Bouncing Souls w/ Strike Anywhere 2nd night (Ive in philly 7/14/11)

I'm going to keep this recap really short due to the fact I can barely type (more on that later) but on thursday, I headed to the 1st unitarian church to catch the Bouncing Souls 2nd night of "For all the unheard", where they played "Self Titled" and Hopeless Romantic in it's entirety.

Strike Anywhere:

I was surprised how empty the place was fir these Richmond hardcore legends. Besides a few dedicated up front, no one seemed to know them. No matter, more room for me to dance and pile-on to. Ripping into their "Chorus of One", only a few of us knew it, but the sing-alongs were strong. The band seemed to feed off our energy, and Thomas was all smiles as us dedicated few stage dove and danced.

Set From What I Remember and not in order:
chorus of one
refusal
hollywood cemetery
chalkline
we amplify
blaze
instinct
summer punks
infrared
to the world
hand of glory
i'm your opposite number
sunset on 32nd

Bouncing Souls:

The Bouncing Fucking Souls, those fucking NJ moochers. I was really stoke for this show as the Self Titled was the album that got me into the Souls back in 1999 when I was just a high school freshman. I appropriately lost my shit, especially during Say Anything and Whatever I Want.

They didn't play I Like Your Eyes for some reason, but played all off of Hopeless Romantic (Finally hearing Monday Morning Ant Brigade? Fuck Yes). The crowd was more amped for Hopeless Romantic, (I was stoked for both).

Sorry for not elaborating more, but I broke my arm on the 3rd night and it's really effing tough to type.

MP3
Bouncing Souls – Low Life
Strike Anywhere - You’re Fired


More:
The Bouncing Souls "Worst" Album
Strike Anywhere - Change Is Sound

For All The Unheard Night 1: Bouncing Souls and World Inferno Friendship Society (7/13/11)

When The Bouncing Souls announced that they were doing their series "For All The Unheard" I completely lost my shit. Being a fan since I was but a wee punker, knowing that they were going to play every album in the basement of a church without any barricades... yeah, words cannot express how much fuck yes this.

World Inferno Friendship Society:

Photo From BlowTheScene.com

On Wed. I got to the First Unitarian Church and I got to say, it was hot as hell down there. I missed the first band The Creetons, but I was able to catch one of my favorites, World Inferno Friendship Society. The following for the band was smaller than usual as most people were there for the Souls, but us loyal fans partied hard with streamers being thrown, stage dives and pile ons (and waltzing of course).

Opening up with the call to arms Tattoos Fade, Jack kept the crowd entertained with his usual with and charm. They played a damn good set with a solid reaction. Love these dudes/dudettes, can't wait to see them headline soon.

Setlist (Not In Order):

Tattoos Fade
Just The Best Party
With A Good Criminal Heart
My Ancestral Homeland, NJ
Annie The Imaginary Lawyer
Brother Of The Mayor Of Bridgewater
Cats Are Not Lucky Creatures
Canonize Philip K Dick, OK
I Am Sick Of People Being Sick Of My Shit
The Disarming Smile
Heart Attack '64

The Bouncing Souls:

I saw the Souls do this show in NJ for their Home for the Holidays, was so stoked on that, no way was I about to miss it in the church. After a brief introduction with the Rocky theme and then an announcer announcing "tonight's matchup" introducing The Good, The Bad, And The Argyle, my home state heroes took the stage and immediately busted into "I Like Your Mom".

Everything was a bit of a blur since I sort of went completely crazy (I find myself on top of the crowd and constantly in the pit for about 99% of the show), they blasted through all the hits on their first album with very little stopping time for banter (minus the final "I Know What Boys Like").

Hearing them play favorites I never hear them play live (Inspection Station, Lay Em Down Smack Em Yack Em) was a treat (again), and my stokedness rose even more once they came back out to Maniacal Laughter.

They played every song on this album, and the crowd, although soaked in sweat and god knows what else, kept up the energy all night. Yours truly may or may not have been stage diving multiple times during my favorite song "The Freaks, The Nerds, And The Romantics".

It's shit like this that keeps me in Philly.

