compliments towards innocent bystanders. "HEY I LIKE YOUR PONYTAIL! HEY YOUR SHOES ARE REALLY NICE! HEY YOUR SHORTS ARE FUCKING AWESOME! HEY NICE OXYGEN MASK!" You know shit like that then suddenly a police officer on a bike pulls up next to us with his hand on his gun holster and he's like "PULL OVER!" We pull over and it turns out he's just pissed about the 4 people in the back seat thing. He ended up being really cool and didn't give anyone a ticket. Me and Colt got out and headed to the record store which was only a few blocks away. The record store was pretty sweet though a bit expensive. We met up with Mike, Kyle, Jimmie, and Blake a few moments after and we all rape the hardcore/punk section. I ended up getting a Resist LP for like 6 bucks and then 7"s from Right Idea, Asshole Parade, Mad Minds and one other I can't remember right now. We decided then to head back to the venue but we didn't wanna risk getting pulled over again so Colt volunteered to trunk it.

Fast forward we get to the venue and there's a line, though not too big. I see some familiar faces immediately like Mike Driggs, C-Murda, and Dylan Press and start talking to them. Then I head to Walgreens real quick and come back and chill in line for a little while before we're all allowed in. I walk into Gilman St and it looks DIY as fuck. After all, it is a historical venue for HC, and it really was awesome as hell! I decide to get the merch situation out of the way so I buy my shit and see some more familiar faces and React boarders like Chris (ChrisxToday) Mahon, Irish pride! So now I'll just give a review of the bands that night and a list of shit I bought. I'll start with the material things. I bought the Get The Most record release LP which was out of... 177 or something like that. I also bought a Get The Most shirt, Damages 7", got a Mourningside 7" for free, bought a It's Okay Not To Drink reprint shirt, Don't Need Drugs reprint shirt, and I think that was it for day one. Now for the bands:

Damages played first and boy was I into this band. Some definitely revolution summer shit going on right here and I loved it. They even did an Embrace cover which ruled. I liked them so much I was enticed to buy a record from them. Seriously, awesome band.

Circles was next and they had a similar feel with the revolution summer thing, though I thought Damages was definitely better. With Circles I liked some songs as the riffs were catchy as hell but some songs were boring to me and I found myself yawning a lot (which I do in general when I just stand in one spot for a long period of time). Sometimes I just have to be in the mood to listen to these kinds of bands, though with Damages I was just into it the whole time.

Gone But Not Forgotten had to drop due to a family emergency which was a bummer, but totally understandable.

True Colors, as usual, was astounding. That band has so much energy it's ridiculous. This was my 4th time seeing them on this tour and 5th time seeing them ever and boy were they great. They opened with Slow Down by Youth Of Today and the place exploded. They did the set they always did except they played a song from the Perspective 7" which was pretty sweet. They covered Straight Ahead and Warzone too which kids were into. Bummer this band is breaking up, but I'm glad to meet those guys and see them as much as I did.

Next was Punch! but I kinda missed them I forget why. I think I heard them from outside and it sounded cool but now I regret missing them for real.

Get The Most was fucking awesome. Seriously one of my favorite current bands in hardcore and this was my 3rd time seeing them and it was fucking great! They played all the songs I love so much, some killer new songs, and played Vitality by Beyond which was fucking unexpected and awesome!

Betrayed headlined and they were pretty damn sweet. I was really digging the new songs they played, especially the song Above The Influence, Against The Grain. I love they intensity they show as an edge band with that style. Kids were flipping and diving and were into it, though not as much as I would expect from the west coast.

Overall day 1 was a fucking blast. There were an absurd amount of people with nice hair. I mean it was pretty ridiculous but if dudes wanna have nice hair, they can have nice hair. There were also some pretty awesome punk kids circle pitting a lot and getting pissed at the 'hardcore kids' who were pushing side to side and karate moshing. Can you blame them? It was funny though. Then we headed back to Colts and called it a night! Stayed tuned for day 3...