This past weekend

We played a show in Philadelphia on Friday at the Adobe Cafe. In our previous encounter, it was the scene of a strange convergence of a large number of drunk, angry and militantly apathetic people mostly wearing the same thing. This time around was quite different. No one was belligerently wasted, people watched bands, and not everyone was decked out in the same costume. Playing a show in a siege situation, such as our first appearance at the Adobe Cafe, is fun, but it's stressful. This was a welcomed change.

We got to see lots of friends, like Remainder and their tour entourage, as well as people like Jerry, with whom Todd and I used to play in a band, and Sarah, with whom I went to Rutgers the first time. Now Todd works with her and I know her again. It was really good to see these people, even though we didn't really spend much time together, with it being a show and all.

I really liked playing that show. I had a good time playing and felt confident about it. Our equipment sounded really good. Aside from the fact that we have good equipment, we recently repaired a bunch of it, so that helped us sound even better. It was nice having a p.a. that did something. We brought friends with us as well. The atmosphere was totally enjoyable and satisfying.

It's good to see Mikey, Jack and Welch playing music together again. They're quite good at it. I love Attrition, I loved seeing them, and it's been a long time since they played. Remainder is definitely not Attrition, but they definitely are good. I'm really glad I finally got to see them, as I was not able to make it down to their first couple of shows. They will be back soon, and I will go. Also, I predict us playing shows together.

Last night, half of us (Chris and Phil) plus our friend Aaron (Raza, Enron, Ron) went to see Converge at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. The initial plan was to get vegan cheesesteaks from Gourmet to Go and then hit the show, as we didn't care about the first two bands playing. We got there a bit late (6:30, the show started at 5), so we went to the show first to see what was going on. One band had played already and the second was about done. We immediately ran into friends Carni and Andy from DC. It was so rad and unexpected to see them there. We proceeded to hang out for the rest of the show.

Ceremony played third. Phil and I were pretty excited for this. They were bad. Real bad. I've seen them three times. The first time, they were sick. The second time, they were pretty good. This time, what the fuck. I don't even know. I own the band's entire recorded output and I did not recognize most of the songs they played last night. They still didn't replace the other guitar player and this is the third bass player I have seen in the band. He looks like Kim Thayil from Soundgarden. Ceremony were legit jamming on songs on stage. The singer said yesterday was his first day sober on tour. The guitarist was playing the star spangled banner at one point, for at least twenty seconds. Judging by what I could identify, they seemed to have played almost entirely newer songs.

After that, we dejectedly went to get our cheesesteaks. They were really good.

We came back in time for Converge to play. They played really well. They are pros. What can you say? They have basically the sickest drummer. Their set was comprised almost entirely of post-2000 songs, save for the requisite performance of "The Saddest Day." At least the songs they chose were mostly good, relying heavily on their last LP. And they didn't play that awful Ozzy song.

The show was over by 9:30, which was pretty rad, so we ran to catch Todd finishing up his shift at the Wooden Shoe. We hung out there for a bit, till they started closing up. Then we took off and were home by about 11:30.

Show

A quote from Ian Mackaye:

"I’d eat a piece of meat just as soon as I’d eat a piece of shit."

Right on, sir.

I found this two-part interview in Satya while looking for a picture of the man for the previous post.
He always makes for an interesting read.

THIS IS WHAT VEGAN STRAIGHTEDGE LOOKS LIKE

in a tux.



My sister got married.

Show

Saturday, October 25th.
2826 Cambridge Street, Philadelphia.
7:30PM
$5
Costume required.

Oh, and it's a tofu-eating zombie. I didn't make it.

show

Verse - Aggression

Verse. Fuck. I wasn't expecting this from them. I have such a love for Rebuild. That record came at the right time in my life. I, too, wanted to rebuild a sense of community. Finally, a straight up American-style hardcore band (with emo parts!!) that cared about stuff and said so - "I give a fuck about the world, so why the fuck don't you?" Still, I got the impression that they (Sean) didn't want to go too far with their lyrics and alienate all the hardcore bros. Cause, for real, the music on that record is dead fucking on and def drew a lot of people in. So, so good. And Sean's voice, goddamn. "Saying Goodbye" is one of the more wrenching songs I have heard in a long time. It still gets me. A lot. It's so real.

Two years down the line, they put out From Anger and Rage, which I found to be musically disappointing, overall. I certainly appreciated the more explicitly social/political tack Sean was taking with the lyrics, but they seemed to be lacking; not as compelling or honest as Rebuild. I felt that this was a band that was coming undone, separating from itself. From Anger and Rage definitely has its moments, but it just doesn't cut it when held up to its predecessor.

So here we are, another two years later. I heard that Aggression was coming out soon. I checked the song "The New Fury" on their myspace. Sounded pretty good, better than expected. Then Punknews or some other site was streaming the whole record for a bit before it came out. I listened to it once through and felt it. I immediately ordered the LP. When it came, I opened it up, put it on and sat down with the insert, reading the lyrics along with the record. I was so moved, touched and impressed. He doesn't give a fuck about catering to the bros anymore, if he did in the first place. He wants to reach them. He wants them to learn.

Sean's voice, somehow, is more emotive than ever. The "No more control" during the drum break in "The New Fury" is so intense; it packs so much feeling, earnestness and meaning into three words. At that time, three words they are not any more, but a litany of stories and experiences that converge to produce that tone from a man's body. That's the thing about Verse, especially when seeing them - it becomes clear that Sean has this visceral earnestness about him, something that is preciously rare in my world.

The music is fucking brutal in ways that Verse never has been before. Overall, it's not nearly as fast or as punky as Rebuild. But that's totally fine. It's just different. It's definitely still Verse. They are taking parts of what they have done before, things they have always done, and bringing them to new levels. Fuck, half of "The New Fury" sounds like a mid-90s emo song, with its octave chords going this way and that. They have really done well with the pretty parts on this record, as well as the crushing chug. The last thirty seconds or so of "Suffering to Live, Scared of Love" (starting with "Right!!") demonstrate both of these points, as well as the band's deft execution of merging them, excellently. It all comes together so well. Every song is excellent. There are no throwaways or boring passages here.

And as for the lyrics, fucking christ. Everything. All over the damn record. Gone are the songs about hardcore or "the scene." It's all social and political now. Here are some of my favorites: "All of my heroes have been ruined or written out of history" ("Scream") - "New wars, new kings, the pigs came here to take everything", "I've read about Hampton's murder by the state while he slept" ("Old Guards, New Methods") - "You're raised for profit and you were born to fail" ("Sons and Daughters") - "Sleep one night under this bridge in this man's shoes and you'll learn there is no god" - ("Story of a Free Man: Chapter One"). There are so many other lines and parts of songs that I could not possibly contextualize adequately in this medium. They need to be heard in their original state to be appreciated. This is particularly so with the several songs which are stories, some even replete with quotes. This works really well, and not just with the three-part "Story of a Free Man." Accordingly, they do not lend themselves to quoting individual lines without losing a whole lot of meaning.

AND the band put together a reading list for the insert of progressive and revolutionary books that cover a variety of topics and perspectives, touching on America's rise to global dominance, veganism, the "war on terror," domestic resistance to state oppression, such as the Black Panther Party and the Weathermen/Weather Underground Organization and more. And they made a documentary list. This doesn't happen with this kind of hardcore. I love it. I never thought Bridge 9 would put out a record "dedicated to the revolutionary spirit and radical thought of oppressed people worldwide." Listen up, white kids. You NEED this shit. Throw out the Dunks.

our new song

is called "bullet belt." cause we're fucking punk.