Setlist:
I Like Your Mom
The Guest
These Are The Quotes From Our Favorite 80s Movies
Joe Lies (When He Cries)
Some Kind Of Wonderful
Lay Em Down, Smack Em, Yack Em
Old School
Candy
Neurotic
Inspection Station
Deadbeats

Lamar Vannoy
No Rules
The Freaks, The Nerds, The Romantics
Argyle
All Of This And Nothing
The BMX Song
Quick Check Girl
Headlights Ditch
Here We Go
Born To Lose
The Ballad Of Johnny X

MP3:
Bouncing Souls - The Freaks, The Nerds, And The Romantics
World Inferno Friendship Society - Tattoos Fade

More:
Bouncing Souls Snow Out Blow Out
Bouncing Souls - The Good The Bad And The Argyle
World Inferno Friendship Society - Just The Best Party
World Inferno Friendship Society - Red Eyed Soul

Buy:
Chunksaah

Wugazi - 13 Chambers (Fugazi Meets Wu Tang Clan)

We've all been there once or twice in our lives. You know the all too familiar feeling: you're jamming out to the indie-post hardcore of Fugazi and suddenly you stop to think "gee, I really love Fugazi and all, but I also really wish I was listening to the gangsta stylee of the Wu Tang Clan. If only there was some way to listen to both!" Fret not homies, Wugazi's got your back.

Now I'm not one for mashups, hell, I don't even like mix tapes very much... but the project Wugazi - 13 Chambers is a pretty fucking solid listen that mashes up the two bands. I'll be completely honest, I'm a bigger fan of Wu Tang than I am of Fugazi (I start to listen and always decide "I should just listen to Minor Threat instead"), but Fugazi's instrumentals go surprisingly well with Wu's lyrics.

Definitely worth checking out if you're into either band or want to try something. Oh, and it's completely free.

MP3:
Wugazi - Sleep Rules Everything Around Me

More:
Atom and his Package vs Fugazi

Buy:
Wugazi

Hold Tight - Call The Zoo (For fans of Saves The Day, Lifetime, Kid Dynamite)

Hey, remember what good pop-punk mixed with melodic hardcore sounds like? Yeah, didn't think so. Lucky for you, Richmond's Hold Tight! is here to remind you with their latest EP "Call The Zoo", and let me tell you, it fucking rips.

Following up their LP release from last year "Can't Take This Away" (which if you don't have, do yourself a favor and grab a copy) "Call The Zoo" is much more aggressive and to the point. With 7 songs clocking in around 5 or 6 minutes, they don't leave any room for filler.

"Call The Zoo" reminds me a lot of Saves The Day's "Through Being Cool" with a touch of Lifetime and Kid Dynamite in there, and holy shit did they blend it all together well.

In the spirit of the EP I'm keeping this post short, but go grab yourself a copy unless you hate fun.

MP3:
Hold Tight - $122.50

More:
Hold Tight! - Can't Take This Away
Saves The Day - Can't Slow Down
Saves The Day - Through Being Cool
Summer Means Pop Punk Mix
Handguns - Don't Bite Your Tongue

Buy:
Hold Tight

Big D and The Kid's Table - For The Damned, Dumb, And Delirious (For fans of Bomb The Music Industry, Less Than Jake, Streetlight Manifesto)

Big D And The Kids Table used to be my favorite ska band years back. Every ska show I would go see, they would open, and their tour with Arrogant Sons of Bitches was one of the greatest I've seen. I will admit though, their release "Fluent In Stroll" sort of made me lose interest in the band as I didn't really like their new change in style, but when I heard them say that "For The Damned, The Dumb, and Delirious" was going to be a return to form, I was pretty excited.

Opening with "Walls", a ska-punk tune that is much more the style we know and love from the band, you can tell that Damned is their return to form album. Most of the songs follow this ska-punk formula, with some dipping more into the ska style of Strictly Rude (Destination Gone Astray), and some leaning more on the punk side (Raining Zombies On Wall Street). There are a few exceptions, such as the stroll influenced Stringers, or the sing and drink along Best Them All.

With Damned being 17 songs long though, there is definitely some filler in there, and it took me a few spins before I really started to appreciate the album. If you felt alienated with Big D's Fluent In Stroll, definitely check out their latest... very reminiscent of How It Goes.

MP3:
Big D And The Kids Table - Walls

More:
Scenester 101: How to Be a 3rd Wave Ska Dork
Less Than Jake - Greetings From
Big D And The Kids Table - Good Luck

Buy:
Side One Dummy

Ceremony, Kromosom, Pink Coffins (Live In Philly 7/3/11)

On Sunday, I headed out to Philly's Barbary to catch one of my favorite hardcore bands around: Ceremony. Recently they signed to Matador, so I'm not sure how that's going to impact their newest album, but the Barbary was crowded on the beautiful summer day.

Pink Coffins:

First up was Philly's own Pink Coffins. I've heard the name a lot, but have never seen or listened to the band before. That's going to have to change after seeing them live. Pink Coffins tore it up, with their furious brand of hardcore. Definitely check them out live if you get a chance, reminded me a bit of Bane meets Paint it Black.

Kromosom:

I skipped Gypsy's set to grab some food, and made it back in time for Australia's Kromosom. HOLY FUCKING SHIT, these guys know how to party. With the opening note, the lead singer stage dove into the crowd, opened a pit, and pretty much kept diving into the crowd the rest of the night. One of the most energetic frontmen I've ever seen live, that's for sure.

They reminded me of Discharge mixed with some more street punk influences. I'm not sure how their music would translate on record, but I intend to find out soon.

Ceremony:

While taking forever to set up, Ceremony did not disappoint. This California band is one of the most prominent in hardcore right now, and with their latest signing to Matador, I feel like they're only going to get bigger and even weirder. The band blasted straight into "Into The Wayside/Sick", and we instantly started the pile-ons and dancing. Ross was his manic self on stage, and while we didn't see him rolling around the pit this time around, he definitely kept things interesting. Their newest member, Philly's own Andy from Paint it Black was also incredibly active, jumping into the crowd a few times.

The majority of the set list contained songs from their latest Rohnert Park, and then some scattered off of their previous releases (with a solid chunk off my favorite "Violence Violence + Ruined"). Ceremony didn't play an encore, but they did play another show later that night at Philly's Punx Picnic (which I unfortunately did not get to see, anyone who went... how was it???)

Setlist:
Into The Wayside/Sick
Pressure's On
My War
Open Head
The Difference Between Looking And Seeing
Violence
Mothers And Fathers
Moving Principle
Living Hell
Terminal Addiction
Throwing Bricks
I Want To Bring This To An End
It Rained In My Head
MCDF
He-God-Has Favored Our Undertakings
Kersed
Doldrums

MP3:
Ceremony - Into The Wayside Pt I / Sick

More:
Ceremony - Rohnert Park
Ceremony's Set From "This Is Hardcore 09"
Ceremony - Violence Violence
Ceremony - Scared People EP
Ceremony - Still Nothing Moves You

Buy:
Bridge 9

Bomb The Music Industry live in Philly (7/1/11)

On Friday night I ditched my friend's BBQ early so I can catch beloved Long Island's Bomb The Music Industry at Philly's First Unitarian Church. Unfortunately I missed every other band, and only heard part of Cheap Girls (I got their in the middle of the set, and at the risk of "Too Much Information" had to poop during the last half).

Bomb The Music Industry:

Holy shit was it fucking hot in the basement of the church. I was sweating immediately and the band didn't even take the stage yet (Bouncing Souls in a few weeks there is going to be NUTS). The full band somehow seemed crowded on stage (even though there were four of them), and after a little 80s music intro, they blasted into "I Don't Love Anymore".

We lost our shit, with a pit breaking out, people stage diving (cough yours truly cough), and the sing-a-long having everyone in the crowd shouting along. The band played like how BTMI plays, slightly sloppy, but always coming together for the important parts... with the crowd screaming along to every song except their 2 new ones.

Some antics were had during the set, specifically when one guy got on stage and his friend passed him a drink, which he slammed, and then stage dove (with Jeff giving a confused laughing look asking "What the fuck was that?" to which their guitarist replied "the most punk rock thing I think I've ever seen"). Another was during the encore when this couple went on stage and decided to sing out the rest of the song for the band, and invited everyone on stage to join them (the drummer even gave her a stick so she can play the drums).

The new songs the band played were pretty tight, and although the crowd didn't really know them, we still danced. The band (0r fans) seemed to damage a lot of the equipment because by the end amps weren't working, etc... it felt very much like the Arrogant Sons Of Bitches shows I used to attend 9 years ago (aaaaand I'm old....)

Alright, I'm off to go see CEREMONY today, possibly twice. In the words of Mac, later bitches.

Setlist (Probably not in complete order):
I Don't Love You Anymore
Hurricane Waves
Congratulations John, On Joining Every Time I Die
Everybody That You Love (I think?)
Saddr, Weirdr
All Ages Show
Big Ending
The First Time I Met Sanawon
Vocal Coach (I think?)
493 Ruth
Shower Beers
It Shits!!!
Even Winning Feels Bad
Stand Their Until Your Sober
25!
Syke! Life Is Awesome

Encore:
Future 86

Mp3:
Bomb the Music Industry - The First Time I Met Sanawon

More:
Bomb The Music Industry - Adults!!! Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited By Nothing
Bomb the Music Industry - Scrambles
Arrogant Sons Of Bitches - Discography

Buy:
Quote Unquote